Habits of speaking hold a dangerous power.
Sometimes I should just keep my mouth shut.
Sadly, only my family experiences the fountain of my spew of words. I had one of those days recently when I should have stopped speaking. Yet the words continued. This habit of speech is dangerous not only for those I love but for myself as well.
And yet, habits of speaking have power to bless.
There are times I rebel in silence when it would be better to speak – to confess, to forgive, to pray – to seek help from my Jesus who desperately wants to redeem my habits.
After spurting a fountain of words out of bad habit, I moved to my other bad habit of silence. I wanted to be rebellious. I tried to refuse to pray. I sat on the porch with my coffee, did not pick up my Bible, and told God I didn’t want to talk to Him.
But another habit kicked in. Before I knew what was happening, I was praying. I told God I didn’t want to talk to Him, yet that is exactly what I was doing. I complained and whined, but I was praying.
Later that day, I had lunch with my grandfather-in-law. At 95, his memory is failing. We had the same conversation three times within five minutes. Yet when asked to pray before our meal, he spoke clearly as he thanked God for our food and one another.
He has built a habit of prayer that surpasses his failing mind.
We too can talk with God so regularly it becomes our habit.
We can build this habit of speaking that blesses.
August 19, 2017 at 4:34 pm
Yes, it is easy to fall into bad habits- either speaking too much or remaining silent, but I agree the best habit of speaking we can develop is prayer. Visiting from FMF #42.