Psalm 103:1-2: "Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—"

"One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody's listening," Franklin P. Jones once said. Now a new study shows that talking to yourself in a positive way may be an indication of health. Psychologists Daniel Swigley and Gary Lupyan gave 20 people the name of an object (like a loaf of bread or an apple), which they were told to find in the supermarket. During the first set of trials, the participants were bound to silence. In the second set, they repeated the object's name out loud as they looked for it in the store.

Test subjects found the object with greater ease when they spoke to themselves while searching. Saying things out loud sparks memory. It solidifies the end game and makes it tangible. According to psychologist Linda Sapadin, talking out loud to yourself helps you validate important and difficult decisions. "It helps you clarify your thoughts, tend to what's important, and firm up any decisions you're contemplating." [David Finch, Elk Grove, California; source: Gigi Engle, "People Who Talk To Themselves Aren't Crazy, They're Actually Geniuses," EliteDaily.Com (7-8-15)]

We are always talking to ourselves, giving ourselves messages. What messages are you giving yourself? Are these messages rooted in God's Word, in truth, and in love? David is a model of Biblical self-talk (Psalm 103:1-2) when he encourages himself in the Lord. The Proverb writer says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7a NKJV). Our thoughts, or self talk, can shape us, can change our mind set. What kind of person would we become if instead of the usual messages we find in our heads we changed them into praise and gratitude to God? So, praise the Lord and speak to yourself of His benefits! 

Prayer: Father God, praise Your holy name! You are great and You are good. We remember all the ways you have delivered us, saved us, given us a hope and a future. We praise Your holy name. In Jesus, amen.