What are we doing with our words?
In the world we live in today, the power of our words means more now than ever; the power of the Scripture means more than it ever has, and the impact of its words will reach further than ever. I can honestly say that I have always known that there is power in our words; there is strength behind what we say and strength behind how we say it. That strength can have either a positive or negative impact.
Proverbs 12:18 NIV
The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
I’ve seen well-intentioned words hurt, and I’ve heard well-intentioned words lead someone astray. We don’t do it on purpose, but when we aren’t intentional about what we say and how we say it, the interpretation of those words can become skewed, even in a conversation between only two people.
“Far too much is lost in interpretation when we pass the words through the filter of earth rather than fashion the earth with the words of heaven” — Lisa Bevere (page 129).
Are we allowing our words to become earth-based? Are we allowing them to become catchy or cliché? Are we trying to make the sacred words common? Are our words lacking wisdom and hurting instead of healing?
The Bible was not only given to us to help us grow closer to God, to help us understand God’s love for us, to teach us the history and to give us a guide in which to live our lives; but it was given to us for us to share it with others. We must retain the power it holds. We musn’t allow the filter that the world has placed on it to lessen the power it holds.
Hebrews 11:3 NIV
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
When I read this quote by William Booth I said “wow!” “In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without a hell” (William Booth, pg. 133).
I don’t believe that we are intentionally creating this reality, but I do believe that we are unintentionally making this statement true. When we say things, are we saying them because they sound good and will grab the attention of others? Or have we passed what we are going to say through God’s filter? Have we asked His advice about what to say and how to say it? Have we sought out His Scripture?
Ladies, we need to be aware of our words. I know that this needs to be a goal of mine, too. I am not always intentional about what I say. I always tell my kids to think before they speak. Not only do we need to apply this to our lives, but more importantly we need to pray before we speak. We need to run our words through the Heavenly filter.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, our words can do harm as easily as they can do good. Lord, touch our hearts before we speak as a reminder to pray about what we are going to say and how we are going to say it. Your words hold power that we want to retain. Please help us to use our words to heal and not hurt, to draw ourselves and others closer to You and not to lead them astray. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
About Tonya Ellison
Tonya, I could have stopped at your first sentence and had a sermon that I needed to hear: “what are you doing with your words?” It is time, at least for me, to examine myself according to His Words. Great points.
I’m right there with you, I know that I need to start being more aware of what I say, and how I say it.
Tonya, thank you for this thought provoking devotion/study. The thing that kept coming to my mind was Jesus’ words to His disciples. Numerous times He told them that the Father would give them His Holy Spirit. One example in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (God knew we would need more than our own strength to control our tongue, read James 3.) He desires that we allow His Holy Spirit in us to empower and guide us so that we can speak words that witness to His love and forgiveness. Words that heal and not hurt.
I know that I need Him! I prayed along with you this morning. And my daily prayer, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
I love this verse, it I’d also one that I have to constantly remind myself of. It takes a conscious effort on my part to live this. Thanks for posting it. ♥
Sometimes all we need is a change of attitude to change our words. We develop bad habits which cause us harm and we harm others. Good words here today.
Amen to that!
I have learned, the hard way of course, to watch what comes out of my mouth, but what is in my mind needs to be corralled and revamped into a more positive way so that I don’t have to be so careful with what comes out of my mouth. My mind is just as bad as my tongue. It can start a fire where a fire is not supposed to be and I have these really long conversations, in silence, and can get myself all worked up over nothing. 😉 As Clella said, may the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You. When I am arguing with myself, that is not pleasing to Him. Just because it doesn’t come out verbally, doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful.
Great post Tonya.
Unfortunately we have all learned the hard way. I’m standing with Clellas verse as well. I think I’m going to add it to the others I have posted in my office. ♥
thanking God for His working in you, tonya! as always, your words are simple and encouraging! this is part of my prayer today: “truly, it is time to make a difference…we desire to be part of that difference! by Your grace, may it be so.” <3
Yes by His grace! Amen ♥
I can’t say enough about the power of our words. I just know there IS power in our words. They can bring LIFE or they can bring DEATH. They can build-up, or tear down. They can encourage or destroy! We ALL have to be so very careful with what we say to others, AND to our selves! When I found the video that is in this blog, I KNEW it was the perfect one because of what it said: “It’s time to make a difference”!! Amen!!
I think we forget that our words impact others but also impact ourselves. Thx for reminding us. ♥
So love this study and Tonya, thank you for your reminder to filter our words. As God would have it, today I received an email (one that was sent to me by mistake). Unfortunately it was about me, not to me. It was sent by a pastor’s wife and not very uplifting. I knew I would need to respond and actually knew the Lord wanted me to see it. I had to pray hard before I wrote the email, that God would make my words truthful but not rude, bring light not dark and yet tear down the lies with grace. To do this on my own would have been impossible – but after praying, the words came out and I sent it with another prayer that God would use it for His good. When I got that email, I took a rest and read today’s blog… as you can see, God’s timing is always perfect. Thank you Tonya and thank you Lord for sending this message today!
Wow, Gods timing is awesome. Talk about a test. Thanks for sharing this with us, it is a great example. ♥
LOVE it Tonya!! Pray before we speak, yes indeed!!!
Amen!♥