The author of Psalm 141 was David and he shares with us a prayer that can be used to help us when we are facing the temptations of this world. David asked God to protect him and to give him wisdom in accepting criticism. Be open to criticism, as hard as that is sometimes, because God may be speaking to you through others!
Psalm 141:3 - "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips"
James wrote that "the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts" (James 3:5). On the average, a person opens his or her mouth approximately 700 times a day to speak. David wisely asked God to help him from speaking evil - sometimes even as he underwent bad times. Knowing the power of the tongue, we would do well to ask God to guard what we say so that our words will bring honor to his name.
Psalm 141:4 - "Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies"
David asked God to guard his heart. Evil acts begin with evil desires. It isn't enough to ask God to keep you away from temptation, make you stronger, or change your circumstances. You must ask him to change you on the inside too - at the level of your desires.
Psalm 141:5 - "Let a righteous man strike me - it is a kindness; let him rebuke me - it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers"
David says that being rebuked or opposed by a righteous person is a kindness. Nobody really likes criticism, but everybody can benefit from it when it is given wisely and taken humbly. David suggested how to accept criticism: (1) don't refuse it; (2) consider it a kindness, and (3) keep quiet (don't fight back). Putting these suggestions into practice will help you control how you react to criticism, making it productive rather than destructive, no matter how it was originally intended.
Psalm 141 / New International Version
ReplyDelete1 O Lord, I call to you, come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil
to take part in wicked deeds
with men who are evildoers;
let me not eat of their delicacies.
5 Let a righteous man strike me— it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me— it is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7 They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
8 But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
from the traps set by evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety