Psalm 141:3 – “See a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
WORDS…man, they can get you into trouble! But there is help for those of us who have had this recurring thought, “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Loose Lips Sink Ships. That phrase was coined in the American Culture during World War II. The US Office of War Information used it. It was part of an overall campaign titled Careless Talk Costs Lives. It was used to prevent people from giving enemy spies information that could jeopardize American lives.
Loose Lips have taken on a different look in our tech-heavy world. Last year’s highly publicized Wikileaks debacle is a prime example. There were approximately 90,000 classified military records leaked giving details concerning military strategies in Afghanistan. Then in October 2010 there were nearly 400,000 military logs released citing military operations in Iraq. I wonder what the US Office of War Information would have said about that.
The prayer in today’s devotional is one that I have prayed many, many times. There are times when my thought traveled all too quickly to my lips and it was about to exit when I felt a restraint, the door of my lips, close. Some things are just better not said. And I thanked God for hearing my prayer. Why say something you will regret later? Why say something that will require humility and an apology down the road? It’s better if it is never heard. This prayer will keep you out of trouble. This prayer will prevent damage from being done. This prayer will keep relationships in tact, it will keep a divorce out of the courts, and it will keep you from eating humble pie in the future. It is tough some times but is certainly vital for all who name the name of Christ. May we pray this prayer continually and may God use our lips to bring healing instead of hurt to a very needy world.