How to Pray for Your Words

Here’s this week’s entry from Pray big for Your Life.

The biblical writers have given us ample ammunition for pinpoint praying so that our words will honor God and not hurt others. Here are a few verses you can use as pinpoint promises when praying for your words:

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity, (Proverbs 21:23).  Pray that you’ll consciously guard your words. When you’re out with friends and the conversation turns into a gossip session or the group becomes critical of another person, pray for the strength to not participate. When you’re in an argument with your spouse, friend or roommate and the verbal darts start flying, pray for the wisdom and strength to not say something that you’ll regret later. When you are making a sales pitch or in a job interview, pray for the self-control to not overstate your abilities or to make claims about your product or service that aren’t true. Pray that you’ll think about your words before you say them.
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips, (Psalm 141:3). Much like the secret service that guards the American president, the king’s royal guard would have been an ever-present protective force around David. We don’t know what prompted David to pray for a guard over his mouth. Had he just snapped at a palace servant? Had he ridiculed one of his children? Had he made rash judgment that had cost the freedom or even the life of one of his citizens? We don’t know. What we do know is that David found in his royal guard a perfect metaphor for what he wanted God to do for his words: Oh God, guard my tongue. Place a watch over it. Let no word escape my mouth that would be harmful or dishonorable. We should pray the same. Ask God to protect you and others from the power of your tongue.
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one, (Matthew 5:37). I pray this verse for my verbal integrity. It’s a vivid statement of how we’re supposed to communicate in ways that are clear, honest and without innuendo. Jesus made this statement when he was teaching against the frequent use of oaths used by some of the religious leaders of his day. Instead of swearing by this or that, we simply need to tell the truth. For Christ-followers, Yes does not mean maybe, hopefully or possibly or probably, it means Yes. And when we say No, it needs to be equally clear of ambiguity or hidden meaning. That’s verbal integrity, and we should pray for it. Pray Colossians 3:9 for your words: Lord, keep me from lying to anyone, since I have taken off my old self with its practices.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen, (Ephesians 4:29).  This is a great verse to pray for your words. It doesn’t just tell us what not to say, but it also teaches us what to say. Here are three specific pinpoint prayers based on Ephesians 4:29.


Pray to end verbal corruption. The word unwholesome in Ephesians 4:29 comes from a root word that means corrupt. Corrupt words are the kind that poison and harm others. They don’t help; they harm. Pray that no harmful and poisonous words will ever leave your mouth.
Pray for verbal edification. Paul commands us to speak words that help and encourage others. Paul’s word for building up is a construction term. It pictures a house being built piece by piece. Pray that your words will add to the strength, security and growth of the person you’re speaking to. Even if you need to have difficult or corrective conversations, pray that your words build up, not tear down.
Pray for grace-filled words. When Paul taught that our words should benefit others, he literally said that our words should offer grace to the listener. He doesn’t mean eloquence of speech, but rather eloquence of meaning. Your messages should be kind, truthful, hope-producing and overflowing with grace. Again, even difficult conversations can be grace-based. Pray that your words will give life and hope to the hearers. Pray that your words will always reflect the grace and favor of God.

Hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson. I plan to never yell “Shut up!” to anyone again, stranger or friend. I’m praying for a pure heart. Jesus taught that our words are sourced by the overflow of our hearts (Matthew 12:34). If my heart is pure, then my words will reflect it. Pray the same for yourself. Pray that no word will ever come out of your mouth that is inconsistent with the heart of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Think of a time when you said something that you immediately regretted saying. What did you say and what happened?
The tongue seems like such a small thing; but both testaments of the Bible talk about how damaging it can be. What does that tell you about how important it is to God for us to control our tongues?
Read Ephesians 4:29 again and talk about how your words can be used to build up others. Be as specific as you can.
After reading this chapter, how will you pray differently for yourself?

 

 

 

 

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