Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
It is a prayer asking God to search the heart and know the thoughts, to try and test the inner life, to reveal any wicked way, and to lead in the everlasting way. That searching reaches actions, hidden motives, inward sins, intentions and purposes, for God alone can make the inner life known as His light exposes what is hidden and awakens the conscience to the true nature of sin. To try means to prove and test the heart, as Christ searches hearts and examines motives, bringing conviction of wrong so the sinner may repent, be reformed, and humble himself before the God who knows human weakness and will judge every work. It calls for union of the human with the divine, with the whole heart enlisted, God's law written in the heart, and Christ's love made the principle of action, since mere profession without heartfelt practice is empty. It is therefore the constant prayer of the true Christian for inward truth and close self-examination before God, with penitence, confession, and renewal, willing to be searched and tried rather than resisting in self-complacency, self-love, and unwillingness to be reformed.
What the Prayer Means
The prayer is an asking of God to search the heart and know the thoughts, to try and test the inner life, to uncover any wicked way, and to lead in the everlasting way. It opens the whole inner life to His sight, asking Him to examine thoughts, actions, hidden motives and inward sins, to expose evil and to direct the person into the way that endures. Submitting the heart to this refining and purifying work enables escape from the corruption of the world and sharing in the divine nature.
The searching reaches actions, hidden motives, inward sins, conflicting emotions and feelings, impurity, deceit, motives, intentions and purposes. God alone can make the inner life known, by His light exposing what is hidden and by awakening the conscience to the true nature of sin. He who fills heaven and earth sees what is hidden, so no inner thought is beyond His knowledge.
To try is to prove and test the heart and thoughts. Christ searches hearts and examines motives and offerings, and this scrutiny brings conviction of wrongdoing so that the sinner may repent, accept reformation and humble himself. God as the searcher of hearts knows the weakness of the human heart and its vulnerability to the enemy's efforts to gain control, He sees and reads the heart, and He will judge each person's work.
It is the cry from unfeigned lips of a daily converted person who is a vessel unto honor, keeping the Lord and His will ever before him with the constant aim and object to serve God. Offered with contrition and with humbled soul walking softly before God, in distrust of self with watching and praying every hour, it turns the person from self-exaltation. So prayed, it keeps one from going of his own accord into the way of temptation, and the Lord marks that sincere desire to serve Him and keeps such a one safe.
Living the Searching Prayer
The prayer shows the need for union of the human with the divine, in which the whole heart is enlisted in the conflict, the law of God is written in the heart, and the love of Christ is brought into the sanctuary of the soul as the principle of action. Without that inward work the soul will never obey the truth, for truth is no truth to one who only claims to believe it, and profession of love for the Saviour is empty sound unless love actuates the service. Truth must be stamped upon the soul and every profession made heartfelt in order to be obeyed in the life. Neglecting to practice known truth causes it to lose power over mind and conscience, loving sin causes the Word to lose its light, and certain ruin follows with loss of the love and Spirit of God.
It calls for inward truth rather than self-complacency or counterfeit righteousness, letting God reveal whether Babylon's sins have reached the soul. It is the constant prayer of the true Christian, keeping attention fixed on God, seeking truth within, and expressing trust in Him who searches the heart. It turns the one who prays from self-exaltation, self-admiration, and pride in personal qualifications. When offered with contrition, the Holy Spirit reveals Christ as the believer's righteousness, and the person is relieved to be found by God.
It calls for close, faithful self-examination before God, with the heart closely examined, sins confessed with penitence, and vows to God renewed. That searching is to discover what causes lack of the Spirit of God and to expose hidden sin, iniquity, defects of character, lack of consecration, worldliness, lack of love for God, obstinacy, self-love, and unwillingness to bear burdens where help is needed. It asks whether the heart is renewed in Christ or remains carnal beneath outward religion, and whether an idol remains ungiven up. It brings a person to see himself as he is and what he must be to be saved, to recognize personal sinfulness, and to repent and turn to the Lord with the whole heart before it is too late.
Willingness to be searched and tried by the Lord is part of true grace, while resisting that searching places a person in peril and reluctance to be tried reveals a serious spiritual condition. God uses affliction, temptation, and trial to expose and remove what is worthless in character, refining it like metal until Christian character shines with the radiance of divine love. Affliction can give time to examine the heart and review past conduct, drawing the whole soul toward God and complete conformity to His will. That self-searching is required of every soul who would serve the Lord, because Satan is a wily foe working with greatest diligence to hedge up the way and none are free from his temptations.
It means becoming acquainted with oneself by faithfully investigating motives and principles of conduct and comparing actions with the standard of duty revealed in God's word, together with becoming acquainted with the Bible and making the glory of God the high aim of life. It means knowing well one's own character, the sin that most easily besets, and the temptations most likely to overcome, and not exposing oneself needlessly by placing oneself on the enemy's ground. Such self-knowledge saves from falling into grievous temptation and prevents inglorious defeat, and when duty calls where circumstances are not favorable God gives special help to one thus girded for conflict. Before council or board meetings, asking God to search the heart and reveal motives keeps from unwisely criticizing or condemning proposals.
It forbids keeping jealous watch over another or directing another's conscience, calling instead for repenting of one's own wrongs and setting one's own life in order. It calls for ceasing to censure others and to close the eyes to self, for seeking connection with God above everything, for asking Him to search the heart and then give grace for thorough reformation, and for sticking to one's work, keeping in one's place, and doing it with exactness and devotion, with self hid and Jesus exalted, while angels convict others as they receive truth. It calls for putting away everything that grieves Christ, with envy, malice, and any cherished evil confessed and forsaken and the life made a living example of transforming grace, which is the condition for claiming God's promises with assurance that He will hear because His word is pledged. Prayed with humbled soul and constant asking for increased faith and cleansing from every spot and stain of sin, it makes seasons of prayer precious, strengthening the soul, keeping excellent courage and hope, and giving sweet peace in the heart.
It is a prayer asking God to search the heart and know the thoughts, to try and test the inner life, to reveal any wicked way, and to lead in the everlasting way. That searching reaches actions, hidden motives, inward sins, intentions and purposes, for God alone can make the inner life known as His light exposes what is hidden and awakens the conscience to the true nature of sin. To try means to prove and test the heart, as Christ searches hearts and examines motives, bringing conviction of wrong so the sinner may repent, be reformed, and humble himself before the God who knows human weakness and will judge every work. It calls for union of the human with the divine, with the whole heart enlisted, God's law written in the heart, and Christ's love made the principle of action, since mere profession without heartfelt practice is empty. It is therefore the constant prayer of the true Christian for inward truth and close self-examination before God, with penitence, confession, and renewal, willing to be searched and tried rather than resisting in self-complacency, self-love, and unwillingness to be reformed.
What the Prayer Means
The prayer is an asking of God to search the heart and know the thoughts, to try and test the inner life, to uncover any wicked way, and to lead in the everlasting way. It opens the whole inner life to His sight, asking Him to examine thoughts, actions, hidden motives and inward sins, to expose evil and to direct the person into the way that endures. Submitting the heart to this refining and purifying work enables escape from the corruption of the world and sharing in the divine nature.
The searching reaches actions, hidden motives, inward sins, conflicting emotions and feelings, impurity, deceit, motives, intentions and purposes. God alone can make the inner life known, by His light exposing what is hidden and by awakening the conscience to the true nature of sin. He who fills heaven and earth sees what is hidden, so no inner thought is beyond His knowledge.
To try is to prove and test the heart and thoughts. Christ searches hearts and examines motives and offerings, and this scrutiny brings conviction of wrongdoing so that the sinner may repent, accept reformation and humble himself. God as the searcher of hearts knows the weakness of the human heart and its vulnerability to the enemy's efforts to gain control, He sees and reads the heart, and He will judge each person's work.
It is the cry from unfeigned lips of a daily converted person who is a vessel unto honor, keeping the Lord and His will ever before him with the constant aim and object to serve God. Offered with contrition and with humbled soul walking softly before God, in distrust of self with watching and praying every hour, it turns the person from self-exaltation. So prayed, it keeps one from going of his own accord into the way of temptation, and the Lord marks that sincere desire to serve Him and keeps such a one safe.
Living the Searching Prayer
The prayer shows the need for union of the human with the divine, in which the whole heart is enlisted in the conflict, the law of God is written in the heart, and the love of Christ is brought into the sanctuary of the soul as the principle of action. Without that inward work the soul will never obey the truth, for truth is no truth to one who only claims to believe it, and profession of love for the Saviour is empty sound unless love actuates the service. Truth must be stamped upon the soul and every profession made heartfelt in order to be obeyed in the life. Neglecting to practice known truth causes it to lose power over mind and conscience, loving sin causes the Word to lose its light, and certain ruin follows with loss of the love and Spirit of God.
It calls for inward truth rather than self-complacency or counterfeit righteousness, letting God reveal whether Babylon's sins have reached the soul. It is the constant prayer of the true Christian, keeping attention fixed on God, seeking truth within, and expressing trust in Him who searches the heart. It turns the one who prays from self-exaltation, self-admiration, and pride in personal qualifications. When offered with contrition, the Holy Spirit reveals Christ as the believer's righteousness, and the person is relieved to be found by God.
It calls for close, faithful self-examination before God, with the heart closely examined, sins confessed with penitence, and vows to God renewed. That searching is to discover what causes lack of the Spirit of God and to expose hidden sin, iniquity, defects of character, lack of consecration, worldliness, lack of love for God, obstinacy, self-love, and unwillingness to bear burdens where help is needed. It asks whether the heart is renewed in Christ or remains carnal beneath outward religion, and whether an idol remains ungiven up. It brings a person to see himself as he is and what he must be to be saved, to recognize personal sinfulness, and to repent and turn to the Lord with the whole heart before it is too late.
Willingness to be searched and tried by the Lord is part of true grace, while resisting that searching places a person in peril and reluctance to be tried reveals a serious spiritual condition. God uses affliction, temptation, and trial to expose and remove what is worthless in character, refining it like metal until Christian character shines with the radiance of divine love. Affliction can give time to examine the heart and review past conduct, drawing the whole soul toward God and complete conformity to His will. That self-searching is required of every soul who would serve the Lord, because Satan is a wily foe working with greatest diligence to hedge up the way and none are free from his temptations.
It means becoming acquainted with oneself by faithfully investigating motives and principles of conduct and comparing actions with the standard of duty revealed in God's word, together with becoming acquainted with the Bible and making the glory of God the high aim of life. It means knowing well one's own character, the sin that most easily besets, and the temptations most likely to overcome, and not exposing oneself needlessly by placing oneself on the enemy's ground. Such self-knowledge saves from falling into grievous temptation and prevents inglorious defeat, and when duty calls where circumstances are not favorable God gives special help to one thus girded for conflict. Before council or board meetings, asking God to search the heart and reveal motives keeps from unwisely criticizing or condemning proposals.
It forbids keeping jealous watch over another or directing another's conscience, calling instead for repenting of one's own wrongs and setting one's own life in order. It calls for ceasing to censure others and to close the eyes to self, for seeking connection with God above everything, for asking Him to search the heart and then give grace for thorough reformation, and for sticking to one's work, keeping in one's place, and doing it with exactness and devotion, with self hid and Jesus exalted, while angels convict others as they receive truth. It calls for putting away everything that grieves Christ, with envy, malice, and any cherished evil confessed and forsaken and the life made a living example of transforming grace, which is the condition for claiming God's promises with assurance that He will hear because His word is pledged. Prayed with humbled soul and constant asking for increased faith and cleansing from every spot and stain of sin, it makes seasons of prayer precious, strengthening the soul, keeping excellent courage and hope, and giving sweet peace in the heart.