Honouring God in your words
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:29-32)
The truth about God is that if we honour Him, He’d honour us. If, however, we dare to treat Him disrespectfully, we will also be treated as trash. The initiative rests with us. Our acts and responses to God determine His responses and acts to us.
Be an Example
God wants us to be an example to believers in
SPEECH -be mindful of the things you say. Your words should bring God honour.
Where there are careless and flippant words you will always find sin (Proverbs 10:19)
Your words can establish your life in good treasure or evil treasure (Matthew 10:35-37)
Words also have the power to move mountains and change the world around us (Mark 11:22-23)
If we are going to be victorious over the attacks of the enemy, we have to think, act and speak in line with the Word of God.
The Bible stresses that what you say is an accurate indication of what is in your heart. If your words bless and encourage others, they give evidence of a compassionate heart. If you often share the good news about Christ, you demonstrate a heart that is grateful for your own salvation. When others are in a crisis, do they know they will find peace and comfort in your words? Do you frequently and spontaneously offer prayers for others? Do your words and the manner in which you say them reveal a patient heart? All of these behaviours indicate a heart that is like the heart of the Father.”
Watch Your Words
The words we use have tremendous power. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). I believe that our prayers will have more power and a greater anointing when our everyday life is filled with words that uplift and bring grace to others (Ephesians 4:29). A holy life is a powerful life when it comes to seeing answers to prayer. Jesus’ prayers were heard because of His reverent submission (Hebrews 5:7). Righteous living and right speech come from a right heart before God.
It is important for us believers to carefully watch our speech.
A person can speak many words a minute and several thousand in an hour. You can imagine how many words an average person speaks in a day! And some estimates are that women speak twice as many words a day as men. We could fill a library in a lifetime! If we did, what would the titles of those books be? The tongue has a powerful influence on others. God is looking for a holy life, and one of the key areas that we must guard with all diligence is our tongue.
Fact is, we all have problems with what we say. That’s probably why the Bible says so much about the tongue. Proverbs is filled with verses about both the positive and negative aspects of the tongue. I counted the terms tongue, lips, mouth, and words, and they appear over 170 times in the Bible. We lived many years on a ship and remember how the small rudder would steer our ship in huge storms. James 3:4-5 says:
Don’t Speak Negatively
Speaking negatively is costly in the spiritual realm while watching what we say can bring spiritual reward. In Jericho, God’s people marched around the city in silence for six days. When they finally shouted on the seventh day, the walls came down immediately. Their silence and then shouting at the right time won them the victory. This is true of us individually as well. If we guard our speech and honour God in our words, we can win a great victory.
