O Israel, return to the Lord your God. For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips (Hosea 14:1-2).
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things (Matthew 12:34-35).
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:21).
Words mean something. They mean something to people. They mean something to God. Words of repentance, words of concern and words of praise are very important to our Heavenly Father. However, they must come from our hearts- not just our lips.
The posture of our hearts is so important to God. Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” He wants us to have pure hearts so that we do not approach Him with any kind of pretense.
Obviously, words of repentance are where we must start. As seen in the following Scriptures repentance is necessary to receive forgiveness and brings mercy into our lives:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
All of us have concerns. It is good to know that God cares about us- therefore what concerns us concerns Him. In His Word we find the invitation to share these concerns with Him:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. (I Peter 5:7).
Then there are words of praise. We praise God because He alone is worthy to be praised. Our praise is to be freely given and continually speaks of His righteousness:
I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good (Psalm 54:6).
And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long (Psalm 35:28).
In summary, we are welcome to go to God for anything. When we have sinned, we can repent. When we have concerns, we can give them to Him. When we just want to praise Him, we can do just that. Yes, we can go to God- and take heartfelt words with us.
Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.
Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter — Breanna.
Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.
by leaps and bounds 
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