What’s the Trouble with My Tongue?

My misbehaved tongue

Sometimes my tongue speaks before my brain kicks into gear. It starts to wag and spouts stuff like, “Why in the world did you do that?” or “What were you thinking?”

If I don’t catch it soon enough, it complains about the rain or whines about my workload. Occasionally it slips a juicy tidbit about someone.

Yes, my tongue can be a real pain sometimes. It has the potential to discourage and hurt other people, but it also has the potential of doing just the opposite.

The well-behaved tongue

When it behaves itself, it brings hope and instills courage. It plants dreams in others’ hearts, and it spurs them on to good deeds.

My tongue isn’t very pretty. In fact, it’s rather small and odd-looking, but oh, the power it wields. My desire is for that power to be used in a good way—to bless others and bring a smile to God’s face.

And so my prayer each morning is this:

“Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips” (Psalm 141:2).

Letting God control our tongue

I whisper this prayer and then trust God to answer it. When I’m tempted to say something I shouldn’t, I often hear His voice warning me to pause and ponder first, or to refrain altogether. Most of the time I heed His warning, although I’m embarrassed to say I ignore it occasionally. Doing so always brings regrets.

Yes, my tongue is an interesting character. A bit tough to tame, but full of potential. Knowing its tendencies, I think this little prayer is a good one to apply every morning for the rest of my life.