Prayer and Proverbs - Day 13 of 31

Read Proverbs 13.

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3 ESV)

James expanded on this teaching of guarding our mouth, taming our tongue: “...the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” (James 3:5b, 9-12 ESV)

How has it been going with you in guarding your mouth? Have your lips opened wide with ruin—whether for yourself or for the person you were speaking to?

James also wrote, “no human being can tame the tongue.” (James 3:8 ESV) So if we cannot tame our own tongue, how may we pray for the Spirit's help to guard our mouths? How may we seek the Spirit's wisdom in prayer—before and during conversations?