“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, my strength, and my redeemer”.
Psalm 19:14
Do we REALLY know what this means? I remember reciting this Bible verse that I was forced to learn, as a teenager. I used to just say it without knowing what it meant. I was being obedient to my foster parents who were prominent in their small Baptist Church.
Psalm 19:14, whether people realize it or not, is a very powerful verse that, in my opinion, should be quoted daily, by those who profess to be Christian, born again, or followers of Christ. Why? Because it will keep us aware of WHAT WE SAY and WHAT WE THINK.
Let the WORDS OF MY MOUTH. What does this mean? It’s not deep. It simply means LET WHAT I SAY…be acceptable in THY Sight O Lord, My Strength and My Redeemer. You mean I have to watch what I say? I actually have to be mindful of what comes out of my mouth? YES!
See, what we say, most of the time is a direct result of what we think. Do you find yourself meditating on or thinking on something and the next thing you know, you blurt it out? I have, and it’s not always nice.
The Bible teaches us a lot about the mouth and thoughts. Here are some scriptures that minister to us about what we say and think:
Philippians 4:8 (What We Think). Let’s read it. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things“.
Proverbs 21:23 (What We Say)
Whosoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Ephesians 4:20-32 (What We Say)
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.26 Be ye angry , and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:27 Neither give place to the devil.28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour , working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth .29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers .30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:32 And be ye kind one to another , tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Psalm 141:3 (What We Say)
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
***Now this is a prayer that we should pray constantly if we have a problem with our mouths.
Matthew 15:18 (What we say and think)
“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
I can continue to go on with Scriptures but I think we get the point. As born again Christians, we are to be mindful of what we THINK AND SAY, for once the words come out of our mouths, they cannot return. We must be mindful of what we meditate on because whatever is IN us, is what is going to come OUT of us. This is why it is important for us to thing on good things, things that are praiseworthy, things that are of good report.
If you are having a problem of speaking and thinking those things that are not acceptable in the “sight of God”, then we should be praying about this, fervently.
How do we change the way we talk and think? We do this by meditating on the Word of God. We do this by being RENEWED in the spirit of our minds…Ephesians 4:23. We do this by being TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS…Romans 12:2. If we continue to do the same OLD things we will never change. We must WANT TO CHANGE so as to be living a holy life before a holy God.
There have been times when I wanted to speak my mind to someone who has said or done something wrong to me but the Holy Spirit would not allow me to speak those things. However, I had to repent of the things I thought about that person. Even as I write this post, I think back to the times when I have said something I wish I could take back. I think back to the times when I was called out of my name and absolutely had the right to defend myself and say some things to this person that could have shut her up or hurt her as she was trying to hurt me, but because I was focused on how God was going to view what I said to her, I refrained my mouth from speaking evil to her. Was it hard? Actually, for the most part, it wasn’t because I was purposely thinking about pleasing God. However, once I got into my flesh, I felt myself raising up and getting ready to retaliate with my mouth. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who didn’t allow me to give in to my flesh. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who brought the Word of God back to my mind. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who assured me that the person who was attacking me would have to answer to God, the same God whom I was trying to please with my words while I was being attacked.
I am here to tell you that if you want to please God, you can. Yes, even in the midst of your enemy attacking you. If you are purposed in our heart to think and say those things that are pleasing to God, I know that I know that I know that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide you and you will leave your enemy wondering what just happened. Hallelujah!
So, let’s meditate on Psalm 19:14 and Psalm 141:3. These are two of the most POWERFUL SCRIPTURES we can use if we want to please God in our thinking and speaking.
Sincerely submitted by
Theresa Jeanette Scott
Evangelist, Author, Radio Producer/host
Out of a Pure Heart Ministries 