## 19:14
%% 4
> Acceptable in Your Sight
>> Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, LORD, my rock, and my redeemer.

Occasion: Before speaking in public

The room will go quiet soon, Lord.
Faces set in rows.
Pages in my hand.
A dry mouth.
All those gazes turned towards me.

I can already feel myself wondering
how I will sound,
whether I will lose my place,
or draw a blank,
whether they will understand.
There is nowhere to hide once I begin,
and I am afraid of getting it wrong.

Keep my words acceptable to You
before they reach anyone else.
Give me a heart that is not performing.

I want to be received.
I want the applause,
the joke that works,
the line that lands.
But that want can bend a sentence.
It can make me reach for approval
instead of saying what I came to say.

Let me speak what is true,
plainly,
with no trick in it.
Help me neither rush nor pretend.
And if my voice shakes,
let it still tell the truth.

Not the faces first, Lord.
Your presence first.
Your presence when the room goes quiet,
and while every gaze is turned my way.

Amen.