The Decade of the Mouth

The Psalmist cries out, "May the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) We must agree with this cry as "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Psalm 18:21) What we verbally agree with will manifest.  We want to agree with the Kingdom of God with our mouths and should be especially aware of this in the season that we are in.  All the prophets seem to be pointing out that we are in a new decade on the Hebrew calendar (5780) and likewise on the Greek calendar when the year 2020 begins. The Hebrew word "Pey" is representative of the number 80 and is a picture of a mouth.  Prophets tell us that this is the decade of speaking and of prophetic declaration.  Just as God used the power of His spoken words to birth the world, we have the power to create with our words.
 
How can the words of our mouths be pleasing to God?  Many Bible verses give us insight on this.  For example, "...gracious words are pure in His sight." (Proverbs 15:26) and "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life..." (Proverbs 10:11) For us to use our tongues in a way that delights the Lord, we must ask for wisdom.  The book of Proverbs comes from King Solomon and includes many verses on wisdom.  At the beginning of his reign as king of Israel, Solomon understood the great responsibility that had been handed to him by his father, King David.  With a heart of humility, Solomon said to the Lord, "...I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties...So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong..." (1 Kings 3:7-9) The Lord's response reveals His pleasure in Solomon's request.  "I will do what you have asked, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be." (1 Kings 3:12) We need wisdom to know what to release from our mouths.
 
Here is something to consider as written in Luke 6:45. "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  If our words flow from our hearts, we must learn to "guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23) The apostle Paul gives us some insight on how to guard our hearts.  "...in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding; will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) From these two Scriptures, we learn to guard our hearts and that peace, manifest through prayers and thanksgiving, will accomplish this.
 
The Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide us in all truth. (John 16:13) His purpose is to bring glory to Jesus by taking from what is His and making it known to us. (John 16:14) Another important aspect of knowing how to speak in a way that pleases the Lord is to listen to His Spirit.  James says, "Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak..." (James 1:19) 2 Corinthians 10:5 describes another aspect of listening.  "...We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."
 
Finally, we must grab hold of a promise that Jesus made at the Sermon on the Mount.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) Psalm 37:30 explains why we should do this:  "The mouth of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just." 
 
I believe the Lord wants to release words of guidance, encouragement and life through His children.  That is us!  We can be part of God's grand plans for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth as we speak in a way that pleases Him.