The Forty-Day Word FastSample

In Psalm 19:14, the psalmist cries out that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart would be acceptable in God’s sight. Have you ever wondered what kinds of words God would consider acceptable? They certainly wouldn’t be words of judgment, criticism, sarcasm, negativity, complaining, or gossip.

So what can we do to ensure our words are pleasing to the Lord? One way is to be quiet more, to limit the words coming out of our mouths. We speak so many frivolous words and participate in conversations that are not edifying on any given day. Try this today: in conversations with other people, listen more and speak less. Make your prayer, “Lord, close my mouth.”

Closing your mouth has some great benefits. It will mean you won’t sin with your words; you’ll listen more; you’ll seek to understand, not seek to be understood; and people will think you’re wise.

You may be wondering whether it’s possible for the Lord to do such a complete work in you that even the meditations of your heart would be acceptable to Him. Yes, it is possible. He tells us in Hebrews that He will save us completely if we come to Him (Heb. 7:25)—and when He says completely, He means 100 percent, including each idle word and every thought in our minds. Oh, what a great salvation He has for us!

This is the goal as we fast from words of judgment, criticism, sarcasm, negativity, complaining, and gossip—that the Lord would do such a deep work in our hearts that the words that come out of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts would be acceptable to Him.

Ask yourself, “What is on my mind most of the time—the thing I think about most—if I’m honest?” If any words come out of your mouth today that you need to repent of, do so. Ask the Holy Spirit to touch your heart and keep those words out of your mouth tomorrow.