I’ve never had this regret

May 09, 2026

Guard My Lips

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O Lord, place a guard on my mouth. Protect the opening of my lips. Do not let me have evil desires, or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. I will not eat their delicacies.

Psalm 141:3-4 (NET)

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I think this is a prayer we could all use from time to time.

Maybe even every day.

Lord, guard my lips and keep me far from the wicked.

The book of James tells us that there is immense power in our words.

That power isn’t limited to the words that leave our lips (or flow from our fingertips). What we say to ourselves in the dark recesses of our hearts & minds are powerful too.

As a struggling perfectionist, I often tear down my works. Berating myself for not doing enough, not being good enough.

But what if I filled my mind with truth that counters those lies?

Then I’d be accessing a better guard on my words (yes, God is a better guard than I am).

Now…

Moving from the internal to the external, we also need to be careful about who we allow to influence us.

In the age of the internet, it’s easy to wander off into the foolishness of influencers. People driven by selfish desires or greed or envy or any number of other sins.

Again, the counter for this is filling our minds with the truth of Scripture.

That’s why I spend time in the Word every day, it’s why I read the whole Bible every year, and why I spend time memorizing it.

Drifting off into sin is easy, but fighting for truth is hard.

I’ve never regretted doing the hard thing.

— Ricky Ketchum

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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