The Prayer God Answers, Part 2

“Examine me, and know my anxious thoughts.” Psalm 139:23b

Parallelism is typical in Hebrew poetry, and the second part of Psalm 139:23 is a beautiful example. The psalmist employs this poetic device to emphasize his heartfelt cry. 

The Hebrew word translated “examine” comes from the root bachan, which also means to test or scrutinize. It is a word used in metal working, where the quality of the metal is tested. Interestingly, this kind of “testing” usually comes through trial or catastrophe. (It’s the same word Job uses in Job 23:10).

Even more interesting is the word translated as the phrase “my anxious thoughts.” This word come from the root word sa’af, which means “to divide” or “to cut off branches.” (We see it also in I Kings 18:21 where the people are divided in their “opinions.”) The psalmist is asking the Lord to reveal his divided thoughts or opinions. Or, in other words, to expose any inner duplicity. (After all, isn’t that what anxiety is?) He desires wholehearted devotion to the Lord. 

This is a bold prayer! It is not simply about anxious thoughts; it is about what has our attention. Yeshua said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) God desires our full attention, our wholehearted devotion. The psalmist is courageous enough to ask the Lord to reveal anything in him that is less than this.

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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