Exploring Prayers in the BibleExemplo

Day 3: David’s “Search Me” Prayer

from Psalm 139

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
if I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

My friend's 14-year-old daughter, who is the unofficial IT person in our home, recently set up the Life360 app on our phones (her idea!). This app enables us to see on a map where each other is at all times, as long we have our phones on us. This has provided comfort and convenience. For example, rather than bother with a call about ETA while I’m making dinner, they can now see how far away family members are on the app. I wonder if there will be times when they don’t want this much transparency – such as on a secret mission to get a surprise gift or as kids get older and relish new freedoms. I wonder if this is true of us with God. Sometimes, we are comforted by the fact that God fully sees us, and sometimes, if we’re honest, we may try to hide from God, even though we know that’s impossible. Both responses can be seen in this well-loved psalm of David.

David expresses awe at the fact that God knows everything about him and is with him everywhere – whether sleeping, working, traveling to distant places, or just hanging out. No app required! This is a knowing far beyond just location on a map. David describes how God knit him together in his mother’s womb and knows all the days of his life before they even happen (from verses 13-16). David expresses comfort in knowing that even if he were to ascend to heaven or descend to the depths, “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" from verse 10. But he also describes trying to hide from God in the darkness and then discovering that “even the darkness will not be dark to you…” (from verse 12).

Yet, David ends this psalm inviting God to search him: “Search me, 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." (from verses 23-24) By the psalm's end, David is yearning for God’s knowing of him because he trusts God – and knows He is a good and loving God. He wants to cooperate with God’s flashlight shining into his heart and mind. He wants to know himself as God knows him so that he can walk more fully in God’s ways, in the path that leads to life. May we, like David, open ourselves to our good, loving, and faithful God and allow the Holy Spirit to do His transforming work within us.

Prayer Practice: Examen
Developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola (who lived in 1491-1556), the Examen prayer is a way to invite God to help us search our lives as we look back over our day, week, or month. The purpose is to grow in our awareness of God’s work within and around us. Many different versions and forms of this prayer can be found, but here is one format you may want to try for a prayer time at the end of each day.

1. Welcome the Holy Spirit into this prayer time as you think back over the last 24 hours. What did you do, whom did you meet, what stands out, how did you feel?

2. What are you grateful for as you look back over the day?

3. What signs of God’s presence can you see, both in the good and challenging aspects of your day?

4. Where did you miss or turn away from God’s presence or invitations today? You may want to pray David’s “search me” prayer (Psalm 139:23-24). Confess anything that comes to mind.

5. Close with the Lord’s Prayer or with a prayer of your own.