A Five-fold Prayer: Inspect Me

Job 23:10-11 KJV

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

At the heart of the Verse of the Day for March 2, 2014 is the reality that when Job was tried, and indeed, he endured many hard trials, he believed that he would come forth as gold.  The idea of being tried or tested brought to mind a blog entry “Inspect Me” from a series called “A Five-fold Prayer: Direct Me-Inspect Me-Correct Me-Protect Me-Perfect Me. The second in the series is re-posted here:

This blog entry is the second part of “A Five-fold Prayer,” a series of commentaries based on a statement regarding the ways of God when we find ourselves in perplexing situations that challenge our faith. In such instances, God is endeavoring to do one or a combination of five things: “Direct you; Inspect you; Correct you; Protect you; Perfect you.” After hearing those words, I took those five verbs and formed them into a request, a petition, a prayer to God for me.  I asked God to become the initiator of the action, and I would become the object of his action. I also examined each of the verbs with scriptural illustrations from the Old Testament and New Testament and composed a prayer/psalm inspired by each verb at the end of each section related to each of the five verbs. In writing out my personal application of the scriptures, I also incorporated music related to the verbs as well. In Part 2 I ask God to “Inspect Me.”

Inspect : Since there is no word “inspect” used in the King James Version,  I used “search” that has the following definition and found in the following scriptures:

A definition of the word “search” and accompanying scriptures

Psalm 139:1-5, 23-24:

O LORD, You  have searched me, and known me.

2  You know my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

3  You encompass my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, You knowest it altogether.

5   You have beset me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I Chron 28:9:

9  As for you, Solomon my son, know thou the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever.

Jeremiah 17:10:

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Romans 8:27-28

27  And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Inspect me

   Try Me

Search me, O God, and know my heart:

try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Lord, Prepare me to be a sanctuary. . .   

 pure and holy, tried and true. . .

Purify my motive; assay my devotion;

weigh each desire, carat by carat, dram by dram.

In the refining fire of your furnace try me.

Test the mettle of my soul; scrape away all dross,

all debris that would adulterate my intents

and leave behind the purity of ore that I

may see my face reflected in the pool of gold.

I long to take the treasure of your precious Word,

securely hide it in the lock box of my heart

and as a faithful son, hand you the only key.

“Search Me, Lord” rendered by Brother Joe May, “The Thunderbolt of the Middle West,” the reigning male Gospel singer of the 1950s, embodies this prayer in song:

“While I’m down here praying, Lord search my heart” by Mahalia Jackson, the most celebrated female Gospel singer of her era, offers a similar request in song:

“Lord, Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary,” one of my all-time favorite songs of worship expresses the same desire revealed in Psalm 139 and other scriptures.

“Search me, O God,” part of David’s prayer to God and mine.

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Tags: 1 Chronicles 28:9, Brother Joe May, Five-fold Prayer, grace and peace, Jeremiah 17:10, Job 23:10-11, Lord Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary, Lord Search My Heart, Mahalia Jackson, Psalm 139, Romans 8:27-28, Search Me Lord, Verse of the Day