Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
FRIDAY, July 2
Psalm 141. Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips.
One of my ongoing prayers is for the strength to curb my tongue and not offer my marvelous insights on everything. This does not mean that I must always be silent, but it does mean that I must listen and be sensitive to the needs and feelings of other people before I speak. Most especially, it means that I am called to listen, prayerfully and attentively, for the voice of God.
Norvene Vest in No Moment Too Small says that "before we speak, we can choose silence and then look honestly at what the urge to speak is telling us about ourselves." That is good advice.
Must I have an opinion on everything? If I do have an opinion, must I belabor it? Is that clever retort necessary? Will my speech hurt someone? Am I really listening to my friend, my partner, my children? Do I ask or demand too much? Am I content to sit silently in God's presence and listen instead of always asking? God speaks to us in the silence within us. I must guard against blocking out God's voice with the noise of my own voice. (1999)
PRAY for the Diocese of East Kerala (South India)
Ps 140, 142 * 141, 143:1-11(12); Numbers 24:1-13; Romans 8:12-17; Matthew 22:15-22
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