There are times when we know we should seek a scrubbing from God. Only his bristles are firm enough to remove our accumulated gunk, and only his soap is strong enough to cut through the layers of our lamentable stains. 

King David knew his heart. He knew how he worked to keep clean. He also knew there were aspects of his own soul he could not see for himself. There was dirt he could not see from where he sat. In all vulnerability, he invited God to have a look. 

This may seem like a risky prayer. David knew it was not. God’s love is greater than his wrath. His purpose is to enjoy us forever. His response to our request cleanses, heals, restores, and improves us to the point we can live in his presence with awe and delight, not terror and abnegation. 

David knew he was good, but he also knew good was not enough. He required more of what only God could provide. He wanted to live in the very center of God’s faithful love that endures forever. He wanted every footfall to be guided by God’s grace. He had discovered life at its best. It is found in full adoration of God and complete immersion in his will and ways. 

There are abundant lessons here. They are not hard to see. Take them to heart. Trust God to be kinder than you ever imagined. Trust him to love you beyond any failure of your life. Ask him to take a peek at your dark places. Expect him to expose them fully in his radiant light. Thank him for seeing you as you are and loving you anyway. Praise him for how he, in all his majesty, not only sees us for who we are but for who we can be by his mercy, grace, kindness, and compassion.

Pray this prayer King David uttered so long ago. Join with the multitudes across the ages who have likewise come clean with God. Participate in whatever God wants to do with you right now. Know he is preparing you for a glorious life in the present and an even more glorious eternity. 

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I will come clean with God.

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Our Father, I again come to you with my namesake’s prayer. Thank you for leading him not only to pray, but to preserve his prayers to teach us how to pray. And so I pray, “Test me, Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind. For your faithful love guides me, and I live by your truth.” Amen.