I woke up this morning with this poem in my mind. I’ve never heard it before, so I got up and wrote it down.

Are you wearing the bridle of Christ
And letting Him steer you
Through day-to-day life,
Listening to His still small voice
Prompting your conscience,
Inspiring your intuition,
And guiding your heart?

A person without Christ is like a wild horse without a bridle. O, Lord, bridle my heart!

Later I googled “bridle of Christ” and found:

An early Christian hymn about Jesus Christ, written by Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD), was called Bridle of Steeds Untamed.  It goes:

Bridle of colts untamed,
Over our wills presiding;
Wing of unwandering birds,
Our flight securely guiding.
Rudder of youth unbending,
Firm against adverse shock;
Shepherd, with wisdom tending
Lambs of the royal flock:

I also found the book A Bridle for Sinners and a Spur for Saints, by Francis Worchester, published in 1760.

“You’re like a half-tamed creature, still shy of the bridle.” –Nenia Campbell

“The heart, it’s a mighty strong-willed muscle. Like a wild horse it spews that bit right out of its mouth.” –Susan Rohrer in the book, Bridle my Heart.

The book of James indicates that the bridle of Christ begins with the tongue: “If anyone among you thinks to be religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, his religion is vain.” We need to surrender our speech to Christ and let His bridle direct what we say.

“A nation that has no bridle on its sensuality, can never thrive or survive.” –Sri Sathya Sai Baba