Prayers are relatively uncommon in wisdom literature (see, however, 36:1-22 and 51:1-12). This prayer isn’t entirely separate from the previous theme of building friendship, as friendship can be lost through a slip of the tongue, such as revealing a secret. It also connects to the following sections, which also focus on the theme of the tongue. The prayer has two parts, each introduced by the invocation “Lord, Father, Master of my life” (1) and “Lord, Father, God of my life” (4). The first part expresses a desire to control the tongue, since it can do much harm; the second part reflects a desire to master unrestrained appetites and passions, as losing control of these can result in losing one’s humanity.