O search me, God, and know my heart

O test me and know my thoughts.

See that I follow not the wrong path

and lead me in the path of life eternal.

On a first reading of this passage it might strike one as strange that we are asking God to know our hearts and minds.  Surely God knows everything already.  Christ even said to sinners in reprimand "God knows your hearts." (Luke 16.15)  It is really a request for deep inner communion with our beautiful Savior, that he enter into all the myriad chambers of our heart and hallways of our mind and thereby reveal us to ourselves.  This he will not do without our permission, for he says: "Listen!  I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (Revelation 3.20)  It is really a longing for integrity, a profound prayer of trust that Jesus will let us know if we are off the path, if we are deceiving ourselves through our own pride and ego.

To even utter such a prayer the soul must have complete trust that God can and will enter in and take possession of us. Therefore let us make every effort to prepare the innermost chambers, to sweep clean the hallways and take out the trash of sin.  Let us sweeten the air with the incense of repentance and trust.  Let us furnish our rooms with all the virtues, most especially love of God and neighbor.  But I beg the sinner to not wait to do this before inviting God into your life or else you never will.  Invite him in and he will slowly, gently reveal your inner secrets to you, guiding you to change and growth, illuminating the darkest corners.

All the churches will know
that I am the one who searches minds and hearts (Revelation 2.23)

See that I follow not the wrong path

and lead me in the path of life eternal.

Our dear Lord himself taught us to pray with the same intention.  "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6.13)