Open My Lips
Let’s discuss how our lips can praise God rather than cause trouble. http://talk.thelife.com/
“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise…??? (Psalm 51:15)
Our lips can get us in trouble faster than we can imagine sometimes. Have your lips ever opened and you wonder why you ever said what you did? We probably all have.
That’s why God gives us good perspective on open lips. He gives us important things to consider in this matter of the mouth. He knows that if we pay attention to His thoughts on this we will grow to be more proactive in what we say… and less reactive. God can help us choose our speech each day and help us keep that foot out of our mouth!
As you begin your day ask God to help you implement these two “open mouth policies.???
“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise…??? (Psalm 51:15)
Ask God to set a guard at your mouth and to help you, first of all, voice praise to Him. Find the things in your situations to be thankful for and voice them. If you can’t find anything to be thankful for praise God for His character, that He is able to do more than you can imagine in your situation. Declare praise! It is a powerful tool of your mouth!
“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…??? (Proverbs 10:11)
We seldom feel like we are righteous. Yet God calls us just that as His children who have accepted the forgiveness He offers through Jesus. As His children He tells us our mouths should be “a fountain of life.??? What a word picture!
A fountain gives off…
* refreshment
* cooling from the heat
* cleansing
* encouragement that brings life
* beauty
Ask God today to help you as you speak. Ask Him to open your lips to bring life words to those you encounter. Many are desperately in need of a word of encouragement. As we become proactive in speaking praise to God first, our own hearts will become encouraged. Then we will be more able to allow Him to flow a fountain of life words through our lips. Ask God to fill your mouth with His words and His ways. You will find yourself less reactive with words that tend to cut and bring hurt and destruction.
~Father God,
Today I ask that You would fill my mouth with thanksgiving and praise to You first. Let me be aware of bringing a fountain of life into the situations where I walk and into the rooms I enter today. Help me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, to use my lips to speak life words. In Jesus’ strong name I pray. Amen.
About the Author
This devotional was written by Gail Rodgers. Learn more about Gail: http://www.talk.thelife.com/authors/gail-rodgers/
Questions
What have the words of my mouth reflected lately?
How can I move toward using my lips as a fountain of life?
Are you willing to ask God to fill your mouth with words that bless Him and others?
Comments
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12 Responses to “Open My Lips”
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This is EXACTLY what God has been dealing with me lately. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight oh Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” I AM a reactor and I don’t want to be that. Not always is it the words that come out of my mouth but the tone of my voice that is harsh. I am actively praying for both to change. I want my mouth to be a fountain of life pouring forth the love of God!
I pray for that as well for myself, Beverly. I find that the more knowledge I have of who God is the more I want to be like Him. The result is that I then want to be kind and an encouragement to others.
It is so amazing how people will remember encouraging words, that I have spoke to them, for a long time after.
“But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; yes, let them rejoice with gladness”(Psalms 68:3).
Thank you Beverly for your encouraging words today. I have stuggled with this problem for many years. “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep a watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 is taped to my bathroom mirror as a constant reminder to watch my words. Psalm 51:15 will now accompany it. I know woth the power of the Holy Spirit I will overcome this.
“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep a watch over the door of my lips.??? Psalm 141:3
Pray for me
Indeed I had realized that I have this problem lately and it has been something that I hate so much. I feel that my talkativeness makes me talk excessively, mainly I felt that it isnt edifying to God.
As I just tap along the faith that how I know Him and who He is to me; I put my HOPE in Jesus Christ the Authour & the Finisher of faith. I’d started to prayed and been praying for this past one year or so. I believed that Our God is so real & almighty & His faithfulness endures forever!!
If I ask as I prayed and believing that it will come to pass one day it shall be done. I wouldnt say that God has nt answered my prayers – instead I did see the hands of God thru the power of His Holy spirit has changed me but it was’nt something that I had expected – because it is nt a total changed yet.. I learnt in the mist of all the time waiting of the transforming power of God is not easy it is very tough as much as I hated it. I dont want to be like that, it just crippled my life as that the Lord has promise me of life.. abundance of life.. Am I going to be hurt & shaken the faith I ve in the Lord?? At times like this I got very upset, angry, agony by my own ways and I hated myself for that & it is just tearing me down Lord. Lord, how can a child of God hate so much??? Lord Jesus I confess my sins to You because I have allowed doubt came in once again. Have mercy upon me Lord that take away my unbelieve cleanse me of all unrighteousness and help me to believe because of who u r and who I know of… I need of Your help & I know that only You who make the changes in a person life it can to take about and it will last. In God I Trust… In the mist of all these to the day I’m being perfected Lord envelope me. Father I need Your Love to help me to love & forgive; the strength to denial myself, the grace in times of testing trials & hurts.. give a tender heart to respond to your correction & a heart of obedience & faithfulness to You. Wisdom, understanding, discernment, sensitive to You and the holy spirit lead me and guide me. Put a guard on my mouth & lips so that I ll discern what I need to say or not.. Help me not to be offended when anyone tells me off & help me to be sensitive to others needs too. Help me to stay focus in You and You alone knowing that You are my best friend and I know I m not alone because You are before me, in me, with me, by me, after me..
Lord I give You the Full access to my life stir in me, quicken me, mold me, change me, work in me, live in me, work thru me to bring glory to the Father in heaven I asked. Father I thank You that in You do I trust and thank You for the opportunity to cried out to You again because I know You do hear my heart cries even no one does & You are nt far from me Father. Thank You for loving me and accepting me for who I am. Thank You for Your love, mercy, goodness, kindness, gentleness, healing, salvation, delieverances, faithfulness, grace, Joy & strength and more. Lord help me to have a thankful heart to You and others in spirit and in true. Restore this Joy of salvation unto me as You are the Joy of my Strength. Thank You for changing me and I know that u who have started a gd work in me will finish it well…
Lord, I give my all to You- Praises, honour, glory due unto u and all my up & my down; my weakness & my strength. I know in my weakness You ll make me strong! Halleujah Praise The Lord! I Love You Father, Jesus & holy spirit teach me to love You more and more each day. In Jesus most powerful & precious name I prayed Amen.
Your child,
K Lim
Wow! That was beautiful Kim! The Lord will reward you for your hard work :-)
I have also very much struggled with speaking words of life and using my lips for positvie talk. But the Lord has been wokring in me and especially in my marriage on this.
I had a big problem with not speking this way to my husband and I have been reading “understanding your man”, by gary smalley(great book) and have been developing this gentle spirit and speaking words of life, regardless of what and how my husband was acting.I have been prasing the Lord for all my husbands wonderful qualities, instead of pointing out the “bad” ones and…WOW! what a difference it has made in our home and marriage!. My husband is seeing the true beauty he married again and he is treating me in a way I have longed for soooo long. I am totally falling in love with him all over again. It is a beautiful thing that happens when we LET God work in us!
A great thing to remember is we only control ourselves and what a difference you can see when we speak words of life!
God is sooo good and prasie Him for all He has done and is going to do!
Love A truly blessed,
Tracy
Wow. This one really hits home for me. OUCH! ;)
Hi,
Tracy thanks for the book title. Is that the exact title name by Gary Smalley? I’ve searched the library and the internet for that book – but I can’t find it! It sounds like it would be a wonderful book to read.
Carol
In today’s devotional I was chuckling because it’s so hard to keep your mouth shut when you get angry, my lips just want to open and shoot out words that are not appropriate because of anger. Or when I fall into depression my lips open and speak negative thoughts which tears me down. But my mouth and lips I put it to use for singing that usually helps with what ever issue of I’m facing. There is no doubt that lips can be dangerous you can say hurtful things that hurt the heart I do that to my mother because of my reaction of how I’m acting my lips open up and say things to her that she doesn’t deserve. So I really need to learn how I speak and watch what I say. I like what Psalm 51 says. The the mouth is one of the most dangerous weapons I know because you never know what rolls off your tongue, day to day I try to be careful of how I speak I ask God to help me but then again I lose it control of my mouth and my mouth gets me in a lot of trouble.
Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever! Thanks Tracy :)
Last nite I was really all torn in to pieces because it does really stir me up when I faced with an email of a sister in Christ. Needless to say it is a mail to tell me regards to what I have spoke of.. see sometime speaking and seeing the truth still hurts. Well, I would say that the sister in Christ had really tried 2 tell me nicely as much as she could but it still hurts!!!!!! Infact before I reach home last nite I had already had that conviction and I had prayed and laid it down under the blood of Christ but yet when I read that email I was hurt. I started to doubt as if God has nt done any changes at all. I wept and confess, prayed… till my time at 4am in the morning. I thank God I had dealt with it. Further, I ve send a messenge to tell her I sorry and ask for forgiveness. I will pray and ask God to put a guard over my lips and watch what I share with her and watch what I say too.
At first I thought I have shared that it has been my desire that i could see the full transformation of the Lord as I have being praying about my talkative daily. I learnt not to take it as an offenses, not gonna let the satan take a hold of me too. Instead I has to first come to God to confess all my sins and let not anything to be the reasons for me to self justify. Repent before Him asking the Lord to forgives me & also willing to laid down the hurts..help me to be more like Jesus; to denial myself and carry the cross.., to reduce me to love with the love of Christ, love is loving with words, loving with thoughts, love is put down ourselves and loves things of the other person, love is hope in all things, bear all things, endures all things, love is to do of the Father’s will on earth so that whatever I do see, touch, hear & feel are all from the Lord.
To me it is that I just want to be having that kind of intimate relationship with God & not going to let anything to hinder my walk with Him. As I yield myself to the Lord. =P but the actual facts is when we yield ourselves to Him; He will draw us near. Praise the Lord for His boundless love He is still setting the captive free… May we all are so willing to share that others knowing what the Lord has done for us so others will also come to know Him in deeper way too.
I’m forever thankful for what the Lord has done in my life. I dont deserved but He is always so willing to love help me spite what others have see in me. What a wonderful Father we have it is our honour to be able to come boldly to the throne of grace.. to seek Him, praise Him, worship Him..exalt His holy name…
Thankful to the Lord for how He has preserved me from destruction when I so used to curse myself because it is part of my life hearing all those negative words & having very negative self image of myself as well; honestly I believed all those lies I’d heard for the past thirty over years..that I was so incapable, inadequate, always a failure, stupid, never mount to anything good.. and til this day sometime I m still fighting over my old self, old thoughts..regards to how lousy I am no matter what I do or dont.
I so thankful to God that I am very much blessed with very caring pastors in my church. I could see their labour of love & feel their compassion they have for God’s people who are in the light but could not comprehend light yet; due to the convert from the power of darkness to the Power of Light. and their love for those who is so lost in the world so Big!!! The unsaved one could not see the Light because many time the glittering lights or disillusion lights of the world has distracted them away! I learnt to recognized that this is the thing that what happened when we are saved isnt it? Just imagine we can be anyone one of them out there – May the Lord awaken us & help us to see the great commission – go and preach to the world, not with Judgement or harshness.
If we are the children of God, children of light, God is love, Love is covers a multitude of sins.., we should also have the love, light, compassion in us isnt it? May the Lord help us all see the in everything there are two opposites forces:
God > Satan
Kingdom of Light> kingdom of darkness
Life>death
blessings>cursing
Love>hatred
It is a choice we have to make and as we decided to..we should come before the Lord and ask Him to help us to overcome.. to speak of Life, dwell in His goodness, see that we are indeed very much blessed people of God- for what we have, keep ourselves in things of pure, right, holy, noble, just, of good reports, worth praising, build up, kindness, goodness of everyone around.Ask the Lord to help us all over the world Christians to see, come & taste His goodness!! That ll help us to speak e word of life and with good things we know that God has instored for us! Because I know all good things I recieved are all from the Lord. He is a rewarder as we willing to be change by Him. LET God be God dont try to be God…that is what I learnt of. As long as we are willing the Lord ll never delay to answered our prayers as it is according to His will.
It is a very scary thing. The Lord have blessed us a very very special “Living gifts” who are our senior pastor husband & wife & other pastors too. It is a river of refreshing water I had recieved the living water flowing down from the throne above. I could see the heart of Our senior pastors over this 2years or so – I learn of the positive words they speak into our lifes and teaching, guiding, leading us. What a wonderful gifts to recieved our Pastors as a Gifts from God; the Lord says that He ll gives us a shepherds according to His heart who will feed us in the knowledge & understanding what a wonderful promise it is!! My little prayer today is ” Lord help me in all the areas I mentioned above especially regards to my mouth, lips, tongue put a guard over me. help me to see that day will come very soon bcos in You I trust I ll never be put to shame; because You are unchanging and faithful. Help me to put all that I have being taught in to my daily walk. Help me not to be use by the enemy as a tool to tear others or myself. Help me to recognize the goodness of You, the leaders, people around so that I ll only be influences with all the good things to be more of all that is good. Make me be like the tree planted down at the rivers stream that will grow prosper and bear good fruits in due season. May the people of the world see the light of You in me that is not through just a feel or words.. help me to be a listener and make me one that not only able to listen and can see the beauty of being a listener as well. Let me be not a talker, but one who will walk the walk and walking in love. In Jesus most precious name I prayed. Amen!
Your Child,
Kris
Carol,
The exact name of the book is….. “FOR BETTER FOR BEST, UNDERSTAND YOUR MAN”
sorry about the confusion there. I encourage you to read it. This is my second time through it:-) It is a book that could be read once a year!
take care
Tracy
Carol, I did a search on Amazon and it looks like they have For Better or Best. If you click on the title it will take you right there. Amazon has the “look inside” feature set-up for this book so you could browse a little and see if it’s something that interests you.