Tag Archives: Prayer for Cleansing

A Heart Laid Bare Before God

“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” — Psalm 139:23-24 (AMP)

This is not a casual request. It is a daring prayer—a plea for God to examine the deepest places of our hearts. David invites God to search him, to expose anything hidden, anything unclean, anything that does not align with His holiness. It takes courage to pray this way because when God searches, He reveals. When you pray “Search my heart O God,” you must be ready for an honest examination.

Our hearts can be deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9). We often justify our actions, excuse our motives, and dismiss the small compromises that dull our sensitivity to God. But David doesn’t want anything left in the shadows. He longs for the refining fire of God’s presence to purify him and lead him into the way everlasting. Thus, the prayer to “Search my heart O God” is a call for cleansing and renewal.

Are we willing to pray like this? Are we ready to surrender our defenses and allow God to reveal the places in us that need healing, repentance, and transformation? This is the posture of a heart that truly seeks after God—not just in word but in surrender. Saying “Search my heart O God” means giving God permission to fully examine us.

Let today be the day we echo David’s prayer. Invite God to search you, to test your thoughts, to uproot anything that does not belong. He does not search to condemn but to cleanse. He leads us, not into shame, but into the everlasting way—closer to His heart, deeper into His presence. It starts with the sincere prayer: Search my heart O God.

Search my heart O God

Prayer:

El Roi, the God who sees all, I come before You with an open heart. Search me. Reveal anything that does not please You. Expose the hidden motives, the unspoken fears, and the compromises I have ignored. Purify me and lead me in the way everlasting. I long to walk in Your truth, unhindered by sin, fully surrendered to You. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.

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Prayer of Cleansing

Heavenly Father,

We come before You with humble hearts, acknowledging our need for Your cleansing power. As the psalmist cried out, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12), we too ask for Your mercy. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin (Psalm 51:2). Purge us with hyssop, and we shall be clean; wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7). Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us (Psalm 51:10).

For Your name’s sake, O Lord, deliver us and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s glory (Psalm 79:9). Just as Peter requested, we ask, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9). Immerse us fully in Your purifying presence.

Lord, we ask that Your Spirit come mightily upon us, transforming us into new creations with hearts set on You (1 Samuel 10:6). Renew our minds, that we may be conformed to Your will, and not to this world (Romans 12:2). Strengthen us, that we might rise up with wings like eagles, running and not growing weary, walking and not fainting (Isaiah 40:31). Grant us a new heart and a new spirit, as You have promised, that we might walk in Your statutes (Ezekiel 18:31).

We trust that You, who began a good work in us, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). For it is You who works in us, both to will and to do for Your good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Transform us daily into the image of Christ, renewing us in knowledge and holiness (Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:23). Let the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit be evident in our lives (Titus 3:5), as obedient children of the Most High (1 Peter 1:14).

Father, hear our prayer, that Your people may be revived and turned back to You (1 Kings 18:37, 2 Chronicles 19:4). Restore our souls, O Lord, and lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and uphold us by Your generous Spirit (Psalm 51:12). Bring us back from our wayward paths, for You are the God of our salvation (Psalm 85:4, Jeremiah 3:22).

Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed; save us, and we shall be saved, for You are our praise (Jeremiah 30:17). Heal our backsliding and love us freely, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea (Hosea 14:4, Micah 7:19). Let us sit at Your feet, clothed and in our right minds, rejoicing in the newness of life (Luke 8:35, Luke 15:22).

O Lord, restore us to Yourself, and we shall return; renew our days as of old (Lamentations 5:21). We pray that Christ be fully formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and that we may bear one another’s burdens, fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1).

We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

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