Daily Devotional 8/1/22
Study How to Answer
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
Proverbs 15:28 (NKJV)
I had a teacher who used to say, “Do not engage mouth before you engage brain.†Think before you speak. Better yet, in a delicate situation, pray before you speak. The more you do it, the more you will do it. It becomes a good habit.
This brings us to the whole topic of communication. Oh, how I wish we were all better communicators. Oh, how I wish we would learn to talk things out better. I really think a lot of our conflicts are because of misunderstanding, and since misunderstanding is just human, shouldn’t we learn to be better in our response to it? Let’s look at some principles to help us break bad communication habits.
Don’t stuff and brood. We get our feelings hurt and we stuff it. We simmer under the surface. We overthink it. We then jump to the wrong conclusions. Let’s stop doing that.
Let’s stop talking to everyone else, except the person involved. Nothing is solved by this. We just widen the circle of hurt. So let’s do go to the person involved first.
Let’s do pray. Let’s do put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Let’s do build bridges. And let’s do forgive.
In closing: “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.â€
Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!
We can apply our lesson today to the need to study the person we are speaking to. This involves being an active listener. Pay attention, read body language, listen not just to the words, but the tone and emotions. Whether you are listening to your child, your mother, your boss, or a friend, try to hear people out. If you don’t understand, ask them to explain. Rephrase what you think they said, and say it back to them. As you listen, ask the Lord to show you what is going on in the other person’s life that is contributing to stress or anger.
Let’s Pray
Lord, help me to be a peacemaker. Calm my emotions when I feel hurt or threatened. Then when I do speak, let the words of my mouth please you.
Proverbs 15:28 (NKJV)
I had a teacher who used to say, “Do not engage mouth before you engage brain.†Think before you speak. Better yet, in a delicate situation, pray before you speak. The more you do it, the more you will do it. It becomes a good habit.
This brings us to the whole topic of communication. Oh, how I wish we were all better communicators. Oh, how I wish we would learn to talk things out better. I really think a lot of our conflicts are because of misunderstanding, and since misunderstanding is just human, shouldn’t we learn to be better in our response to it? Let’s look at some principles to help us break bad communication habits.
Don’t stuff and brood. We get our feelings hurt and we stuff it. We simmer under the surface. We overthink it. We then jump to the wrong conclusions. Let’s stop doing that.
Let’s stop talking to everyone else, except the person involved. Nothing is solved by this. We just widen the circle of hurt. So let’s do go to the person involved first.
Let’s do pray. Let’s do put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Let’s do build bridges. And let’s do forgive.
In closing: “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.â€
Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!
We can apply our lesson today to the need to study the person we are speaking to. This involves being an active listener. Pay attention, read body language, listen not just to the words, but the tone and emotions. Whether you are listening to your child, your mother, your boss, or a friend, try to hear people out. If you don’t understand, ask them to explain. Rephrase what you think they said, and say it back to them. As you listen, ask the Lord to show you what is going on in the other person’s life that is contributing to stress or anger.
Let’s Pray
Lord, help me to be a peacemaker. Calm my emotions when I feel hurt or threatened. Then when I do speak, let the words of my mouth please you.
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