Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Test me and know my anxious thoughts! 24 See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
My first time in the prayer room at Eagle immediately reminded me of my college days. We had a big prayer room at school where you could host all sorts of gatherings. It was there that I first remember diving into Psalm 139. I don’t know if it was a chapel speaker, professor or what, but somehow Psalm 139 caught my attention in a new way, and I decided to memorize it. Vv. 23-24 are the conclusion of this beautiful psalm where David reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and there’s nowhere we can escape God. El Roi, which translates the God who sees me, is one of my favorite names for the Lord. As I would meditate on this psalm, I would be reminded: God sees me. David’s invitation for God to know his thoughts is a reflection of relationship. God didn’t need the invite. He already saw David. He knew his thoughts continually. But instead, the interaction demonstrates David’s willing desire to hear from the Lord, and the Lord’s response of pointing to things that hinder their relationship. As we prepare for Holy Week, I’m struck again by this psalm, and the need for us to embrace Lent as a time of inviting the Lord in. Let’s invite Him to point out things that hinder our relationship with Him.
Heavenly Father, you are the GOD who SEES. You see us as we truly are, yet you love us still. Would you search our hearts? Would you search MY heart? I recognize You as the one that knows my thoughts, my motives, and my hidden actions. I choose now to lay them before You, and ask that you would show me the things that offend You. Lead me to life. Lead me to Your Son. Do the work that only you can do to transform me from the inside out. I ask all these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.