Heart Check

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

There are two telling things about us, one are the words we speak. The other is the thoughts we think. The psalmist prays not only over his words but also over the meditation of his heart. To merely say, “God, help me to be careful what I say” would be like treating the symptoms without addressing the cause. 

There have been times when I wanted to say something that I knew was not right and I had to stop myself, but my prayer was not, “Lord, let me hold my tongue.” But rather, “Lord, change what’s in my heart.” In Matthew 12, Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” The contents of the heart is the rudder that steers the tongue. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 

If you find yourself saying things you know you shouldn’t, perhaps your prayer should be that of the psalmist, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” 

Get the heart right and the rest will fall into place.