Categories
Wisdom

Pleasant sword

17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach,
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 22, Verses 17 & 18, New International Version)

I pray, Lord, for more diligence in committing to heart all your words of wisdom. I need to have them ready on my lips. I want to please you by having the “sword of the spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) ready to draw at a moment’s  notice, ready to use rather than my own words.

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (The Book of Revelations, Chapter 1, Verse 16, New International Version)

Yes, Lord, teach me to wield the sharp, double-edged sword of your Word with skill.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Open Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 12, New International Version)

So  I pray, Lord, that you will teach me to wield the sharp and double edged sword of your word against the evil around me and the evil within me!

Strange but true. It is pleasant to have a sharp and double edged sword ready to draw from my mouth.

Categories
Wisdom

Diamond talk

Proverbs 8 (Amplified Bible)

All the words of my mouth are righteous (upright and in right standing with God); there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them.

What a daunting standard! If this had been without exception my code of verbal conduct my entire life, how much better off would I be now?!! I’d have more friends. I’d be healthier. I’d be wealthier. I’d be more successful in every way. I pray that from this moment forward this will be my standard, the diamond standard of speech. I pray that every time I begin to formulate an utterance in my mind that is contrary to this standard, the Holy Spirit will warn me, strongly (because I can be self absorbed), to erase that thought and come out with something much superior or if not, nothing at all.