April 6, 2024 - Matthew 15:10-11

“Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Matthew 15:10-11 NLT

Jesus, thank you for how you long for us to come near to you so you can teach us your truth. You call us to come. Thank you for how you care for us. We want to learn all that you have to teach us. Increase our desire to dig into your Word and discover all you have for us. Give us your insight and understanding of what you are speaking. Help us to apply it to our lives. We ask for you to help us unpack these verses in Matthew. Show us how to apply them to our lives.

Lord, we want every word that comes out of our mouth to honor you. Forgive us for how we fall short of that. Open our eyes to the times when we speak without even thinking about what we are saying. Show us if we are yielding to a spirit of complaining. If so, forgive us and help us change it. Teach us not to focus on the things that we want to complain about, but to search out things we can be grateful for in that circumstance and focus on those things. We want to be seen as a grateful person and not a complainer. Give us the patience and grace we need to endure through the experience we want to complain about. Help us shift our thinking about the situation.

Lord, if you highlight that we have an issue with gossip or slander coming out of our mouth, forgive us. Help us change this. Convict us the moment we begin to participate in this type of behavior. Teach us how to honor other people the way you do. Even if they are in the wrong or really are giving us reason to complain, help us to see them through your eyes and speak life over them and their situations.

Eradicate the words that want to come out of our mouth that will defile us. Please help us change, Lord.

In Jesus name, amen.