Vital Signs: Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Dangerous Prayers: Search My Heart

Do you dare to pray in a way you’ve never prayed before—with all your heart, soul, mind, and the full extent of your being? What would happen in your life—and in the lives of those around you—if you started praying dangerous prayers? Do you dare to find out?

King Saul falsely accused David of treason and sent his full forces after him in repeated attempts to take his life. Yet with all his heart, David wanted to please God. He fought against his anger to protect and honor the king. Still, knowing that his motives weren’t always perfect, David surrendered his heart before God and prayed one of the most vulnerable, transparent, and dangerous prayers you’ll ever hear. Wanting to honor God in every aspect of his being, David prayed:

“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.”(Psalm 139:23–24)

Not only is this prayer difficult to pray—it’s even more challenging to live out. Because if you have the courage to pray it, then you’ll need the courage to accept what God reveals and take action. So don’t pray it if you don’t mean it.

Be forewarned: this prayer has the potential to convict you. To correct you. To redirect your life. To change the way you see yourself—and how others see you.

Maybe you’re still thinking it’s no big deal. Maybe you’re wondering, Why ask God to search my heart if He already knows everything inside me? You might say, I know what’s in there. He knows what’s in there. So why ask something so obvious?

This is where it gets tricky. On the surface, it seems like we would know our own hearts. Right? I know my motives. I know what’s most important. I know why I do what I do. Besides, you might reassure yourself, I’ve got a good heart. I’m not trying to hurt people. I want to do what’s right. My heart is good. I’m praying, aren’t I?

But God’s Word actually says the opposite. It might be shocking to hear the first time, but Jeremiah tells us the hard truth. Jeremiah, the son of a Levitical priest born around 650 BC, was raised up by God during King Josiah’s reign to speak His truth to Israel and the nations. And he flat-out says that you—along with me and everyone else—don’t have a good heart.

In fact, our hearts are not just flawed; they are deceitful and wicked. The prophet said:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT)

Without Christ, your heart is deceitful. And the closer we get to Jesus, the more clearly we see our own shortcomings—pride, selfishness, lust, addiction, a critical spirit. These are not just tendencies; they’re issues rooted in a heart that needs transformation.

That’s why praying this dangerous prayer is so powerful. It opens a channel of deeper communication with God. Instead of only asking God to do something for you, you’re asking Him to reveal something in you. That moment of truth might not change you overnight, but it will spark awareness, deepen conviction, and redirect your life toward Him.

That’s why David’s prayer is so powerful—and so dangerous: “Search my heart, Lord.”