Have you ever prayed what is found in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”? I’ve prayed this when I’ve sensed something is not going right in my walk with God.
This is the focus of Psalm 139. Notice the Psalm begins with the statement: “O Lord, you have searched me” and closes with the prayer, “Search me, O God.” Let’s consider how this focus is amplified.
You can do this by asking - What is the basis of this prayer? Start by reading the whole Psalm a few times. Reflect on it. You’ll find the God David describes is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. He knows everything, is everywhere present and is all powerful. Since He knows everything I can’t keep anything from him. Since He is everywhere present I can’t hide from Him or run away from Him. And since He is all powerful I can’t excuse anything before Him.
If your view of God is deficient you might feel you’re OK. But when you know God as He really is, you’ll be humbled before Him. You’ll see yourself as deficient and defiled. When this happens the Psalmist’s prayer will be very natural for you to pray.
In fact you might feel like Isaiah when he saw God in His august holiness, as described in Isaiah 6. When Isaiah saw God as the Holy One, he saw himself as sinful and undone, desperately in need of God’s cleansing. When that cleansing took place he was ready to hear and heed God’s call to serve Him by serving God’s people.
