December 24: Pray Before You Speak

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Have you ever been told to “think before you speak”? Nathan seems to have spoken too soon when he told David to do whatever he wanted about building a house for the Lord. He was being respectful to his king, and it sounded like a good idea. But later that night the Lord gave him a message for David: the Lord did not need anyone to build him a house; God would make David’s house (in the sense of family or descendants) last forever.

As a prophet Nathan was expected to speak for the Lord. When he finally listened to the Lord, he got the message right. And that can be a lesson to us. Instead of just thinking before we speak, it could be a good idea to pray before we speak.

How many times have we said something in anger—or selfishness, fear, any strong feeling—that we wished we could take back? If we just think before we speak, we might just rationalize what we wanted to say in the first place. But if we take a little more time to bring our feelings to God, ask for guidance and listen for what God would have us say, things might turn out a lot better.

God can also surprise us if given the chance. The kingdom (“house”) God was promising was not a political one, but a universal one. Jesus fulfills this promise as the Son of God who came to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Jesus himself prayed to the Father often in his life.

We can do the same. We pray before meals; why not pray before going to work? We can pray before making decisions about our family, getting engaged, taking a new job, buying a new house/car/HD-TV, etc. When a friend or relative needs someone to talk to, we can pray that we listen well and say what God wants our friend to hear. When we are sorry for hurting someone, we can pray for forgiveness and even listen to God to learn what we might do to make it up to them. If we have enough faith to let God guide our lives, let’s take the time in prayer to listen for that guidance.

Tom Schmidt