Hidden Faults

       I've heard people say, "What if there is hidden sin in my life that I don't know about? How can I pray about it?" At one of my jobs, they offered classes periodically that the employees could take to improve their communication skills. Due to slow days at the office during the summer months, I signed up for a class on becoming a better listener. My thought was to improve on the skills I already employed. Boy, was that class an eye-opener! Not only was I not a good listener, but some of my habits were actually considered off-putting by others.  

    Without that training, I would have continued to utilize "skills" that I thought were effective, but in reality were "hidden faults" that I didn't even realize were problematic. I grew up with people that "listened" to me and others in that same manner and assumed those were good tactics since my family had use them. Proverbs 1:7 (NIV) reminds us about the need for ongoing instruction, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." 

    I've heard people say, "This is just something I've always done," while knowing their acquired behavior was not the best for them. The idea of giving up old habits that aren't working, but are too familiar to release, is a struggle for all of us. We often cling to the comfortable, even if these attitudes or behaviors may in fact be hidden faults. King David in Psalms 19:12-14 addresses this issue in his own life, "...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. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

    David addresses two issues in this passage: "hidden faults" and "willful sin." He doesn't gloss over either type of sin, but rather has the goal of being "blameless, innocent of great transgression," and ensuring that his mouth and heart speak words and meditations that are "pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." What if we were willing to pray for all our sins, known and unknown, and then simply desire that all that comes out of us is pleasing in the sight of the LORD? This prayer seems like a good way to begin exposing "hidden faults" and asking God for "wisdom and instruction." 

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.