At the end of any period of learning, there is usually an examination process. It may be in the form of a test or project but there is usually some means of showcasing what you have learned. When you examine yourself, you are actually testing or judging yourself. You can do this by asking God to help you. It is important to know how to conduct self-examination.

How much do you know about the power of prayer? In order to conduct self-examination, it all begins with prayer. It is a simple conversation with God in earnest honesty. There are some examples of prayer in the Bible that has gotten a hold of God’s attention. You do not need to reinvent the wheel. The scriptures had real people with real problems saying real prayers that got them through many terrible situations.

Related Post: 5 reasons self-examination is important.

 

The Bible has real people, with real problems saying real prayers that got them through many terrible situations.Click To Tweet

 

And those very same prayers are available to you. When you utilize God’s word in your prayers to him, you are showing him that you take him at His word.

But before you pray, you have to examine yourself.

Psalms.139:23-24 is a great example of the type of prayer you can utter. You may not remember everything that you did but God does. If you ask, he can bring it to your memory and confession can be made.

Lamentations 3:40 is another example of prayer for self-examination. Judah needed to turn back to God in repentance for relief and restoration.

There are some other points that I would like to highlight about this important topic that I didn’t mention in the first blog post on self-examination.

 

A healthy balance

 

A healthy balance is very important when you are conducting self-examination. There is such a tight rope when it comes to self-examination where you can easily slip into one of two extremes.

If you look at others you will be upset.

If you look at yourself you will be depressed.

When you look to God you will be blessed.

 

If you look at others you will be upset. If you look at yourself you will be depressed. When you look to God you will be blessed.Click To Tweet

 

My dad said those words during his sermon and I realized the raw truth behind them. Deep introspection can only have one goal- it should be to remove everything that will hinder your relationship with Jesus. For this to happen, your focus should be on Christ and Him alone.

When you look at other believers, all you will see is their failures and shortcomings. You are guaranteed to become upset and even self-righteous. It is so easy to fall into a comparison battle when you keep looking at everyone else and what they are doing or not doing right.

Then there is another extreme, you can look so deeply at yourself that you end up feeling hopeless.  Our heart is desperately wicked, yes, but if we look at ourselves through our own eyes and not through the eyes of God- we will just feel despondent.

Get more insight here.

In order to have a healthy balance, we need to focus on Christ. When you do self-examination, don’t think that you are better than anyone else, don’t think that you worse than everyone else- see yourself through the eyes of God. You are a daughter of God that has fallen short and is seeking forgiveness from your Father.

And your Father is ready and willing to forgive you for any sin that you confess.

Study the word of God.

 

If you are going to regularly examine yourself, you have to study God’s word. It has the power to convict the believer that has erred from God.

When you have no idea a certain sin is wrong, then you have no need to confess and forsake it.

The Bible is God’s love letter and manual for our lives. When athletes qualify to participate in the Olympics, there are rules and procedures that they have to follow. If they are not at the correct desired weight they are not chosen.

There is no way that someone can train for the Olympics without first knowing exactly what they need to do to accomplish their goal.

So it is, that believers have to study the word of God so that we can be effective ministers and representatives of God.

God’s word doesn’t just tell us what not to do; there is plenty of encouragement about what we should do when it comes to examining ourselves and pleasing God. True change can only happen with the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:29

At the very end, it all boils down to this one question. Our next point.

 

Do you truly love God?

 

You may say that you do. Maybe you can quote the scripture that says you love him with your mind, soul, heart, and strength. But is it true?

Are you growing in grace or stagnant? Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 13:5

Is your life reflecting Jesus?

Are you willing to allow God to search you, try you and prove you?

Job was willing to go the distance and when he questioned God, he was put in his place through a couple of chapters as God asked him question after question.

If we are going to serve God in sincerity and truth, it is important that we search ourselves, let God help us recall any transgression, and ask for his forgiveness.

It is time to participate in the war against our sin.

This is the time to show God that we truly love him. Don’t harbor sin in your life; confess, repent, and forsake it.

Other scriptural references:

Isaiah.64:8

Exodus 4:1-17

Matthew 9:9-13

2 Timothy 1:8-14

 

Thanks for stopping by. I love you with the love of Christ.

Keneesha 🙂