TAKE IT IN 10.26.25

October 27th, 2025

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

In a world that thrives on instant reactions and constant noise, James gives us a simple but powerful reminder: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19–20) These words are more than good advice — they’re a roadmap to spiritual and emotional maturity.

Listening well has become a spiritual superpower in our culture of assumptions and snap judgments. When we slow down and truly hear others — and God — we grow in humility, patience, and wisdom. Pride says, “I already know,” but humility says, “I want to understand.”

Being slow to speak means choosing our words carefully, letting our responses carry grace and truth instead of frustration or offense. And being slow to anger doesn’t mean ignoring our emotions; it means allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them instead of being ruled by them.

James also reminds us that spiritual growth requires clearing out the clutter — habits, distractions, and influences that keep us from hearing God clearly. As we make space for His Word and His presence, we begin to reflect His character more in how we listen, speak, and love.

REFLECT |

Where in your life do you need to slow down and listen — to God or to someone else?
How can you use your words this week to bring peace, not reaction, into your relationships?

BIBLE VERSES

Key Verses are denoted with an *

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DAY 1 | THE SUPERPOWER OF LISTENING

In a world where everyone seems to be talking at once, where social media feeds are filled with opinions and reactions, there's something revolutionary about simply listening. We live in a culture that rewards the loudest voice, the quickest comeback, and the most clever response. But what if the real power lies in something much quieter? Listening has become a rare gift. When someone truly listens to us - not just waiting for their turn to speak, but genuinely hearing our heart - it feels like a breath of fresh air. It makes us feel valued, understood, and loved. This is exactly what James is calling us to embrace as followers of Christ. Think about the last meaningful conversation you had. Chances are, it wasn't because someone impressed you with their words, but because they made space for yours. They leaned in, asked good questions, and created a safe place for you to share what was really on your heart. Listening is more than just being quiet while someone else talks. It's an act of love that says, "You matter. Your thoughts, feelings, and experiences are important to me." When we choose to listen first, we're following the example of our heavenly Father, who invites us to come to Him with everything on our hearts. As we begin this journey together, let's challenge ourselves to see listening not as a passive activity, but as an active choice to love others well. In a noisy world, your willingness to truly hear someone might be the most powerful thing you do today.

BIBLE VERSE |
"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." - James 1:19

REFLECTION QUESTION |
Who in your life needs you to listen to them more intentionally, and what might be preventing you from giving them that gift?

QUOTE |
"In a culture that is fueled by assuming and speculating and jumping to conclusions, let me tell you, listening is a superpower. It is absolutely a superpower."

PRAYER |
Lord, help me to slow down and truly listen to those around me. Give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to simply be present. Make me quick to hear and slow to assume. Amen.

DAY 2 | THE WISDOM OF HUMILITY

There's something beautiful that happens when we realize we don't have all the answers. It might seem counterintuitive, but admitting what we don't know is actually a sign of growing wisdom, not weakness. Pride has a way of making us think we need to have an opinion about everything, a solution for every problem, and an answer for every question. But this kind of thinking actually closes us off from learning and growing. When we approach conversations believing we already know what the other person is going to say, we miss the opportunity to discover something new. True wisdom begins with humility - the recognition that there's always more to learn, more to understand, and more ways to grow. This doesn't mean we become wishy-washy or that we don't have convictions. Instead, it means we hold our opinions with open hands, ready to be challenged, refined, or even changed when we encounter truth. When we listen with humility, we create space for God to teach us through others. That difficult conversation with a family member might reveal something about our own heart. That friend who sees things differently might offer a perspective we've never considered. Even that person who frustrates us might be carrying wisdom we need to hear. Humility in listening also means we're not just waiting for our turn to prove how smart we are or how right we've been. We're genuinely curious about what others think and feel, and we're open to being surprised by what we discover.

BIBLE VERSE |
"To answer before listening - that is folly and shame." - Proverbs 18:13

REFLECTION QUESTION |
What assumptions or preconceived notions might be preventing you from truly hearing what others are trying to communicate to you?

QUOTE |
"I used to think that wisdom was having all of the answers. And I remember having a conversational lunch with one of my mentors, and I told him that I feel like wisdom. I should have all of the answers. If I'm getting wiser in life, I should know more. And I said, but I feel like the more that I grow, the deeper that I go, the more questions that I have. And without hesitation, he said, that's wisdom, my friend. Wisdom is humility."

PRAYER |
Father, humble my heart and open my mind. Help me to approach every conversation with curiosity rather than certainty. Teach me through the people You've placed in my life. Amen.

DAY 3 | WORDS THAT BUILD

Have you ever noticed how some people's words stick with you long after the conversation ends? There's something about the way they speak that carries weight, substance, and life. Their words don't just fill the air - they fill your heart with encouragement, wisdom, or hope. Being slow to speak isn't about being quiet all the time. It's about being intentional with our words, choosing them carefully so that when we do speak, what we say matters. It's the difference between adding to the noise and adding to the conversation. When we rush to respond, we often say things we later regret. We might interrupt someone mid-sentence because we're so eager to share our thoughts. We might offer quick fixes to complex problems or give advice when what someone really needs is just to be heard. But when we slow down, we give ourselves time to consider not just what we want to say, but what needs to be said. Think about the people in your life whose words have shaped you for the better. They probably weren't the ones who talked the most, but the ones who spoke with purpose. They asked good questions, offered thoughtful responses, and knew when silence was more powerful than speech. As followers of Christ, our words have the power to build others up or tear them down. When we choose to be slow to speak, we're making space for wisdom to guide our responses. We're choosing quality over quantity, substance over noise.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues." - Proverbs 10:19

REFLECTION QUESTION |
How can you be more intentional about speaking words that build others up rather than simply filling silence with noise?

QUOTE |
"Wisdom is being a person whose words have weight, that what you say has substance. When you speak, it's helpful. It's worth hearing. It's not just noise."

PRAYER |
Lord, help me to be thoughtful with my words. Give me wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. Let my words bring life, encouragement, and truth to those around me. Amen.

DAY 4 | EMOTIONS AS DATA, NOT DRIVERS

Emotions are powerful things. They can motivate us to great acts of love and compassion, but they can also drive us to say and do things we later regret. The key to emotional maturity isn't eliminating emotions - it's learning to have them without letting them have us. When we're slow to anger, we're not suppressing our feelings or pretending everything is fine when it's not. Instead, we're creating space between what we feel and how we respond. We're treating our emotions as valuable information about what's happening in our hearts and circumstances, but we're not letting them make our decisions for us. Anger often signals that something important to us feels threatened or violated. That's useful information! But when we rush toward anger, we often miss the opportunity to understand what's really going on beneath the surface. We react instead of respond, and we usually make things worse instead of better. In our culture of outrage, where people seem to be looking for reasons to be offended, choosing to be slow to anger is countercultural. It requires us to pause, breathe, and ask ourselves what's really happening here. It means we're more interested in understanding than in being understood, more committed to peace than to being right. This doesn't mean we become doormats or that we never address problems. It means we address them from a place of wisdom and self-control rather than from a place of reactive emotion.

BIBLE VERSE |
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." - Psalm 103:8

REFLECTION QUESTION |
What triggers tend to make you react quickly in anger, and how might slowing down help you respond more wisely in those situations?

QUOTE |
"Emotional maturity. I have emotions. Emotions do not have me. They don't have me. They're a source of data, but they're not sitting in the driver's seat."

PRAYER |
God, help me to be like You - slow to anger and abounding in love. When I feel strong emotions, help me to pause and seek Your wisdom before I respond. Give me self-control and compassion. Amen.

DAY 5 | MAKING ROOM FOR GOD

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to spiritual growth isn't what we need to add to our lives - it's what we need to remove. Just like a garden needs weeding to help the good plants flourish, our hearts need clearing out to make room for what God wants to do in us. When we're constantly busy, constantly connected, constantly consuming information and entertainment, it becomes difficult to hear God's voice. Our lives can become so cluttered with good things that we miss the best things. We can be so focused on our own plans and priorities that we crowd out space for God's purposes. Making room for God might mean putting down our phones more often so we can be present with the people He's placed in our lives. It might mean saying no to some commitments so we can say yes to what He's calling us to. It might mean getting quiet enough, long enough, for Him to speak to our hearts. This isn't about adding more religious activities to an already packed schedule. It's about creating space - physical, emotional, and spiritual space - for God to work. It's about making His purposes our top priority and arranging everything else around that commitment. When we make room for God, beautiful things happen. We start to see His hand at work in ways we missed before. We begin to hear His voice more clearly. We find ourselves becoming the people He created us to be, and we discover that His ways really do work - they bring glory to Him and good to us.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10

REFLECTION QUESTION |
What might you need to remove from your life or schedule to create more space for God to work in and through you?

QUOTE |
"We need to make room for what God wants to do in us and through us. We gotta make room. We've gotta make up our minds that nothing in my life is gonna get in the way of that."

PRAYER |
Lord, help me to make room for You in every area of my life. Show me what needs to go so that Your purposes can take priority. Help me to be still and know that You are God. Amen.

ACTION STEP

This week, practice the 'two ears, one mouth' principle by intentionally listening more than you speak in your conversations. Choose one relationship where you will focus on truly listening without interrupting, giving advice, or planning your response. Additionally, spend time in prayer asking God to reveal anything in your life that needs to be 'taken out' - any influences, habits, or attitudes that are hindering your spiritual growth.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank You for the wisdom You've shared with us today through James. We recognize that listening, speaking carefully, and controlling our anger are not just good life skills - they are marks of spiritual maturity that honor You. Help us to be people whose words have weight and whose lives reflect Your character. Give us the courage to examine our hearts and remove anything that hinders our relationship with You. Make us quick to listen to Your voice above all others, slow to speak words that don't build up, and slow to anger that doesn't produce Your righteousness. Transform us to be more like You - compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. We commit to taking these steps this week, trusting that when we do things Your way, it works and brings glory to Your name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

BIBLE APP PLANS

Swift to Hear and Slow To Speak
3 Days – Vance K Jackson
Before you speak, choose to listen to the heart of the matter. Before you abruptly make a move, choose to hear all the facts. Before you proceed to execute, choose to listen to wise counsel. Before you pursue, pray and seek God for His instruction.

Me and My Big Mouth
5 Days – North Point Ministeries
We often speak too quickly and wish we could take our words back, forgetting James’ wisdom to be “quick to listen, slow to speak.” When we pause before responding, we make space for others, reflect Christ’s humility, and allow our words to bring peace instead of regret.

Watch Your Mouth (Youth)
6 Days – Kennetra A. Bryant

God’s word tells us that “tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Knowing this truth, believers should be mindful of the words they speak. In the Watch Your Mouth Bible Plan, readers will discover in scripture accounts where individuals mouths either produced progression or regression in their lives.