A Prayer for Self-Examination - Your Daily Prayer - May 30

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A Prayer for Self-Examination
By Keneesha Saunders Liddie

Bible Reading:
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. - Lamentations 3:40

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Imagine living for God, reading your Bible, serving at your local church, only for your works to be tried by fire and burned to ashes. Works cannot save us, but God has saved us to do good works. The works we do here are exchanged for crowns in heaven… crowns we will cast at the feet of Jesus.

I believe we are living in the last days, and the return of our Lord and Savior is drawing near. This is why it is so important to examine ourselves daily. We ought not just test and examine ourselves and then do nothing about what we find. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God tells us to return to the Lord.

The disciple James talks about looking into a mirror to see our faces. When we see that our face is dirty, yet walk away and forget to clean it, we deceive ourselves. This isn’t what God wants. He wants us to be doers of His Word. When trials arise in our lives, we ought to depend on God to carry us through, test and examine the condition of our hearts, and return to the Lord.

Is there an area in your life that needs searching? Are you easily angered? Is your tongue controlled by the flesh? Do you find it extremely difficult to forgive? Are you out of fellowship with God?

Jerusalem was in shambles. The people of God were in that state because of God’s judgment upon their murmuring and complaining. They had neglected to reflect on God's goodness. And often, we are in the same condition. We fail to notice, or we take for granted, the grace, mercy, and goodness of God. This becomes evident in how we gripe and complain.

Jerusalem realized they needed an individual internal audit. They needed to seek God and test and examine their ways because straying from God’s Word was not worth it. Looking at their surroundings while leaving God out of the picture was not worth it.

Every day in the life of a believer, we should set aside time to examine ourselves before God. But our key Scripture calls for more than self-reflection; it calls for a full return from hindering sin, besetting sin, and wrong thinking.

Jerusalem was in ruins because of its own sins. The Babylonians had taken over, and God allowed it as punishment. Many times, we stand in the way of restoration because we choose to sit in our comfortable filth longer than we should.

Let us not just be hearers of the Word but do what it says. Let us look into the mirror and cleanse ourselves immediately. Let us return to the Lord so He can restore us, clean us up, and restore fellowship with Him.

And instead of complaining, let us remain thankful for the good He gives even in the midst of trials, because we can always be certain that His blessings far outnumber the bad.

Let’s Pray:

 Heavenly Father, 

I humbly bow before You, first thanking You for Your goodness toward me. Search me, O God! If there is any wicked way within me, restore me to You. Forgive me for everything I have done against You. I have sinned against You, Lord, and I receive Your forgiveness.

I ask that You reveal the things I have done with wrong motives and intentions. Please show me the areas in my life that I need to test and examine, and draw me back to You. I relinquish control of myself and everything I have over to You.

Help me to praise and thank You when I feel like complaining. Help me seek You always so I can fulfill Your purpose of glorifying You with my life. Help me continually examine whether I am walking in the faith and serving You with a genuine heart of servitude.

Whenever I murmur and complain, remind me of what happened to Jerusalem. Help me praise You despite what I may be facing. Give me the wisdom to turn my difficulties into praise, remembering that You inhabit the praises of Your people.

When I think of the goodness You continually shower upon me, I realize I have no reason to complain, dear Lord. I want to live a life fully surrendered to You, so remind me often to examine myself, that my life may reflect holy consecration unto You.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: Pexels/Ismael Sanchez

Keneesha Saunders-Liddie is a wife and mom. She is an avid reader of wholesome romance novels and a writer. She has a Master's in Biblical Counseling as she believes in the sufficiency of Scripture. As a pastor’s kid, she fell in love with the way Jesus loved her at an early age and wants to encourage others to live for Him through her words. You can find more musings from her at keneeshaliddie.com

Related Resource: Establishing a Routine of Rest

For a long time, rest felt less like a gift and more like a guilty indulgence — something to be earned, something to feel vaguely ashamed of, something that productive, faithful people did not really need. In a world that measures worth by output, the idea of stopping feels dangerously close to falling behind.

But what if rest is not optional? What if it was never meant to be? Tonight, lay down the hustle. Receive the gift. This is exactly what you were made for. Your Nightly Prayer is a daily Christian prayer podcast from the LifeAudio Podcast Network and Crosswalk.com. Each night, the team behind Crosswalk.com brings you a devotional and prayer to help you end your day in conversation with God. May these nightly prayers help you find the words to pray and focus your heart and mind on the love of God as you end your day. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!