A wonderful prayer is the 2nd verse of the 26th Psalm. “Examine me, O Lord, and try me, test my mind and heart.” We are not always conscious of attitudes and thoughts of our mind and heart that need to be corrected. Offering this prayer can be a sincere desire for God to convict us. We want our mind and heart to be true, just, honorable, and pure.
In the other eleven verses on this psalm, David declares his innocence to God. He professes his right behavior and respectfully challenges God to find anything amiss when he asks God to examine him and test him. David claims “I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” He tells God, “I have walked in my integrity,” and “I have walked in Your truth.”
Please note, I am not questioning the truth of David’s estimation of his integrity and righteous living. His words in Psalm 26 remind me of Job’s words. “If I have walked in falsehood, and my foot has hastened after deceit, let Him weigh me with accurate scales, and let God know my integrity. If my step has turned from the way, or my heart followed my eyes …” (Job 31:5-7)
David and Job rightly connect behavior and integrity to mind and heart. Each of them defends their devotion to a life that is approved by God. Each of them believes God’s examination would grant them a grade of A+. David says, “Test my mind and heart.” Job says, “weigh me with accurate scales.”
Whatever we believe about own faithful adherence to the will of God and our own obedience to Him, a prayer that truly desires to hear God’s conviction and correction is needed. We want to know. “Dear Lord, when you examine my mind and heart, what do you see? Tell me Lord. I am listening.”