May the Tone of My Voice be Pleasing to You, Jesus

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

    be pleasing in your sight,

    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

This verse of Psalm 19 presents a challenge. Not only should we compose words that please Jesus, but we must also dwell on and formulate thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

As a mom of littles, measuring my tone of voice is a daily battle. For some reason or another, my children seem to hear me better and respond to my requests more efficiently when my voice is elevated, (as in loud!) Do I hear any amens? The problem with this approach is that I fear my children will soon become tone-deaf to my kind requests spoken in a gentle manner. If I keep driving pedal to the metal, I run the risk of crashing and injuring myself and possibly my children, spiritually. And so I must stop and get a ticket instead.

This devotion is me handing over my license and registration and by God’s grace receiving a warning. I encourage you to impose this warning upon yourself as well, if necessary.

I am not a yeller and do not want to become one, and so I vow to administer discipline in a godly manner when my children disobey. Instead of raising my voice, I will refuse to spare the rod (Proverbs 13:24). 

Children need to be disciplined for their offenses. Rules and set boundaries make children feel safe, confident, and secure. 

I want my children to feel safe and loved. Therefore, I refuse to raise my voice. May the words of my mouth, the tone of my voice, and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you Jesus.

Dear Jesus,

Forgive me when I fall short. In all the ways I fail as a mom, I pray that your grace will be sufficient to cover and carry me. 

Reset my heart. Reset my mind. Reset my words and my tone of voice. May every ounce of me be pleasing to you. In Jesus' all-sufficient name, amen.

Steps of Faith:

• Make it your goal to not yell at your children today and this week. When you are tempted to raise your voice, say a silent prayer instead. We can train ourselves and develop a habit of gentleness with our words in this way.