"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."

Possible Preaching Angles: Mediation; Renewal of the Mind—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.