When I was first starting out in my faith, I didn’t really know what spiritual gifts were, but I remember telling someone that I thought my spiritual gift was talking. Their response told me that talking wasn’t really a spiritual gift, but over time, I learned that they might not necessarily be totally correct in that. I learned that God can use my mouth to bless people or to tear them down if I’m not careful. It’s all about surrendering my heart, and the words that flow from it to Him. Today, I want to talk about how we can do just that.
Psalm 141 might sound familiar if you’ve read the Proverbs. It’s an individual lament where David pours his heart out to God and complains about his situation. In this Psalm, David asks God to help him control his words and affirms his devotion to Him.
David starts the Psalm with a sense of urgency, asking God to quickly answer his prayer. We’ve all been there before, right? Sometimes we just need relief from whatever is weighing us down. He talks about how he wants his prayer to be like incense before God, and we can imagine him in the evening with his hands raised up towards the heavens as he prays. It’s a posture of surrender.
In verses 3 and 4, David asks God to guard not just his mouth, but also his heart. He wants to be kept from sinning with his speech and from even thinking inappropriate things. I have to give David props for that because, honestly, when I’m frustrated, I want to let my mouth run if I am honest. But that’s where having a relationship with God comes in. We need His help to control our words and our thoughts.
If this is something that you could use a little support in, check out the audio devotional on the podcast here:
Praying this episode blesses you!