GRACE CENTRE DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: 2ND MAY, 2021
TOPIC: WHILE LISTENING
BIBLE TEXT: ECCL. 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

MESSAGE:
God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, the saying goes, 'The ability to listen is an essential life skill'. Counselors as well tells us to listen to each other even Spiritual leaders tell us to listen to God. But hardly anymore does anyone says, “Listen to yourself” we do have an inner voice that always knows the right thing to say, basically we should listen to ourselves instead of to God and others. I’m suggesting that we need to listen to ourselves in order to learn how others might be receiving our words.

The Israelites could have used this advice when Moses was leading them out of Egypt, within the days of their miraculous deliverance, they were complaining. (Exo 16:2). Although their need for food was legitimate but their way of expressing the need was not. (v3)

Whenever we speak out of fear, anger, ignorance, or pride – even if what we say is true, those who listen will hear more than our words. They fear emotion but they don’t know whether the emotion comes from love and concern or disdain and disrespect, so we risk misunderstanding. If we listen to ourselves before speaking out loud, we can judge our hearts before our careless words harm others or sadden our God .

Action Point: Think before you speak to check your heart.

Prayer Point: Lord, help me to control my tongue and to express myself clearly so that I won’t cause dissension. Set a guard on my lips.