If thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Proverbs 30:32b (KJV)

I was reading this the others day and the Lord just lifted this verse up off the page to me and began showing me some things about it. We need to stop wrong thoughts from finding their way out of our lips.

In Romans 6:2, the Apostle Paul uses the phrase, “God forbid.” This phrase actually means “don’t give birth to a thought by saying it.” We are not to speak any bad or wrong thoughts that we get. I have heard Kenneth Copeland say that a thought unspoken dies stillborn. In other words, we give life to a thought when we speak it. When we cast down and avoid speaking negative thoughts that come to us, we can prevent them from having any effect in our lives.

Satan cannot read our minds, but he can hear our spoken words. And he will bring wrong thoughts to us to try to get us to say them out loud, giving him power and access in our lives. Speaking his words gives him place in our lives, allowing him to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He was experiencing pressure and He said He would not be speaking much because He did not want to give the enemy any opportunity.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. James 1:19 (KJV)

When we are quick to hear and slow to speak, we give ourselves time to think before we speak. This allows us to determine if we need to give voice to what we are thinking. This enables us to be wise about what we choose to say. We can accept right thoughts and reject the wrong ones when we have time to think.

If you have trouble in this area, here are some steps that will help you succeed.

• Renew your mind with the Word of God so your mind will accept the right thoughts and reject the wrong ones. (Romans 12:2)

• Speak God’s Word out loud to cast down wrong thoughts. (II Corinthians 10:5)

Be choosy about the thoughts you accept and speak. It will have a huge impact on your life.