Speaking to God about it before speaking to anyone else.

We live in a world that holds nothing back. Privacy seems to be a thing of the past to so many people today. As soon as we get a thought, we like to share it with everyone. I used to do it myself. Growing up, I’ve been a very open person, always loving to share my thoughts through communication and speaking my mind. Through the years, however, God has been teaching me about the beauty and importance of privacy. His design for us, especially as women, is to know how to guard our mouth with wisdom and to open it only after we have taken the thought to God first. Only then will we know if we are to speak or not, and how to say it if we do so. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is such a vivid and beautiful example of this attitude. In Luke 2:19 (TPT), we read,  But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and often pondered what they meant. Even though she knew she was the mother of the Messiah, she was guarded about making that public. This verse takes place in the context where the shepherds came to see Jesus after having seen the angel that revealed to them who He was and where to find Him. What a reaction she had upon hearing such a confirmation from the mouths of people that were also visited by angels, like she had been previously. We would do well in learning from her guardedness. Her relationship with God was so intimate that her conversations were always internal, between her and Her God, before they became external.

I love the fact that I can tell God everything. We never have to hold anything back from Him! There is so much peace to be found in talking to God about everything. He knows it all and, in fact, He wants us to share everything with Him- even the things that we cannot tell anyone else. There are things that even the most well-meaning people in our lives will be incapable of understanding. God alone understands us completely. You know, our relationship with God will be as intimate as we open up to Him. When we take everything to God, we are actually allowing Him to become intimately active in every aspect of our lives. He takes delight in being present where He is invited. God is a true gentleman and even though He possesses all the power in the world, He allows us to make our choice. The wisest thing we will ever do is changing the way we see our relationship with God. Do we consider prayer to be a real conversation between us and the God of the universe, that wants to speak to us and deserves to be the first to know about anything that concerns our lives, or do we pray after we have sought the counsel of people (as wise as they might be)? If we do not fight to develop a relationship with God where we turn to Him first, we will be incapable of knowing how to handle the hard things that life throws our way. Every time we will take matters into our own hands, we invite chaos. The consequences are gruesome.

Our lips hold a power that we are so often unaware of. Proverbs 18:21 tells us, Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life, and the talkative person will reap the consequences. We can actually kill someone’s soul with our words or give them life, so to speak, with our words. A hastily spoken word can create unthinkable damage, just like a wise and well-pondered word can bring unthinkable direction and healing to someone. Even for those of us that like to talk, we should be extremely careful because this verse gives us a real warning about being too talkative. It is better to keep your words back than speak every thought that comes to your mind if you desire to have peace and harmony in your life. Keeping our most intimate thoughts to ourselves is a rare and beautiful thing that God alone can teach us in a world that had long ago discarded the sacredness of privacy. When we learn to tell God about everything first, we will know how and when to speak or when to keep silent. Speaking to God about it first has made a world of difference in my own life and I have been able to seek firsthand the wisdom that comes from doing so. The conflict and heartbreak we can avoid by guarding the door of our mouths and taking our most intimate thoughts to God alone is unimaginable. Learn to treasure privacy, no matter how outdated the world we live in thinks it is!