Watch Pastor Lauderdale’s message titled I’m Done Hiding on YouTube.
Scripture: Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV)
Some prayers change everything. There is a prayer in Scripture that is both dangerous and freeing at the same time, and it is found in Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV).
It is dangerous because God will answer it, and it’s a refining process that’s not always comfortable or convenient. But it is also one of the most liberating prayers you will ever pray. If you have ever wondered what the Bible says about shame or what the Bible says about being honest with God, this prayer is where it begins.
David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” in Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV).
This is not a surface prayer. This is a surrender prayer. This is the kind of prayer that invites God into every hidden place, every wounded place, and every place we would rather keep covered.
And that matters because we are living in a time when people know how to present themselves, but do not always know how to be honest. We know how to look strong, look blessed, look happy, and look put together. But God is not after appearances. God is after truth in the inward parts. He wants to heal what we hide, restore what shame has broken, and lead us into the freedom that only He can give.
If that’s what you long for, then make this your declaration today:
Shame has a way of pushing people into hiding. It tells you to cover up, stay quiet, and keep your struggle to yourself. But the Bible shows us that hiding did not begin with us. It goes all the way back to the Garden. After Adam sinned, he said, Genesis 3:10 (KJV), “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Fear led to hiding. Guilt led to distance. Shame led to isolation.
That is why what the Bible says about shame is so important. Shame may tell you to run, but God calls you to come into the light. Scripture tells us that our own hearts can deceive us in Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV), and it tells us in Hebrews 4:13 (KJV) that nothing is hidden from God. He sees the secret struggle, the private pain, the quiet guilt, and the fear behind the smile. Yet He still loves us. That means hiding is not protecting us. Hiding is preventing healing.
One morning, a grandmother and her five-year-old granddaughter walked into my office. That little girl confidently announced that she could sing. When I asked her to sing for me, she opened her mouth without hesitation and declared, “I’m done hiding! I was a ghost, I was alone, given the throne. I didn’t know how to believe. I’m done hiding. Now, I’m shining like I’m born to be.”
That simple moment carried a deeper message. It touched my heart, and it was the inspiration for this message.
If a five-year-old child can make that kind of declaration without fear, then what is stopping grown people from telling the truth before God?
What the Bible says about being honest with God is both plain and powerful. David prayed, “Search me,” and then he prayed, “Try me.” That means he was not only asking God to reveal what was in him, but also to refine what needed to change. Scripture promises in 1 John 1:9 (KJV) that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not some of it. Not the easy parts. All of it. Honesty with God is not the doorway to rejection. It is the doorway to cleansing.
Too many people are exhausted because they are managing appearances while carrying pain. They hide behind success, busyness, relationships, church activity, or a carefully rehearsed “I’m fine.” But God does not ask us to impress Him. He asks us to come clean before Him. That is why 1 John 1:7 (KJV) says that when we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Walking in the light means no more hiding.
If we are going to come out of hiding, we have to do more than admit that shame is real. We have to respond to God’s Word. In Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV), David gives us a pattern for how that happens. This is not just a prayer to read. It is a prayer to live. And it leads us through three clear moves: confront your condition, confess your chaos, and claim your confidence.
David begins by praying, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” That is a courageous prayer, because it means inviting God into every room of your life. It means telling the Lord, “Look at all of me. Not just the polished parts. Not just the public parts. Look at the hidden parts too.” Most people spend their lives building walls, protecting appearances, and managing what others can see.
But freedom does not begin with image management. Freedom begins with honest surrender before God.
This is where many people struggle. We know how to look strong while feeling weak. We know how to smile while carrying sorrow. We know how to stay active in church while still wrestling privately with fear, bitterness, guilt, addiction, insecurity, or shame. But the Lord is not fooled by our presentation, and thank God for that. According to Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV), the heart is deceitful above all things. We do not even fully know ourselves. That is why we need God to search us.
Scripture also says in Hebrews 4:13 (KJV) that nothing is hidden from His sight. Everything is open before Him. That means God already sees the thing you are trying to keep covered. He sees the secret sin, the private struggle, the hidden wound, the buried offense, and the silent grief.
And still, He loves you. That is what makes this first step so important. To confront your condition is not to stand in condemnation. It is to stand in truth so that God can begin the work of restoration.
We see this pattern all the way back in Genesis 3:10 (KJV), when Adam said, “I was afraid… and I hid myself.” Shame has always pushed people to hide. But when you confront your condition before God, you stop letting fear tell your story. You stop pretending. You stop performing. You stop hiding behind “I’m fine” when you know you are not.
David continues, “Try me, and know my thoughts.” That word “try” carries the idea of testing, refining, and exposing what is really there. God does not do this to destroy us. He does it to purify us. He brings truth to the surface so that what is broken can be dealt with by His grace. That means the second step is not just to let God search you. It is to let God deal with what He finds.
This is where what the Bible says about honesty becomes deeply personal. Being honest with God is not vague spirituality. It is confession. It is bringing your fear, your pain, your doubt, your anger, your shame, and your sin into the light. Some people have carried guilt for so long that they have learned to function around it. Others have buried their hurt so deeply that they call it strength. But hidden things still affect the heart. And until they are confessed, they continue to shape how we live.
The good news is that God meets confession with cleansing. In 1 John 1:9 (KJV), Scripture says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That means you do not have to clean yourself up before you come to God. You come honestly, and God does the cleansing. You come truthfully, and God gives grace. You come out of hiding, and God meets you in the light.
And 1 John 1:7 (KJV) reminds us that when we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. That means walking in the light is not about pretending you have no struggle. It is about refusing to hide your struggle from the One who can heal it. Stop protecting your pain. Stop defending your dysfunction. Stop hiding your hurt. Bring it to Jesus. Let Him cleanse what shame has tried to cover.
David closes by praying, “Lead me in the way everlasting.” That is such a powerful ending, because it reminds us that God does not only expose what is wrong. He also leads us into what is right. He does not just pull us out of darkness. He directs our steps into life. So after we confront our condition and confess our chaos, we must claim our confidence in God.
This confidence is not rooted in perfection. It is rooted in forgiveness, grace, and direction. Some people have been honest about what they are carrying, but they still feel uncertain about what comes next. They have laid it before God, but now they need Him to lead them. And that is exactly what He promises to do. In Proverbs 3:5–6 (KJV), we are told to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths.
That is what makes freedom possible. You do not have to figure your future out alone. You do not have to remain stuck in the same cycle. You do not have to keep circling the same shame, the same fear, or the same old identity. Jesus said in John 14:6 (KJV) that He is the way, the truth, and the life. And 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) tells us that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new.
To claim your confidence is to believe that God’s grace is greater than your past, that His truth is stronger than your shame, and that His hand is able to lead you into a new way of living. You can lift your head again. You can walk forward again. You can trust God again. Not because everything is easy, but because the Lord is faithful.
Peter gives us a picture of what this looks like in real life. He was bold, vocal, and confident. He believed he would stand with Jesus no matter what. But when the pressure came, Peter denied Him three times. And after that failure, shame drove Peter into hiding. He was broken by what he had done.
But Peter’s failure was not the end of his story. Jesus rose from the dead and went looking for him. That is the hope of the Gospel. Jesus does not just rise in power. He rises in pursuit. He comes after people who have failed, people who are ashamed, people who feel disqualified, and people who are hiding in the shadows of regret. He restores what shame tried to bury.
Peter went from hiding to preaching, from denial to boldness, from shame to strength. That is what Jesus does. He takes broken people and restores them. He takes those who have been hiding and brings them into the light. He takes those who have been silenced by guilt and gives them a new testimony.
The resurrection changes everything. Because Jesus got up, shame does not get the last word. Because Jesus got up, hiding does not have to define your future. Because Jesus got up, you can come into the light and find grace there. You do not have to stay where guilt left you. You do not have to remain trapped in secrecy, fear, or self-condemnation.
This is the invitation of the Gospel: confront your condition, confess your chaos, and claim your confidence. Let God search you. Let God cleanse you. Let God lead you. He is not calling you out of hiding to cast you away. He is calling you out of hiding to restore you, renew you, and set your feet on a new path.
So hear the Word of the Lord clearly: be honest with God. Bring the hidden thing into the light. Trust Him with the part of your life you have been trying to manage on your own. And hold on to this promise from Psalm 32:8 (KJV): “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Beloved, you do not have to stay hidden. God sees you, knows you, loves you, and is still calling you forward. So make the declaration in faith: I’m done hiding. And trust the grace of God to meet you in the light.
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