Do you talk to yourself? I mean, out loud. People say that crazy folks talk to themselves. So do normal, well-adjusted people. Psychologists claim there are positive benefits to self-talk.
David Martin Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) wrote a book on the topic, Spiritual Depression. It’s a compilation of twenty-one sermons he preached while serving as pastor of Westminster Chapel in London. Twenty-one sermons on any one topic reveals something about its importance. In one sermon, David asks, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself, instead of talking to yourself?” He continues, “Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning…Is it the self that is bringing back the problems of yesterday? Does your inner critic have its way with you? Does self-blame have control of your life, even self-loathing at times?” Instead, of listening to the inner self, he reminds his listeners that the Psalmist speaks these words to himself, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God” (Psalm 42.5). It’s as if the Psalmist is saying, ‘Self, listen to me for a moment. Let me tell you something. I’m not going to take all your trash talking.’
Don’t let the inner self do all the talking. Give yourself a pep talk using the words of Scripture. Speak Psalm 42 into your life. I have reworked words from Lloyd-Jones’ sermon to express positive self-talk in the form of a prayer: