.jpg) |
| This gorgeous, meaningful graphic is by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings. |
Every day I pray about one character flaw or sin issue in my life. I have a page in my prayer journal for each of the 20+ issues I'm aware of to date. Speaking before thinking is one of my toughest ones. I've made progress in this area -- a lot of progress -- but I'm far from nailing it. This morning as I prayed my way through this page, I decided it might be helpful to others, too. So here is the page, just as I have it written in my prayer journal.
===============================================================
Character Flaws
5. Speaking before thinking
"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." (Proverbs 21:23)
"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; but he that refraineth his lips is wise." (Proverbs 10:19)
"The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things." (Proverbs 15:28)
"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
"Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." (Proverbs 17:27-28)
"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
"Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him." (Proverbs 29:11, 20)
"I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." (Psalm 17:32)
From these and from many other verses concerning the tongue, I know God wants me to be careful with my speech. Speaking before thinking does not lend itself to careful speech. May the Lord help me to stop and think and weigh my words (and maybe even pray) before speaking!
=================================================================
So that is my prayer page on careful speech. I may have shared this before; I can't remember. But it sure bears repeating in my life!
The wonderful, thought-provoking graphic below is also by Abby:
 |
| Graphic from Little Birdie Blessings |
A good friend of mine and I were discussing this very thing. I had to ask another friend's forgiveness over something I said without thinking!
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Arlene! I caught myself (but not in time!) speaking before thinking very, very recently. It's a scary thought to me that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
ReplyDeleteFunny...I was just thinking about this the other day...seems I have an apology to make as well.
ReplyDeleteOur words are so important and I find it such a challenge to be careful with my speech. My heart's desire is to speak only what's "good to the use of edifying" ... but oh, how quickly my flesh wants to push that aside and just jump in and have its say. Often without warning. And then, as you and Arlene both noted, comes the need to apologize. It's a constant battle, isn't it?
ReplyDelete