The Lord is ready to forgive – Day Three of our fourteen days of prayer.

Has anyone ever said something to you or about you that hurt you so much you felt like giving them a piece of your mind?

That someone maybe a friend, stranger, relative or even your boss.

It does not matter who the person is, some people seem to specialize in using their tongue as a weapon to cut others to pieces.

There is an old idiom that said, “stick and stones may break my bones, but words cannot.”

Those words are not entirely true. They are aimed to give the victims a false sense of comfort.

This is similar to the words that the serpent told Eve in the Garden of Eden if she ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.

“You shall not surely die.” Said the serpent.

These words or phrases that have hidden destructive meanings are from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Words are spirits and when spoken they move quickly to perform the actions.

Hence, the bible states that we should let our speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt that we will know how to answer every person (Colossians 4:6).

I will share with you an example.

My daughter is on vacation from college and she said that on the night before she traveled home, one of her relatives deliberately instigated an argument with her just to throw some spiteful words at her.

It was a deliberate attempt by Satan to disrupt her spirit to make her agitated and anxious just before flying.

But the devil is a liar!

My daughter called me immediately after the incident, quite upset, to tell me about it.

I prayed with her and told her to read Psalms 91 and 121 before going to bed.

I also told her to read a Psalm of her own choice.

When she arrived home the following day, she told me that while she was speaking to me on the phone she felt an urgent desire to read Psalms 39.

She has never read that Psalm before so she did not know what it entails.

Anyway, she decided to read Psalms 39 after reading my recommended Psalms.

When my daughter found the Psalms she was amazed because it was speaking directly to her situation.

I believe this was direct intervention from the Lord.

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. (Psalms 39:1-4)

David wrote this Psalms when he was obviously in great distress.

No one knows for certain his circumstances, but most bible commentators believe that he was possibly being chastised by God and he was appealing to the Lord to remove his afflictions and let him live.

I believe that the Word of God is infinite and is applicable in every situation of our lives.

Based on the fact that God led my daughter to this Psalms it means it was relevant to the situation she was experiencing.

The Lord was telling her to put a bridle on her tongue or hold her peace when she was being tempted/enticed by wicked people even to the extent of refraining from speaking good to them.

It means, therefore, that when you are tempted to lash out in response to a verbal attack it is best to hold your peace.

It is also impossible to reason with an angry and vindictive attacker.

The bible states that a soft answer turns away wrath.

It does, but sometimes even a soft answer can fire up a demented attacker and escalate an argument.

David tried to hold his tongue, but instead, his anger intensified and he finally erupted and released some hot words.

Perhaps in David’s fit of anger, he sinned and as a result, God had to chastise him.

The bible states that it is okay to be angry but not to sin.

The remainder of the Psalms was David’s plea to God for forgiveness and mercy.

This morning’s prayer will be based on Psalms 39.

We will pray that God helps us to control our tongue while we are in the presence of wicked people.

If we have committed any sin with our tongue we will ask the Lord for forgiveness.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, we thank you for being our guide and protector.

Lord, as your Word states, the tongue is like a fire and is able to defile the entire body.

But we know that you are able to tame our tongue.

So teach us to hold our tongue and cause us to understand where we have erred.

If there is iniquity in our hearts forgive us, O God, and put a bridle on our tongue so that we will speak only words of wisdom and blessings to the hearers.

Keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking guile. (Psalms 34:13).

Lord, our hope is only in you so save us from ourselves.

We are only dust in your sight and our lives are like grass that withers and the flowers that fade, but your Word stands forever.

Only to you, we can cry, so hear our prayers.

Lord, help us to forgive those who sinned against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever (Matthew6:12-13).

Amen and Amen!

Praise the name of the Lord!

Job 6:24, 30; 27:4; James 3; Proverbs 15:1; Isaiah 40:6-8; Matthew 6:9-13

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. (Psalms 71:23-24)

Let our tongue speaks only of the righteousness of God.

This is the third day of our fourteen days of prayer.