Search Me

It is easy to pray for God to search other people. It is a different prayer to ask Him to search me. David has just finished praising the God who knows everything, who counts his steps and hears his thoughts before they are spoken. Then he does the bravest thing a man can do. He opens the door and says, “Come in and look.”

Most of us manage our hearts the way we manage a spare room before company arrives. We push the clutter into the closet and close the door. But the Holy Ghost is not a guest who can be steered. He goes where He wants, and He opens the closets. The wonder is that He does it gently, and always for one purpose: to lead us out of the wicked way and into the way everlasting.

Notice that David does not say, “I have searched myself and found no fault.” Self-examination alone is unreliable, because the heart will always defend its own. He asks the One who sees truly. And he asks for more than a list of sins. He asks for a leading. God does not show us what is wrong merely to shame us. He shows us so that He can walk us to something better.

Do not be afraid of what He will find. He already knows. The only thing hidden is hidden from you. Pray these two verses slowly this morning, and when He puts His finger on something, do not explain it. Confess it, and follow Him out.