Prayerful Meditation on Speech

Lord...

...teach us to shepherd with Your Word, and may we never “upset the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:18).

...teach us to shepherd with Your Word, and may we never “lead to further ungodliness” (2:16).

...teach us to shepherd with Your Word, never speaking things which lead “to the ruin of the hearers” (2:14).

...teach us to shepherd with Your Word, rather than artfully using rhetoric, logic, and oratory to wrestle in vain (2:14).

...teach us to shepherd Your Word, keeping us far from shame as we diligently present ourselves before You in our handling of Your Word (2:15).

“Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2:19-21).

In a world of a billion unstoppable words each second in a seemingly unceasing succession of seconds, remind us that when Your Word is spoken there is significance as weighty as Your eternal and matchless glory. May our tongues be so weighted down with Your Word that we cannot lift them apart from Your strengthening.

“He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:27,28).