God of truth, save us from a religion of mere words:
from repeating pious phrases which have lost their meaning;
from uttering empty prayers which have no soul;
from calling Jesus ‘Lord, Lord’,
when we fail to own his sovereignty.
We pray that the Gospel may come into our lives
not in word only but also in the power of the Spirit,
and that our love may not be a matter of words or talk
but be genuine and show itself in action.
Help us, our Father, to mean this our prayer
as we ask it in the name of Christ our Lord.
Frank Colquhoun, 1909-1997, evangelical priest; Church of England
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The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good,
and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account
for every careless word they speak,
for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
prayer & verse 