Speak Life

Words have power.

Power to change someone’s day.

For better or worse.

We speak words all day long. But do we think about the words we speak? Do we consider the impact that our words will have on their hearers?

Toby Mac has a song on the radio now called “Speak Life” that says a lot about the power of our words.

Speak life, speak life
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak life.
When the sun won’t shine and you don’t know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak….
You speak life, you speak life

What if I spoke life with all my words? What if I chose words to be the “arms of compassion”? What if my words gave life and hope and peace to those who heard me? How might my world be a different place?

Just recently a friend put her arm around me and asked another friend standing there, “did you know this girl is amazing?” It was just a few simple words but it put a smile on my face. Her words brightened my day as I was reminded that I am loved.

I went to a gas station last week and got to talking with one of the attendants. He told me what he’s been praying daily for and then proceeds to speak negatively in the opposite direction of what he is praying for. I started talking to him about speaking in faith and not negating his own prayers. And I got to talking about the power of his words. I felt like I was preaching to him. But I just recently got done reading a book called The Law of Confession and just keep thinking about what I speak and what I hear. I find myself listening to how people speak and taking care of my own words. It’s insane the amount of junk we say, even in jest! It makes me so sad sometimes and I wonder how lives might be transformed if we took more care with our words. I’m still trying to grasp concepts that I read in the Law of Confession book, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many people might just be “stuck” where they are because of their words. I know people who feel a tug from God in a different direction than their current course but feel hopeless about their current situation ever changing.

Talk, talk, talk. Words, words and more words. It’s not easy to take care of your words when you are used to speaking pretty much anything that comes to mind. Speaking and then thinking is all too common for me. I find myself trying to slow down, to prepare my words in my brain first, to consider if they even need to be spoken. Will it benefit those who listen?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” ~Ephesians 4:29

(520 words)