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Fasting From Criticism - Try It!

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalms 141:3

In A Closer Walk Catherine Marshall writes, 'One morning last week God gave me an assignment for one day. I was to go on a "fast" from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody or anything. 'For the first half of the day I simply felt a void, almost as if I'd been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at lunch. I listened to the others and kept silent. In our talkative family nobody seemed to notice. Bemused, I noted that the Federal Government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along just fine without my personal observations! But still I did not see what this "fast from criticism" was accomplishing - until mid-afternoon. 'In the afternoon God gave me a new vision for my life. And it had His unmistakable hallmark on it - joy! Ideas began to come to me in a way I hadn't experienced in years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not solved a single one of the multitudinous things I had found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity.'

Listen, ' Words kill, words give life...you choose', (Proverbs 18:21). Negative words create an atmosphere in which positive people cannot live, and creative solutions cannot be found. Only in a climate of faith and acceptance can risks be taken, progress be made, and dreams be fulfilled. That is why you need to pray today 'Take control of what I say, O Lord...' (Psalm 141:3).

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me today to take a fast from criticism – and help me make it for MORE THAN a day! Keep me focused on the positive things and on ways in which I can be an instrument of yours for the good of others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen