Open My Lips - Day 30

Thursday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 19, 2026

A Quick Word

We need to stay with Psalm 51:15 for another day. There is more here than we shouldn’t rush past. But first, a few words and an idea.

Most people are quietly embarrassed by how little Scripture they can actually know my heart. At a gathering or a conversation, they reach for the familiar—the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), or the ever-reliable John 3:16. And there is nothing wrong with that. But we can go deeper.

Psalm 51:15 is worth committing to memory.

Make it your first prayer in the morning, as I have done for years. Let it be the first words you speak as you begin your devotions. Use it to greet the day. Pray it quietly before a meeting, or just before you stand to speak or present. It will help you.

Passwords

And, if I may offer one more practical suggestion: it even makes for an excellent password. It has everything—upper and lower case, numbers, even special characters—and, best of all, it is already written on your heart.

Now, let’s return to the text.

“O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.”
Psalm 51:15

There is something David does not say.

He does not say, “I will speak now.”
He does not say, “I am ready to praise.”
He does not say, “I have learned my lesson.”

Instead, he asks God to do something first.

Open my lips.

That small request tells us more than it first appears. David understands that forgiven speech is not automatic. It is possible to be forgiven and still speak wrongly. It is possible to praise too soon. It is even possible to use religious language to cover what has not yet been healed.