There are certain choruses and mini-worship songs that have burrowed deep into my memory over the decades. I was humming one this week as I was checking off the traffic lights along Highway 25. The words are great for a whispered prayer: “I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice. To worship you, O my soul rejoice! Take joy my King, in what You hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet, sound in Your ear.”

The words and requests are brief but carry a powerful message. Too often, I believe, we sing the words of songs in church or in private worship without realizing what we are saying. Love and worship are so close in a relationship with God that to me they are synonymous. I understand that lyric well. It’s the second lyric or line that causes me to do some soul-searching. “Take joy my King, in what You hear.”

The words of adoration and worship are lovely words, but when they cross lips that have had prior words of criticism or gossip, the joy I want the Father to experience has been tainted.

Please don’t think I’m sermonizing or attempting to lecture, but what kind of words would constantly be coming from our lips if we seriously considered that God hears every word we say or even think? If we could picture Him as always by our side or in the room in close proximity — within hearing distance — how would our speech be affected?

On more than one occasion a family member has pointed out to me that my phone, resting at the top of my purse, was still on. That’s a mistake phone users need to avoid, because we know someone on the other end of our last conversation could be hearing what we’re saying after that phone call. But would it be necessary if the words we said were the kind that brought joy to our King?

Winston Churchill is one of the rare politicians and statesmen that exemplified integrity in the throes of opposition. During his last year in office, he attended an official ceremony and seated several rows behind him were two men whispering, “That’s Winston Churchill, they say he is getting senile. Some say he should step aside to let more capable men run the nation.”

When the ceremony was over,Churchill turned to the men and said, “Gentlemen, they also say he is deaf!”

“Take joy my King, in what You hear.” I hope to keep that simple tune and its words in my mind a lot because I agree with what the songwriter was saying. All that comes from our lips should be a sweet, sweet sound in God’s ear.

Camille Anding, P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602.