July 17 – Measured Words (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.”(Ecclesiastes 5:2)

IN WORD:
If you had an appointment to confer with the president in the Oval Office, would you prepare? Would you plan what you were going to say before you saw him, or would you just play it by ear? All but the most reckless and careless of us would consider our words wisely. We’d realize we’re meeting with someone who has the power to change things. We’d think about what we want changed.
But we rarely approach God that way. Perhaps it’s our awareness that our time with Him is unlimited. Perhaps we’ve heard so many pastors and teachers tell us that even our smallest concerns are His concerns. Perhaps we’ve interpreted His generous time and detailed care as reasons that prayer can be casual. If so, we’ve misunderstood. God does give us unlimited time, and He does care about the details. But prayer is anything but casual.
Jesus rebuked both religious hypocrites and pagans for their many words. Maybe He was honing in on their annoying repetitions, but He also pointed out their false idea that many words get God’s ear (Matthew 6:7). He also warned that we will be accountable for every careless word we’ve spoken (Matthew 12:36). And we can assume that His standards for prayer are probably not lower than His standards for conversation.

IN DEED:
God encourages us to come to His throne with boldness and confidence (Hebrews 4:16). But He does not encourage us to come to His throne with carelessness. Our words in prayer carry incredible weight. They should be well considered.
Perhaps a good approach to prayer would be to take Solomon’s advice. After all, God surely has more important information to share with us than we have to share with Him. Yes, He wants to hear our desires. He also wants us to listen to His. Both are extremely important.

“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words be without heart.” -John Bunyan-