“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

I imagine that very few people enjoy taking tests, especially those of us who need to pass tests to maintain their employment. For me, the thought of losing out on a promotion, or even your employment all together, based on the result of a test is a heavy weight to endure. Luckily, I’m not required to take these tests often, but even knowing that they will come up every few years is still a bit concerning. Today’s verse speaks of a different kind of test, and one that has much greater consequences than affecting your occupation. Here the psalmist puts to test the “words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart.” Basically, acknowledging that God knows all, and asking God to hear his words and search his heart. In this case, the psalmist was asking God to test his words of prayer. Prior to today’s verse the psalmist prays, “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” – Psalm 19:12-13. And it was these words (along with verse 1-11) that the psalmist wanted Got to “be pleasing in [His] sight.” Verse Psalm 19:14 serves as a challenge for each of us to apply to our own prayer life. We know that it is God’s will that we should pray to be the outcome. And the test to pass is this: For us to pray to our Heavenly Father; opening our heart and mind to God; and ask Him to examine our request with the hope that He will find it pleasing. Today, we understand that God already knows all. So, we are to pray openly and honestly to God, under the assumption that when God examines our deeper desires behind the prayer, He would find them pleasing.