The Prayer God Answers, Part 1

“Search me, God. Know my heart.” Psalm 139:23a 

Our God is a God who answers prayer. And I would venture to say that there is no prayer He delights in answering more than the sincere request of His son or daughter asking Him to search and examine their heart.

This is the cry of the psalmist in Psalm 139:23-24. In just a few brief words, he reveals his earnest desire for the Lord to probe his innermost being.

This is not a prayer for the faint of heart.

The word “search” in Hebrew is chaqar. It means to “examine intimately” or, to be more concrete, is the image of digging in the dirt or probing deeply. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture, the translators chose the word dokimos, which means to examine something to see if it is genuine or not; to approve or deem worthy.

The imagery here is stunning. More than a trite prayer, it is a serious and profound cry that reveals the desire to be fully exposed before the Lord. There is no pretense; no religious cloaking. The psalmist is telling God, “Dig deep, God. Examine me thoroughly. Put me under the microscope and see if I am the genuine article.”

As children of God, this is a prayer we can pray boldly, without fear or apprehension. As a matter of fact, this is a cry the Father delights in answering. While the examination of our hearts may reveal unseemly things we’d prefer to keep covered, it ultimately results in the purification and sanctification of our innermost being.

Michelle Lynn Nipp

I believe God wrote a wondrous story – His story – to capture the hearts and minds of all His creation. My passion is sharing this story! Through word studies, bible teaching and other resources, I want to see you experience the absolute awesomeness and wonder of history’s greatest story, the Bible.

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