“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
Love the Word
Is your heart in need of restoration? David, a man after God’s own heart, penned his prayer of renewal that we can experience today.
Learn the Word
David invited God to search, know, and test his heart. Heart in Hebrew is leb, or lebab. It is one’s entire inner being. Just like the physical heart contains four chambers, so the spiritual heart is comprised of four chambers. We can remember them with the acronym WISE: will, intellect, spirit, and emotions. The will is the chamber of our choices. The intellect, or the mind, is the chamber of our thoughts. The spirit is the lead chamber of our prayers. The emotions encompass the chamber of our feelings. David chose God’s heart with his will. He meditated on God’s heart with his mind, or his intellect. He prayed for God’s heart with his spirit. He wanted God’s heart with his emotions.
David asked God to know his anxious thoughts. Anxiety is a divided inner being, having one foot in and one foot out with God, often trusting in Him a little and in ourselves a lot. In essence, it is mixed devotion. This lack of faith is an offense to our Creator and requires surrender to experience restoration. Renewing our hearts with God is a dynamic process that features the Holy Spirit’s refining components of examination and surrender. This is how He shapes our hearts to be like His, clarifying His will for our lives by leading us in the way everlasting.
Memorize David’s refining prayer (see Psalm 139:23-24) and recite it each day for the next week.
Live the Word
As you recite David’s refining prayer, request that the Holy Spirit would examine your heart and help you surrender any offensive way manifested from a mixed devotion, or a divided heart. It might be a heart set on riches, selfish pleasure, perfectionism, or even religion, all at the expense of a relationship with God. Choose God’s heart. Meditate on His heart. Pray for His heart. Want His heart. When you do, He will shape your heart to be like His, clarifying His will for your life.
Episode 293: Love, Learn, Live the Word (Psalm 139:23-24) from mitchkrusetv on Vimeo.