Lord, Guard My Mouth

I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
    hear me when I call to you.
² May my prayer be set before you like incense;
    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

³ Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds.

                                                            Psalm 141:1-4

Have you ever prayed a desperate prayer?  In the moment of an emergency where human intervention just wasn't enough, have you fallen to your knees before God and sought his help?

That's the picture I get of David in the beginning of this Psalm.  He is obviously seeking God but in this case, David is seeking God's presence quickly. This time, David's emergency call to God was to get help in overcoming temptation. 

I also get a picture of David, while making this emergency prayer, involving descriptive words pertaining to incense and the lifting of his hands becoming similar to the evening sacrifice.  This picture I see when David prays this urgent prayer, is that he is placing himself in an attitude of worship as he utters his prayer. 

Now notice what he prays, "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips."  Now I probably don't have to ask if there has ever been a need for us to say those exact words while praying. The answer would "yes!"  From personal experience and from the scripture we learn quickly how our words, often spoken in haste, are sometimes hateful, unloving and uncaring.  We, like David, should be on our knees often asking God's help with our speech.  David knew this was a problem for him when we see how he followed in the next verse....

"Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds."  David was a smart enough man to know when he committed sin, it would take him one step closer to being drawn to and involved in deeds that are not pure and right.  From his own heart he felt being drawn toward that which is evil. 

So here is the point of the message.  David prayed, perhaps more urgently than some of his other prayers because he saw how Satan could use the lips of God's people to lead them into a sinful lifestyle. He saw the progression of the workings of sin, and it became an urgent matter for God to see him through this difficult time. 

May we learn from David's prayer, and may we also give thanks to God for his guidance, to help us in knowing we must guard our speech, and not be drawn into Satan's schemes. 

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