A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word spoken in due season [in its time] how good is it – Proverbs 15:23.
Words are very important, and we will be held responsible for them. According to the Bible “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it, shall eat the fruit thereof – Proverbs 18:21”. It does not matter whether you’re a believer or nonbeliever, God’s Word will never return to Him void.
What we say has the power to impact our lives and the lives of others negatively or positively. That’s why we need to learn to think before we speak. If our lives are seemingly out-of-control, dissatisfying. or hopeless, perhaps we should take an inventory of the words we’re speaking.
If we begin to notice what we’re thinking and saying, we would be surprised by some of the negative thoughts and words we say. Constructive words build up, and destructive words tear down. If we would record what we say just for two or three days, we would probably hear words of doubt, unbelief, complaining, fear, and many other negative comments.
We may hear words like, “It never fails; every time I get a little money, some disaster comes along and takes it. “I’m to tired”, “I will never be happy”, “I will never get a promotion”, “I just can’t hear God’s voice, He just doesn’t speak to me”, “this child is driving me crazy”.
Negative words like this wreaks havoc in our lives. Careless words spoken in the heat of the moment may not mean much to us, bu they carry a lot of weight in the unseen realm of the spirit. It use to be an old saying “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing”. Well Scripture backs it up (Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers – Ephesians 4:29).
Controlling our mouths is difficult especially in the heat of the moment, but it can be done. We just need to learn to yield to God and receive His power. This means that when you and I find ourselves in a difficult situation where we feel like complaining, telling someone off, or uttering negative words, we need to turn to God in prayer and ask for help.
A simple prayer is, I’m about to say something wrong, please give me your grace to respond as You would. Help me to speak what your Word says instead of how I feel. This is what it means to submit to God in the midst of temptation.
If we do our part and submit, then God will do His part and give us the power to resist the temptation to say the wrong words; He will caution us to think before you speak.