Prov. 13:3
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
Anyone who has ever had foot-in-mouth disease or has said a word in haste without thinking can buy into this proverb. Not only will guarding the tongue preserve your life, it will also make life so much easier to live. Why is the tongue such a problem?
James says the tongue is a small member yet boasts of many things. He goes on to say that the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness that is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. Man may tame many things but not the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. What to do?? Such a problem...James says simply, My brothers these things ought not to be.
We so agree with James! We are appalled at what we say, but how to change it? We know that it can't be tamed, but it can be transformed by the amazing grace of God! Initially, we need to pray like David did asking God to Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! and then continue by saying, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. We do not have to remain helpless, but we do need to acknowledge our helplessness and cry out for God to be our sufficiency. We need the divine scrubber to do the job on our tongue, mouth, and lips. When words come bubbling out, we need to pray in that moment, confessing and asking for more grace. Don't wait until evening to confess. If we do, just think of how many times the tongue will blurt out with ungodly words, words that are unkind or impatient, words that are not bringing honor to God. This is a very real problem, one that needs divine power! We need to give up trying to defeat the tongue in our own strength and access the strength that only He supplies. We need to come into the daily battle loaded with God's words as our weapons so that in His power we can be victorious!
Father,
I confess so many times my mouth says things it shouldn't. Often I just think it's normal or justifiable so I forget all about what I have said. Lord, touch me at the express moment so that I might confess. Make me aware of the hurtful power of words. Energize my words to praise You and to love other through Your strength.
In Jesus name and power,
Amen
James says the tongue is a small member yet boasts of many things. He goes on to say that the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness that is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. Man may tame many things but not the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. What to do?? Such a problem...James says simply, My brothers these things ought not to be.
We so agree with James! We are appalled at what we say, but how to change it? We know that it can't be tamed, but it can be transformed by the amazing grace of God! Initially, we need to pray like David did asking God to Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! and then continue by saying, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. We do not have to remain helpless, but we do need to acknowledge our helplessness and cry out for God to be our sufficiency. We need the divine scrubber to do the job on our tongue, mouth, and lips. When words come bubbling out, we need to pray in that moment, confessing and asking for more grace. Don't wait until evening to confess. If we do, just think of how many times the tongue will blurt out with ungodly words, words that are unkind or impatient, words that are not bringing honor to God. This is a very real problem, one that needs divine power! We need to give up trying to defeat the tongue in our own strength and access the strength that only He supplies. We need to come into the daily battle loaded with God's words as our weapons so that in His power we can be victorious!
Father,
I confess so many times my mouth says things it shouldn't. Often I just think it's normal or justifiable so I forget all about what I have said. Lord, touch me at the express moment so that I might confess. Make me aware of the hurtful power of words. Energize my words to praise You and to love other through Your strength.
In Jesus name and power,
Amen
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