Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
– Proverbs 29:20
Oh, hear the warning in this Proverb against being hasty with your words. Instead of being hasty, what’s the opposite? It’s to be patient with our words, to be intentional, to be thoughtful, to really pause and think before we speak.
Proverbs 29:20 warns against the danger of hasty speech.
I want you just to think about how you and I can do this today. Well, let’s just think about how we can do it as we pray, as we talk with God. God, we want to be patient with our words today. God, we need your help to do this. We need your help to be thoughtful with everything we say. We pray that you would keep us from hasty words in our conversations at home today.
God, help us to speak thoughtfully, lovingly, intentionally, and patiently with the people we live with today, with the people we work around today, the people we are in a class with today, even with just the people we interact with, who we don’t even know we might meet today or have a conversation with, even at like a store or restaurant or running an errand.
Proverbs 29:20 contrasts quick speech with true spiritual wisdom.
Lord, we pray that every word we say today would be intentional. God, we pray that we would be slow to speak in this way, to be thoughtful in what we’re saying. Lord, we pray for this on social media, on text, and email. God, we pray that you would help us to be very deliberate to honor others and honor you, to edify others, to build them up, to encourage, to use helpful speech in everything we say. And God, we pray that you would guard us.
Keep us from hasty words and from saying things that do not honor others. Do not honor you. Do not bring glory to your name with what comes out of our mouths, knowing that what comes out of our mouths springs from our hearts. So God, we pray for hearts of patience and kindness that just flow with the fruit of your Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Yes, God, may all that fruit be evident in each word we say. And God, if we are hasty about anything today with our words, help us to be hasty, to share the good news of your love in Jesus. God, we pray that you would help us to thoughtfully, intentionally, carefully, compassionately, share the gospel with somebody today.
Prayer for the Konyanka People
And God, we pray for the spread of that gospel through the mouths of your servants, whether Christians or missionaries among the Konyanka people of Guinea, for 700,000 of them, a few followers of Jesus among them.
God, we pray for the Konyanka believers. We pray that you’d help them to boldly share the gospel. God, we pray that you would raise up laborers to come alongside them to share the gospel so that the Konyanka-speaking people would be reached with the good news of your love in Jesus. God, we pray that you would help us to honor you with every word we say.
You know what? Before I say amen, before I close this prayer, I just want to encourage us to try something today, to be so deliberate, like extra deliberate in conversation today or in any word you might say, you might write, you send, to really be intentional to pause, think before you speak. It may even be a bit awkward in conversation, but it would be a good practice for all of us to really be more intentional, more patient. And it goes right in line with Proverbs 29:20. So, just go overboard today in being patient with your words, and let’s see what God teaches us as we do. God, help us not to be hasty. In our words, we pray according to your Word in Proverbs 29:20. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
