Words That Wound or Worship

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Today is day 2 of "Setting Ourselves Apart IN..." Day 1 was ...in work. 

As soon as they left my lips, my words hit their target. The heart of a person I love.

I was tired and frustrated, and to be honest, I just needed my husband to understand me. I needed him to see that I was at the end of myself, unable to take on anything else and desperately in need of rest.

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Instead, he saw that I lack self-control. He heard that I can't control my tongue. He felt that my own feelings took precedence over his. 

In that moment, my words revealed my heart, and my heart was vile. 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."

That day, there was no denying that my heart was full of evil. It flowed freely from my mouth and hurt the one I love most. 

Our words have power that we often fail to understand. Proverbs 18:21 says, in the New Living Translation, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Every time I speak words not filled with love or seasoned with grace, I speak death into both the people and situations around me. I might be killing the spirit of a child whose confidence hinges on my words, or I might be inviting the fallen angel himself into my marriage. My words have power that should cause me to tremble.

Words are a tool given us to express the inexpressible. Words allow us to expose our hearts, for good or evil, and to share the deepest parts of ourselves with those who most need to understand.

What we choose to share in words reveals who we really are at heart.

Today's prayer: "Lord, I beg forgiveness for every thoughtless word I've uttered. So often, my words are just the overflow of a heart not submitted to you, and as a result, my words wound. I hurt those I love, and I damage the witness you have asked me to give. Today, as I purpose to set myself apart for you, I ask you to change my heart. Soften it and sensitize it. Then, Lord, as I speak, let only words of praise, encouragement, and grace come from me."