By Cindy Phillips
Psalm 141 is a prayer for self-control, godly speech, and protection from temptation. David asks God to help him not only when he is attacked by others, but also when he is tempted to respond in the wrong way.
Take a look at how this Psalm starts (verses 1 & 2 NKJV);
1 Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Notice David is first crying out to the Lord, them imploring Him to “hurry up”. Do you know it’s not wrong to ask God such a thing? God wants us to cry out from our hearts. David was confident God would hear him, even when he was asking Him to make haste. Notice he considered his prayer and supplication to be a sacrifice. Do you think of your prayers like that?
Verses 3 & 4 that follow are so powerful.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
This goes right along with Pastor’s Thought for last week. We often pray for God to change our circumstances, but David first asks God to change him. Our words can encourage, heal, and strengthen—but they can also hurt and destroy. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is simply stop, pray, and choose not to say what we are tempted to say.
David also asks God to keep his heart from being drawn toward evil. This reminds us that temptation often begins quietly, with a thought, attitude, desire, or small compromise. The next time you are in a trial, before asking God to change what is happening around you, ask Him to guard what is happening within you. When you’re tempted to react, remember Psalm 141:3. Ask God to put a guard over your mouth, a guard over your heart, and wisdom in your response.
I love the way this Psalm ends (verses 8 – 10)
8 But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely
No matter what is going on around you, keep your eyes on God, the Lord. As we saw in Psalm 91, He is your refuge and He will never leave you or forsake you. You can ask Him to keep you from the snares and traps of the enemy (put on the whole Armor of God, especially the Shield of Faith which extinguishes the fire darts of the wicket one!). God will make the way of escape for you. Look for it! And notice it’s not wrong to ask for the wicked to fall unto their own traps, all while praying they will come to know the truth and be saved.