Repeat After Me

We are getting ready to start a New Week off with these words of wisdom to help us get through this week with Read: Psalm 141 Bible in a Year: Ezra 6-8; John 21 Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. —Psalm 141:3 (nlt) When Rebecca stood on stage to speak at a conference, her first sentence into the microphone echoed around the room. It was a bit unsettling for her to hear her own words come back at her, and she had to adjust to the faulty sound system and try to ignore the echo of every word she spoke. Imagine what it would be like to hear everything we say repeated! It wouldn’t be so bad to hear ourselves repeat "I love you" or "I was wrong" or “Thank You, Lord” or "I'm praying for you." But not all of our words are beautiful or gentle or kind. What about those angry outbursts or demeaning comments that no one wants to hear once, let alone twice—those words that we would really rather take back? Like the psalmist David, we long to have the Lord’s control over our words. He prayed, "Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips” (Ps. 141:3 nlt). And thankfully, the Lord wants to do that. He can help us control what we say. He can guard our lips. As we learn to adjust to our own sound system by paying careful attention to what we say and praying about the words we speak, the Lord will patiently teach us and even empower us to have self-control. And best of all, He forgives us when we fail and is pleased with our desire for His help. —Anne Cetas Can you think of something you said recently that you would like to take back? Ask the Lord to help you become aware of careless words. Part of self-control is mouth-control. INSIGHT: This psalm is filled with meaningful prayers for protection and can be an encouragement for all of us. Because we live in a world cursed by sin, we need prayer for protection from the damage we can inflict on others in attitude, speech, and behavior (vv. 3-4) as well as protection from those who plan evil against us (vv. 9-10). Dennis Fisher