A Short Prayer To Speak From Calm, Not From Chaos

A prayer to reflect one of the most famous expressions: think before you speak. When we’re angry, hurt, or overwhelmed, it can become easy to snap and react from that place of pain. Instead, it’s vital for us to reset and reflect on our words before we speak them. Here is a prayer to root your words in God, not pain.

God, let my words reflect your peace, not my pain.

Because I know how easily hurt can shape the way I speak. I know how quickly emotion can rise before understanding does. I know how tempting it is to let old wounds dictate my reaction. But I don’t want to be the kind of human being who lives from the places within myself that haven’t healed yet. I want my voice to come from grace, not from defensiveness — from who I am becoming, and not from what has broken me.

Steady me before I speak, God. Give me the kind of tenderness that lets wisdom sit between my feelings and my response. Help me to choose calm; help me to channel intention instead of impulse, help me to channel honesty instead of harshness. Teach me to answer with the same softness you have given me, even when I feel misunderstood, even when I feel hurt.

I don’t want to add to the noise or deepen the wound, God. I want my words to carry virtue, and empathy, and truth. Help me to speak in a way that protects my peace instead of losing it. And when frustration tries to get to me first, remind me that I can breathe, that I can recenter, and that I can choose differently.

Let the way I speak reflect the healing you are doing in me, God — even on the days my pain would rather take the lead.