Shut Our Mouths And Pray

I read The Power of the Praying Wife a long time ago… and one concept has stuck in mind to this day.

It’s this:  “Shut my mouth and pray about it.”

Now I’m pretty sure the author said it in a much sweeter and more politically correct manner, but that’s how I heard it.  So, I’m gonna go with it.

Here is what she meant by that statement.  In the book, she was telling us that sometimes the best thing we can do is keep our mouths closed.  Easier said than done, eh?  This, she said, is better than riding our husbands about things we’re wanting to see done or changed.  Not that I follow it all the time, but I do agree with her advice.

But you know what?  I think that advice is solid for all sorts of relationships.  Many times, the best thing we can do is… zip it and lift it.  🙂

So why don’t we?  I’d like to suggest that maybe it’s because we have a hard time trusting in the power of prayer.  We think, “why sit around and hope for God to step in and remedy a situation when we’re all education adults?”  Am I right?

You see, in our little flawed minds, we think we know just how to handle things… so we try time-tested tactics like:

• Guilt
• Manipulation
• Shame
• Nagging
• Anger

So let’s test these… tactics.  Here are a few questions for you to consider…

1. Does your husband respond favorably when you nag him to take the trash out and pick up his clothes?
2. Does yelling at the kids to pick up their stuff make them want to hug and love on you more?
3. Do your friendships flourish when you guilt them into being at your side through difficult times?
4. Does manipulating people and situations – so you get your way in the end – help you win friends and influence others?

Probably not.  So, why not pray instead?  Maybe it’s because you don’t really believe God will answer your plea.  But in Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Wait!  This statement is not a blank check for you write in what you want.  Don’t read it as a guarantee to get your way… because it’s not.  God would never agree to anything that might hurt us or others.

But when we want to see some changes, this verse tells us to pray about it.

Now here is the cool part!  The closer we get to Him and the more we rely on Him… the more we align with His will for us.  So maybe instead of the 4 scenarios above, we could pray and it would look something more like this:

“Lord, help me to love my husband… trash, laundry and all.”

“Father, help me give my kids helpful instructions with love rather than anger.”

“God, remind me to look to you for comfort in tough times rather than to put the whole burden on my family and friends.”

“Lord, help me keep my motives selfless rather than selfish.”

Let’s put this concept to the test.  Find an accountability partner and for the next week… shut your mouth and pray instead.  By doing so, I bet you’ll help keep the peace in your relationships and become closer to our Creator.

Let me know how it goes.  🙂

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