Words

I recently watched a movie on television of a man who teaches deaf students to speak, and of the difficulties he had persuading one young lady to learn to speak instead of using sign language. Because she wasn’t willing to learn to use audible words and read lips, this caused her to be cut off from a large part of society around her.

When I read the scripture in Hosea 14:2, I found it very interesting that God asked His people to bring with them WORDS as they repented and returned to Him. Our words are very important to God. But where do they come from? What is the source of our words?

Our words reflect our hearts and our hearts produce our words. Luke 6:45 says, ‘A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of’. David understood this very well, and said in Psalm 19:14 ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer’. What we meditate on in our hearts will be mirrored in what we say and speak, and what we say has great significance to both God and the enemy!

We were created in God’s image – the God who spoke the world into existence. Our words have creative power. Our words establish things in the spiritual realm. ‘You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you’ (Job 11:28). In fact, our very salvation was sealed and established in the heavenlies as we believed in our hearts, and confessed with our mouths (Romans 10:9-10). Jesus taught that ‘if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him’ (Mark 11:22).

As I pondered these truths, I was challenged again to make sure the meditations of my heart are pleasing to God. Moreover, I was encouraged to use my words to confess and declare and speak His life and blessing over situations and people along my way. I was reminded that the words I bring with me when I come to God matter. They need to be filled with love for Him, adoration for His greatness, but at times expressing heartfelt repentance for going my own way. Equally important, I need to guard my heart and the things I allow my thoughts to dwell on, as this affects my outlook on life, my belief system and ultimately the words I speak.

Prayer: Father, You know me so well, and You know every word that is on my tongue before I speak it. Help me to keep my heart tender before You, and to guard what I allow entrance to my heart, so that the words I speak will glorify You, edify others, and produce blessing in my life. Amen.