“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14
When this is our daily, moment-by-moment prayer, we need not wonder if the Father is pleased.
“The words of my mouth.”
How many words do you say in a day, Pilgrim? Most likely, like everyone else, you don’t know—although studies have shown most of us speak far more words than we realize.
Words on the cell phone. Words in the office. Words in the supermarket. Words at the church committee meeting. Words while out jogging or working out. Words at home with the family. Even unspoken words written on the computer.
Yes, they are an integral and vital part of our lives.
Yet, if we’re not careful, they’ll also come back to haunt and indict us (Mt. 12:36-37).
That’s why today’s Manna is such an important one for every Pilgrim—or should be. Why is that? Because the “words of our mouths and the mediation of our hearts” always go hand-in-hand.
The Old Testament Hebrew mind put it this way: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Since the Hebrew word used there for “thinks” is “sha ‘ar” and basically means “to split or open, to act as a gatekeeper, etc.,” it means “what you spend most of your time thinking about.” That’s why David coupled it with “the meditation of our hearts” for he knew what Jesus meant when He later talked about “a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringing forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringing forth evil things” (Mt. 12:35).
Or, another way to put it is “What we focus on or ‘chew the cud’ on will directly influence what we say and/or do.”
Thus, the only way we can ensure “the words of our mouths and meditations of our heart are acceptable (Heb. ‘ratsown’—‘delightful, pleasing, favorable, etc.’) in God’s sight” is by “delighting in His Word and meditating on it day and night” (Ps. 1:2). That doesn’t mean every thought and word of the day has to be quoting Scripture; however, it does mean His Word will have a direct bearing on our thoughts, words and deeds because of our having “hidden them in our heart so we won’t sin against God” (Ps. 119:11).
Dear Pilgrim, is this your prayer today—i.e., is your conscious desire today that “the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart would be pleasing in Christ’s sight and ears”? If so, you need not worry if He’ll delight in you today; in fact, you’ll enjoy the pleasure of His smile throughout the day as you bring Him great joy by walking and talking the way He would. Let it be, Lord; let it be. Amen and amen.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated May 28, 2010
