Category: The Tongue

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The Tongue’s Prayer

My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.
Psalm 119: 172

Dear sister,

How wonderful it would be if our tongue was used only always to speak of God’s word! Imagine the celestial sound of every conversation, every lecture, every song, and every sermon. The harmony would be so euphoric that the stars would sway to the perfect rhythm of God’s perfect poetry! There would be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness—no long suffering, for there would be no suffering at all! This is what Heaven holds for us, the blessed hope for the Believers in Christ, and our tongues shall speak of God’s word, and we shall be forever with our Groom, The Word of God! And so, we wait patiently for that glorious, sinless day.

But, Dear Ones, right now we are here on earth where there is only never an inclination for the tongue to speak of the word of God. A few moments with the television, a few loud sounds of rap from a car, a few shouts from a stadium, and a few rants from an unsatisfied customer in your neighborhood supermarket will show us that the tongue is the cause of anger, slander, complaint, hatred, filthy language, war and murder—the dissonant mess of the world! Right now, the stars are sobbing and the Children of God are striving!

The tongue is in the middle of our mouth. God placed it there for a purpose—to sing praises to Him, to lament with repentance, to converse with Him in prayer, to speak the truth in love to the rebellious, and to praise Him even more! Only always should this be the work of the tongue—designed by the mind of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit! The central location of the tongue should only always remind us that our whole being is for praising and worshiping Him!

Jesus, all God and all man, was able to peer into the hearts of the people that surrounded Him. In Matthew 12:34, He connected their evil heart to the mouth: “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Again in Matthew, a few chapters later, He makes the association: “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” Matthew 15:11

The psalmist, David, surrounded by enemies, understood the need for verbal restraint from what he truly felt in his heart. Notice what he says in Psalm 39:1,
“I said, ‘I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.'”

And David’s son, Solomon, in the wisdom that God gave him, said much the same:
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.
Proverbs 21:23

Because I have not heeded the word of God, and allowed an unbridled tongue to offend, criticize and complain, my soul has been troubled many times.
Precious Sisters, how can I extend solid counsel to you when I have failed to glorify God with my own tongue? There is nothing I can do or say to explain myself out of this sinful dilemma. And so, I shall pray with thankfulness for the Holy Spirit’s kind conviction to our hearts at this time.

Dear Heavenly Father Who created every part of my being, have mercy on me a sinner.
My tongue has caused very large problems for me and for others,
problems that point to the sinful nature that I possess.

Instead of praising Thee, my tongue complained to Thee.
Instead of singing to Thee, my tongue rebelled in discontent.
Instead of proclaiming Thy Word to a needy world, my tongue kept silent in fear.
Instead of presenting the Gospel of Grace, my tongue incited blasphemy.

Precious God, Triune, Holy, Almighty and Compassionate,
the “should haves” for the use of my tongue are numerous.
I should have responded kindly to an unkind person.
I should have prayed for the one who hurt my feelings.
I should have presented the Truth of Thy word to the one who denied and compromised it.

How can it be, Sweet Creator, that this little rudder, of the vessel that I am,
could pull me off course, away from Thy perfect will for me,
and take me to places that make me shudder with shame?
How can it be, Most High God, that I who sing worshipful anthems to Thee with my tongue on Sunday could also engage it in glib gossip, caustic complaints and disgraceful dialogues the remaining week?

Dearest Father, I am ashamed of sin caused by my hurtful tongue, and I have displeased Thee.
Yet you hold me by Thy righteous right hand. I am Thine and You will never let me go.
The sweetness of Thy forgiveness delights my tongue.
The psalms and hymns and spiritual songs have been restored.
May the heart of Christ form words of compassion for every person I meet.
May my tongue confess Christ only always, so that eternal praises may begin today. Amen.

Has this prayer helped you, tearful Sisters—even in a small way? I need to pray this often—only always.

Blessings to you,
Mimi

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The Battle is Won!

Dearest sister,

I sense the pain you feel over the thoughtless words you have spoken and I want to encourage you to go to the Father. I have felt that pain: watching the faces fall of those you love, as your words pierce deeply, causing brokenness and distance between you, and also in your walk with the Lord. I had thought I would spend our time discussing the many reasons why we should strive for godly speech, knowing the power of life and death we carry with our words…but I see now that your heart is penitent for your sin and you simply need to be reassured of not only Christ’s love and work on your behalf, but how his perfect speech covers over your many imperfections.

“As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in him,” Psalm 18:30. Find your refuge in the Lord, even as our enemy seeks to accuse you for your many failures with your words. May I encourage you to also take comfort in the fact that as you stand before God, He sees your words as perfect in the perfect standing you have in Christ. I hope this will give you courage to get up from the pit into which you have fallen, and live the holy life you are called to, knowing you have the flawless words of Christ as your refuge, living inside you.

I’d encourage you to dig deeper into this chapter, Psalm 18, where this verse comes from. This is such a precious passage to me, as I have often seen God powerfully come to my aid in a time of need, as he does here for David, and will do for you. Do you feel as I do, when the evil thoughts and words come? Take comfort that you can cry out to the Lord as we see here: “The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. 5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears,” Psalm 18.

I do not mean to excuse your sinful speech, as I do not condone mine, either. “I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will have to account for every careless word they speak,” Matthew 12:36. But I also know that we can claim the righteousness of Christ as our own when we stand before God. Take heart as you listen to this powerful song, and fight your battle against careless thoughts and speech, with the power of Christ within you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2X2Kh4Sn0Y

Your sister,

Ruth

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The Heart’s Tongue

My Dearest Sister,

​For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a bit of an obsession with words. Their various meanings, spellings, and contexts have always fascinated me. Even though there are only twenty six letters in the English alphabet, when they are combined in different ways they can create over a quarter of a million words, each one unique. And when these words are combined again into sentences they create something that allows for the expression of thoughts and communication. Twenty-six letters structured in specific ways create language, without which we could not exist in the same capacity as we do today. Words, you see, are immensely powerful things. It is no wonder that God advises us to be careful with our words. After all, He is the One who gave us the ability to speak, so He more than anyone knows the capability of our tongues, both for good and for evil.

​Because words and sin often go hand in hand, there are many instances in which God warns us about the potential danger in our tongues. Proverbs 10:19 says that “in the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Words just fly out so easily sometimes don’t they? Even the ones we didn’t mean to say. That’s the problem with words; Once we speak them, they can’t be unspoken. This is precisely why the Lord warns us against not restraining our lips. He would rather us be silent and righteous than chatty and sinful. James 3:5-6 tells us a little more about just how dangerous our speech can be: “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things… [It] is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” The enemy loves it when we we are nasty with our words because it can have such a broad effect in every area of our lives. Sinful speech is pervasive, like a forest fire, and once it spreads it is incredibly hard to control. That’s why we are warned so strongly against letting our tongues run wild. What’s more, our fiery words have lasting consequences. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36-37 that we will be held accountable in the judgement for every idle word we speak. “By your words you will be justified,” He says, “and by your words you will be condemned.” Our words, no matter how trivial they may seem in the moment, will stick with us until we meet God face to face. We will then have to answer for everything we have spoken, both the good and the bad. That may be something to think about the next time you find yourself tempted to say something that you know won’t please the Lord.

​So we see that God is very adamant about having control over our words. But why has He made them so important that they touch our very souls? Why are the consequences so great and the dangers so high? Our words mean a lot to God because they are directly related to the state of our hearts. In Matthew 12:34-35, the same passage mentioned above, Jesus says the following: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” So it’s not so much about the words themselves, sister, as it is about the heart behind the words. If we are good and godly, as God says we are to be, then shouldn’t our words be filled with good treasure? If not, then what does that say about the state of our hearts?

​The only way to fix a sinful tongue then, is to fix the sinful heart first. How do we accomplish such a monumental task as that? Well, if what is coming out our hearts are sinful, evil things then it stands to reason that what is going into our hearts are sinful, evil things. We have to change the input to get a different output. This is why God’s word instructs us in Philippians 4:8 to meditate on all things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, everything of good report, of any virtue, and that are praiseworthy. We can’t expect our words to glorify and please the Lord if what we are exposing our hearts to isn’t glorifying and pleasing to Him as well. This kind of meditation on all things good is not an easy task. The world can very easily fill our hearts with all kinds of nasty, rotten things that displease the Lord if we don’t pay attention. That’s why we are admonished as followers of Christ to be set apart, to be in the world and not of the world. Sometimes this requires a lifestyle change. Maybe it means you need to find a different job, or a new circle of friends, or give up a certain television show or listen to more uplifting music. The point is, if it’s not pleasing to the Lord, then we shouldn’t be focusing our thoughts on it. Instead, we should seek out ways to fill our time with things that are glorifying to the Lord, like studying the Word, earnestly praying at His feet, fellowshipping with other believers, and ministering wherever God has placed you. Only when our hearts are full of God’s good treasure will our tongues follow suit.

​I encourage you, dear sister, to really examine the way you have been using your words. Are they uplifting and glorifying to the Lord? Or are they a symptom of a larger heart problem? If you see any area that needs work – as I know I have – please don’t get discouraged. Remember that we have all fallen short, repent of your sinful speech, and seek out the grace God so willingly provides. Then ask Him to examine your heart, removing any evil treasure, and show you how to fill it with His good treasure instead. I pray that you will leave those sinful, impulsive lips behind and embrace the words of Psalm 35:28: “And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness, and Your praise all the day long.”

​With much love and encouragement,
​~ Lauren Titcomb

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A Gentle Tongue; a Tree of Life

Dear sister,

Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” In Bible study last week we talked about what it means to be gentle. Another word for gentleness that you may also find in the Scripture is meekness. We discussed that meekness or gentleness is power under control. The tongue is a powerful device of the body. It holds both the power to kill and the power to give life. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” If we are to have a gentle tongue we must exercise control over its power.

Words can hurt—even when people don’t mean to hurt us with them we can still find ourselves deeply wounded by them. They are even more painful when the words come from the mouth of a beloved friend or family member. It can take a long time to heal from the emotional damage that is caused by careless speech.

For me, I can still remember the words that a close friend said to me one day while we were having coffee together. To this day they still hurt and to this day she is still unaware of the pain she caused in just one sentence of our conversation. It is in these moments of mournful remembrance that I am tempted to pity myself and tell myself, “I didn’t deserve that. Who does she think she is?” and then I catch myself. I’m not perfect. There have probably been numerous times when I have hurt others with my words without being aware of it. I simply cannot pass judgment on my friend without also passing judgment on myself.

Whatever our words have been in the past we must strive to speak with gentleness now and in the future. Proverbs 15 says the ‘gentle tongue is a tree of life.’ Imagine a prospering tree. It is big, strong and tall. Its leaves are green and vibrant and it stands firm through any storm. If we control the power of our tongue we can be a tree of life to others; we can bringing healing and give life. The alternative is brokenness and death.
What will your words be marked by?
Striving with you,
Kayla

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Shush!

Dear Sisters,

I know it all. At least I like to think I do. As you can imagine, I often find myself needing to apologize. I loathe apologizing! So, when I read a devotion about an obscure verse in Proverbs advocating an approach that did not involve apologizing for my verbal errors, you can be sure I paid attention.

“If you have been foolish in exalting yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.” Proverbs 30:32

Dr. Gil Stieglitz points out, ”God’s inspired words — through Agur the son of Jakeh — gives us a very interesting solution to the problem of bragging about yourself or foolish self-promotion. He doesn’t say what one would think would be said — that you should apologize and admit you were guilty. Because if you did you would still be drawing attention to yourself…. The solution is to just stop talking. Put a hand over your mouth. Let the conversation go on without you. Let someone else determine the topic. Most likely they will not pick you as the topic. This will allow you to blend into the group and or to allow conversations about people and things that brings balance to the conversation.”

When I have stopped to think back over my conversations with others through the day, I often blush wondering how I could have thought some of my comments wise. At times in the midst of my silly diatribes, I have tried to bumble my way through an apology, searching for appropriate words, missing the opportunity and the mark. How much better it would be (though in many ways, harder) to just fade into the background, silent.

Something else is implied in the verse—yes, I may at times speak without wisdom and need to still my tongue; but first, I have to recognize the Holy Spirit is telling me to, “Shush!” Dear Sisters, until I reach the point of only speaking wisely, I pray I may always feel the nudge of the Spirit to close my mouth so I may not further myself when I should have only been singing His praises.

Running with you,

Rebecca