“O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah”
—Psalm 7:3-5 ESV

In these verses, David hands himself over to the justice of God.

He doesn’t assume that he is without fault, and instead of trying to argue his own case, he simply appeals to God’s judgment and asks him to do what is right.

And here we learn an important lesson: justice isn’t always convenient.

Put another way: if we pray to God for justice, we need to be prepared for him to challenge our own faults as well.

This makes me think of Matthew 7:5, where Jesus warned his listeners that before condemning others others, “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:5 NIV).

In other words, we should be slow to point out the faults of others and quick to bring our own faults before God in humility.

There are always multiple sides to a story, and only God has the authority to determine who is right.

Here is a short prayer to help you invite God into every moment of your day:

Inhale: God,
Exhale: Search my heart.