I’ve run into several people lately who have spoken words of life over me. They were insightful and encouraging and seemed to have the inside scoop on what I needed to hear. I walked away refreshed and grateful. Grateful that the Lord would take the time to put His words in their mouths for me. It was an answer to my prayer.
That’s why I want His words in my mouth for others.
This is a regular prayer for me, “Lord, open my mouth“. What I’m really asking God to do is to allow His words to bubble up in my spirit at the right moment and overflow into my conversation, spilling into another’s life like sooth balm on a parched wound. I’m asking him to give me insight and then vocabulary that will be the answer to someone else’s prayer or need or hurting place. Only He can make that happen and it’s a miracle whenever it does.
I speak to others alot – on a stage, from behind a podium with a microphone in my hands. I need His words.
But the fact is – I need them more for the one-on-one conversations I’m having with my family members, neighbors, members of my church or other moms in the car pool pick-up line. It’s these daily interactions that need words peppered with the grace and wisdom of the Father.
That’s why you need God to open your mouth too.
We all do.
Which is why I was so intrigued when I ran across this well-known verse in Luke 1 during my personal quiet time yesterday . . .
The Angel said to [Zechariah], “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak . . . because you did not believe my words . . . ” (19,20)
It made complete sense that Zechariah would have questioned the news that the angel had just told him. A baby? For he and his barren wife? Impossible, right? So, he voiced his disbelief in the form of a question dripping with doubt – How can I know this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. The angel’s response to him made the hair on the back of my own neck stand straight up.
. . . because you did not believe . . . you will not be able to speak.
- When I’m having trouble breaking open a passage and packaging it into a message that will clearly communicate the Scriptures to an audience . . .
- When I’m listening to a friend spill out the hurts in her heart but can’t seem to come up with a appropriate response . . .
- When I’m mentoring a young lady from church but don’t seem to know what to say to help her get through this rough patch . . .
- When I’m in the meeting where things have gotten a little heated and I can’t figure what words will quell the flames and bring harmony back to the gathering . . .
When I cannot speak . . . when the words seem to hard to find . . . when my mouth seems empty or, worse yet, closed . . . what does that indicate about the soil of my heart and the quality of my faith in God.
If we want our mouths to be open in wisdom and clarity, power and authority, we must believe.
The message is clear – if we want our mouths to be open in wisdom and clarity, power and authority, we must believe. Believe that He is who He says He is and that He can do exactly what He says that He can. We must hide His word in our hearts and allow faith to bubble up in us despite the odds that we are up against. And, apparently, one of the benefits of believing God is a mouth that is opened by God to edify and encourage others.
I want that.
Don’t you?
What has He told us? What has His word promised us? What has He confirmed to us?
Let’s chose to believe it.
And then prepare for our mouths to be opened with words from heaven.
Bless you today,
Priscilla
