Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 81:1
This summer I am working through a Beth Moore study called “Believing God”. The current chapter is entitled “Believing God Can Sanctify Your Mouth.” Say WHAT?!? Psalm 81:1 shows us what our mouths should be doing—“sing(ing) for joy to God our strength; shout(ing) in triumph to the God of Jacob.”
Each one of us is called to glorify His name. But…Psalm 10:7 (NLT) also tells us: “Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.” God and satan both desire to have authority over our mouths.
Beth Moore puts it this way:
“A wayward tongue signals a wayward heart. A clean mouth unplugs a primary pipe of divine power.”
Now take a look at this familiar passage:
Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things.
See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze!
And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members,
contaminating and depraving the whole body
and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man’s nature), being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna).
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal can be tamed
and has been tamed by human genius (nature).
But the human tongue can be tamed by no man.
It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:5-8(AMP)
So, according to this Scripture, we cannot tame our tongues. So, is it even possible to sanctify our mouths? Are we ever going to be able to “…guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; <and> will guard my mouth as with a muzzle while the wicked are in my presence” (as David says in Psalm 39:1 NASB).
As Psalm 81:1 reminds us, God is our strength. It is only by daily dependency on Him that we can control that unruly muscle in our mouths. When we develop that intimacy with Him, His Word becomes ingrained in us. Then, “We too believe, and therefore we speak,” (2 Corinthians 4:13b AMP). As Luke 6:45b (AMP) points out: “…for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks….”
Inconsistency in our talk may be common but it is very costly. It deprives us of God’s divine power flowing through us. That is not a price I am willing to pay. (Are you?!) If not, then let us boldly approach the throne of grace and seek Christ’s assistance in consecrating our hearts and sanctifying our mouths.
All we need to do is lift our faces to Him and ask.
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Father God, we come before You today very much aware of our unclean lips. Forgive us for our wayward hearts and inconsistent speech. We ask that You set our tongues ablaze with Your Holy fire so that we continually glorify Your name. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen – it is so!
Wow Cynda this is a good reminder to me personally. Circumstamces recently made me speak as if am not a worshipper. Lord forgive me! I am praying your prayer Cynda I need to be cleansed.
You are not alone. It is so easy for us to let our tongues slip Ann. But our God is a merciful and forgiving God and I am so thankful for that. He will help us control our tongues.
Yes, Cynda, thank you for these Scriptures and your good reminder to pay attention to what comes out of our mouth. As followers of Christ, we have His Word and His Holy Spirit dwelling in us. It’s our responsibility to pray a prayer like yours and ask for His help to use our tongues for good and not for evil, and then submit to His leading.
Thank you Clella. I am so thankful for the I dwelling of the Holy Spirit and His leading.
such a good reminder of the proper use of our mouths and tongues—singing and shouting His praises! thank you, cynda! <3
Yes, let’s glorify His name with singing & shouting