The Lodestar

Playing hide-and-seek with grandchildren is great fun, particularly in the house's confined spaces. There are few places to hide except under tables, behind curtains, or in the corners; we can easily spot them.

This psalm stands apart from others with its unique plea for God's examination. While many psalms petition for healing and various needs, this one takes a different approach, inviting God to delve into the psalmist's innermost thoughts and motives. After extolling the power and character of God, the psalm concludes with a powerful plea: "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24).

The psalm enumerates numerous reasons from the first verse to this point. However, the verse cited above makes a profound statement: no one can evade God's scrutiny, not even in the densest darkness; God's penetrating light can reach any corner.

God's knowledge of us is comprehensive; no one can hide from him, and nothing is concealed from him.

We may seek the expertise of professionals to assess us — a therapist to uncover the deep thoughts that govern our lives, or a physician to diagnose using advanced equipment. Yet there is no comparison to God examining our lives and revealing sins that could lead to eternal damnation.

One of the prayers, among many others, that Richard Foster elaborates on in his book "Prayer: Finding Heart's True Home" is "Prayer of Examen," which helps us review our lives and inner motives. It is a transformative practice, a way to invite God to examine us, to reveal what needs to change and what is not acceptable to him. We are not the best judges of ourselves. So, we must go to God, allow him to examine us, and remove what is unacceptable to him.

Reading Psalm 139 prepares us for prayers of examen, as it helps us confess that God is all-knowing, all-present, and that nothing is hidden from his eyes.

This meditative practice of letting God examine us is more critical than periodic medical reviews. We need only sit quietly in God's presence and confess that he knows us better than we know. Be available for a Prayer of Examen today—sit in his presence, ask him to search you, and let him lead you in his way everlasting. Will you invite him to examine your heart?

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