Choice Words

“Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in Your eyes, O Lord, my Rock and the One Who saves me.”—Psalm 19:14

God, this is clearly one of the best things I can pray each day.
What could possibly be more uplifting to You, to my soul, and to others
Than to ask You to help me to choose spoken and written words carefully...
And suppress the urge to speak and write those that are careless?
And then the root of it all:
To know that if my heart stays tender by sticking close to You and Your Words,
Seeking to please You in thought, deed, and attitude...
...Then the words that overflow out of my mouth and brain
Should be mostly devoid of sarcasm, poison, and barbs.
And instead be
Mostly powerful ones of grace, encouragement, and humility.
What the world needs now.
(By the way, I’m really glad You’re OK with words like “should” and “mostly.”)
This may be a prayer-in-progress, but not mission impossible.
Because You inspired that verse in the first place. 

For a good reason. 

So, since You have said nothing is impossible with You, 

I’ll put all my chips on that promise and go for it. 

Because You also inspired this:

“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. “—Philippians 4:8

And there are no better words to live by than those.