A Courageous Prayer
Courage is a must to live life well. Certainly, we need courage to live out our faith for Christ in a hostile world. But have you ever thought that courage is also needed to pray? I don’t mean prayers like “bless me, Lord”, or “help me meet this bill.” I mean prayers like the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive [wicked] way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (NIV) This is the kind of prayer we should never offer unless we mean it, because God WILL take us up on it!
As God examines us, He will undoubtedly find character flaws that need changing, and sins from which we will need to confess and repent. He then will rebuke us because He loves us and doesn’t want us to be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32).
All of us have been rebuked by a good friend at some point. At first it usually hurts, doesn’t it? Then, after we consider his words for a while, we realize that they were true, and we need to make a change. God’s rebuke is similar. But not many of us ask even our best friend to rebuke us. In our passage, however, David asked the God who knew all about him, his secret thoughts and motives, to search him and test him. Men, do we have the courage to pray this kind of prayer then embrace the Lord’s answer?
David knew that his God could be trusted with this prayer. He knew God was good and always had his best interest at heart. How convinced are we that God will examine our most sensitive, personal issues and deal with us in such a way that will help us and not discourage or condemn us? The Bible says that He is the perfect friend. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
With what are you struggling? Is it an addiction? Is it a character flaw? Maybe you know that something is wrong, but you just can’t put your finger on it. As the old hymn says, “take it to the Lord in prayer.” Ask Him to examine you and help you deal with what He finds. This will take courage; but through it you will find forgiveness, freedom and His perfect peace.