I love Psalm 141:3-4. It’s an odd prayer to pray when you’re dealing with all the things David dealt with. In fact, if you notice how this psalm begins, David says this:
O Lord, I call to you: come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you.
Doesn’t it sound so urgent? Doesn’t it sound so desperate? Naturally, I wonder what David will ask for as he lifts his hands up to the Lord. Here’s what he requests in this urgent time of need:
Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds. . .
I consider how many of our struggles and problems have stemmed from our words we spoke that we wish we could take back. I consider how much pain we’ve endured in our life by being drawn away to sin. David knows this. He knows the danger of his own mouth and his own desires, and he prays a deeply wise prayer.
Guard my words. Guard my heart. Help me say the right things and want the right things.
[bctt tweet=”Guard my words. Guard my heart. Help me say the right things and want the right things. David’s basic heart cry in Psalm 141:3-4–a wise and timely prayer.”]