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I have a big mouth. If you have read my testimony, you know that I have struggled with panic attacks and an anxiety disorder that most of the time left my tongue paralyzed when it came to simple things, such as ordering a meal or answering the phone. God delivered me from the solitude I had imprisoned myself in. However, I had a new problem--now I talked too much.

I have started to monitor my words and have been shocked by what I discovered. Complaining...gossiping...fault-finding...even negative words and word curses.

Matthew 12:36 says 'But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day judgment for every careless word they have spoken.' I don't know about you, but I think it's time to get our mouths in order.

According to Proverbs 18:21, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Deuteronomy 30:19 makes it even clearer by saying 'This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.'

When God created the world, Genesis 1:3 says 'And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.' He gave you that same power to speak things into existence. You might be thinking "how is that possible?"

Mark 11:23 states "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.' According to this verse, you can have what you say--negative or positive. Throughout the Bible, especially in Proverbs, God speaks about our mouths.

James 3:3-10 shows us that our tongues are like a bit in a horse's mouth. With that bit in place, you can control the animal, turn it any way you want it to go. Or like a ship that can be steered by a small rudder. Our tongues are little, but they can contaminate our whole bodies and the lives of others around us.

We are the only creatures created by God that can choose what we say. Although a parrot can talk, he can't choose the words that come out of his mouth. He only repeats what he hears. Verse 9 notes 'With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.' and Verse 10--'Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.'

In church or around godly friends, we praise God and talk about what the Bible says. When we arrive home, when we are in a jam--lost our car keys, , had an argument or our teenage daughter announces she's pregnant, we complain, gossip and, believe it or not, we even curse people and ourselves with our words. Have you ever called a person "stupid," said you wished they were dead or that you were never born? Those are all word curses.

Charles Capps speaks of a woman in his book God's Creative Power for Healing. Whenever this woman got mad, she would say "that just burns me up." She would say it several times a day. For several months, the woman continued to have a fever, but the doctors couldn't figure out why. She had no physical reason to have a fever. Then the doctor asked her about her habits. When he found out she had been saying "that just burns me up," he told her to stop. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the fever. Within weeks, her fever left her.

Did you know that angels are all around you, just waiting to carry out your words of faith? When you speak negatively, you cancel out the positive words you have spoken. James 1:8--'He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.' A double-minded person is one who has one foot in the world's way of thinking and one foot in God's promises. God is calling us to choose one and be steadfast in that thinking and that thinking only. The Bible says that God would prefer that we either be hot or cold rather than lukewarm Christians.

So, how do we start to change our mouths?

1) Ask God For Help. Make Psalm 141:3 'Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.' your daily prayer.

2) Renew Your Mind. Romans 12:1-2 says 'Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.' By changing your thoughts, you will change your mouth because Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) reveals 'For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:' Memorize scriptures on the mouth. Meditate on them by thinking about them, reciting them, mulling them over in your mind. Make them personal to you by inserting your name into the scripture, such "For God so loved Annagail that he gave his one and only Son, that Annagail who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16) Then try to visual yourself speaking and thinking according to God's Word.

3) Monitor Your Mouth. A wise person watches the words that come out of his/her mouth.. Ask God to convict you when you utter wrong words, use profanities or cut someone down. When you get into a bad situation, Philippians 4:8 says to 'Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.'

4) Start to prophesy over your own life. God told us to 'calleth those things which be not as though they were.(Romans 4:17 KJV). As long as it lines up with God's will, you can speak out what you want as long as you keep speaking it and believing it in your heart. Speak God's promises over your life.

5) Use your mouth to exhort and encourage others. Begin to pray God's word of your life and the lives of your friends and family.

I am still struggling in this area, but every day I am growing up more in Christ. We must train our mouths and flesh to conform to God's Word. I challenge you to make a decision to do so today.