In the parish I attend (The America Episcopal Church), the preacher for a service often begins with a short prayer before they begin.
I have found that such a prayer also works, privately, when I am speaking to God / The Maker before beginning any speech, lesson, or talk.
One of mine is a direct quote from Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight,
O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.(King James Translation)
I used to wonder what the “meditation of my heart” had to do with speaking from the pulpit (or writing in a journal.) Think of those irritating people in your life who seem to be so busy composing their response to what you’re saying, rather than listening to what’s said.
We should always hope that we are not putting words in God’s mouth by meditating off-topic while speaking. It’s tough to do and a really easy way to lose your place in a sermon! 
And more important, it pulls us away from the message that we bring to others in the name of God: this is the time when we need to be very attentive that we speak on God’s behalf, and not make claims for what God might or might not believe, or what God may or may not like.
Otherwise, we might find ourselves telling a lie in the name of God. Never a good thing!
Keep the faith, and in speaking and writing, do so from honest faith, and not (in our “meditations”,) not making an untrue assumption about the endless love of God.
- Amen
Tags: contemplative prayer, God, Meditation, Psalms
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