Self-Talk

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. – 1 Peter 2:1-2

Go ahead and admit it, you talk to yourself. It’s not something to be embarrassed about—self- talk can be used to your benefit in order to greatly improve your success in controlling your desires.

One way to use it is to constructively direct the anger you feel when you’re tempted by an unhealthy or inappropriate desire. Instead of getting angry with yourself, get angry at the offense, and at the stumbling block it poses.  This will help you resist it.

Another way self-talk can be used is to confront yourself and your appetites in order to bring rationality back into play when temptation threatens to confuse and disorient you.  When you actively engage your mind by talking to yourself, you’ll be less likely to act without thinking, and you’ll reinforce what you believe to be true, right, and good.

Make no mistake about it.  Self talk can be a very spiritually wise thing to do.  Listen to what the master theologian, J. I. Packer says on this topic in his book, A Quest For Godliness: “Richard Baxter convinced me long ago that regular discursive meditation, in which as he quaintly put it you ‘imitate the most powerful preacher you ever heard’ in applying spiritual truth to yourself, as well as turning that truth into praise, is a vital discipline for spiritual health.  This unanimous Puritan view is now mine too.”

– Steve Arterburn

If you hear a voice within you saying you are a painter, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. – Vincent Van Gogh

Your self-talk is the channel of behavior change – Gino Norris