“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me…” – Psalm 139:23-24 (KJV)
It is easier for us to find the splinter in our brother’s eye than to notice the log in our own (Matthew 7:3-5).
The heart of man has a remarkable talent for self-justification. Our harsh words become “being honest,” our envy becomes “being discerning,” and our pride becomes “self-confidence.” But the psalmist prays for God to search his heart, not to prove his righteousness, but to point out the things hidden in his heart.
David knew that sin hides in unsuspecting places. In Psalm 19:12 (NKJV), he declares, “Who can discern his [own] errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” It is the prayer of a heart that desires to be purified from within rather than just from the outside. What is your prayer?
Recognising one’s mistakes calls for humility, which is acknowledging our mistakes and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak His truth rather than listening to the voice that tries to defend us. It entails asking ourselves how many times we have caused someone else pain by ‘telling the truth’ and then expecting them to extend grace to us while we withhold grace.
Confession is not about hating oneself. Confession is about spiritual cleanliness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9).
The blood of Jesus not only covers our sins but also cleanses our hearts. It is powerful for all our secret ways!
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for Your endless love and mercy; I approach You knowing that there is nothing hidden. I come before You as one who has learned to doubt his own heart. It is only You, O Lord, who knows that the heart is deceitful above all things. I confess that I am quick to find fault in others and blind to my own. I have harboured my wounds in silence while smiling on the outside. I have withheld my love to appear wise. Search me, O God, but not with the superficial light by which I examine myself, but with the penetrating fire of Your Spirit. Bring to the surface those things that I have hidden. Reveal what I have given other names. Unmask the sin behind my sin, the fear behind my anger, the unbelief hidden behind my pride. Make me a new and clean heart, O God, not just in confessing what I already know but in searching out those areas where Your truth has yet to penetrate. Let me find humility enough to repent even of the sin that I did not know. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
Read: Psalm 90:8; 1 Corinthians 4:4
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 119:33-40; 2 Thessalonians 2; Jeremiah 29:24-32; Jeremiah 30; Jeremiah 31:1-14