Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
4 22 2024
When I talk with God, it’s a prayer. Isn’t that what we say? Prayers are just talking with God. To God. And God is listening. What we say, how we say it, the tone of it, gentle, hard, harsh, angry, gracious, is part of the prayer, God’s listening and it matters.
Does that matter to you? Do you ever hear yourself or listen to yourself? Or are we just too used to filling the space with words that we don’t hear them, or better said, filter them?
So why are our conversations with each other not also prayers? I read this recently in a book by
Robert Wolgemuth called the “Gun Lap” and it really hit me. Yes, I know words matter.
Words have power to dismantle, destroy, or lift people up.
But every conversation a prayer…Rocked me!
God is listening isn’t he? Our words are a major part of our footprint aren’t they?
God is listening. so aren’t our conversations a type of prayer? Lord you say when we come me to you, talking, crying, that it blesses you. You hear my prayer… my words. And that words matter.
In Gen 1 it says and “God spoke…Let there be light”. He said, our words… his words have the power of life and death. We have often heard that but most of us don’t live like we believe that. And so we eat the negative fruit of our lips. And we wonder what’s wrong in our lives and our relationships.
Is that really different when I’m in conversations with others?
We have all prayed for so many people. And the attitude that I bring is one of kindness, gentleness, it’s a tone of empathy and graciousness, where I actually try to come out of myself and hear what God would give me to share or pray with this person. That prayer that I offer up to you for them is undoubtedly a prayer. But shouldn’t every conversation that we have with people be filtered exactly the same way? That what we share with them is something that will encourage them, build them up, show graciousness or forgiveness. And shouldn’t that be our prayer that we would act like that, talk like that, be like that? I read something the other day… “that pride is “unvarnished arrogance. A proud wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
In essence, that’s what pride does to us. It’s just a matter of time how deeply and how much it will affect our words, our conversations with others. And those conversations are certainly not prayers.
Prov 18 21 says there is power of life and death in our words. (I promise you this is literal). They say the average person speaks 16k words per day. That volume makes it easy to underestimate the way we use so many words. It kind of like scooping up grains of sand… you don’t worry about some slipping through. (scary when you begin the realize the power of words)
16k words is like writing a 60 page book every daily.
As I sit and meditate on this concept of serving others. Because isn’t that what we do when we pray for people? When we offer blessings, grace or graciousness instead of contempt Or judgment to others? So what is the opposite for praying for someone? Condemnation, disapproval, disfavor, a curse.
The Bible says to pray unceasing at all times. 1 Thess 5:17 When you stop and think about it, doesn’t that include conversations that we have with someone over coffee or as we work or sit around the dining room table? Isnt this attitude… a prayer of sorts? Where God’s presence actually becomes our filter, for what we think and what we say, and the motivations behind what we do, aren’t they in a sense self-fulfilling prophecies? And isn’t that a prayer or condemnation?
So that every conversation we have with others, every conversation we have with ourselves, should be a prayer giving life. Professing the goodness of God. Declaring the promises of God. Emulating the actions of Christ himself.
WORDS:
In Gen 3 1 the serpent “spoke”… he SPOKE words to bring death and darkness. Now please understand, they weren’t true, but they still had power. Once Adam believed them, he gave power to them, and he fell from Gods grace. Satan’s words killed Adam, but God builds and blesses and offers life.
What are your words doing in your life?
Are you listening with love? Are we listening with the attitude of “not my will, but thy will be done”?
So whether it is in moments of wonderful celebration, a moment of quiet and solitude, or even in moments of frustration and potential anger, should not our argument, and our attitude be one that my words are prayerful even though at times they may fail exceedingly.
Isn’t this entire attitude of prayer, an exercise of submission, not to another person or even to an ideology but to God himself?
It’s dying to an old way of living. Luke 9:23 says, If you want to follow Him, you will have to die to yourself daily, and by dying, you actually live”. I’m a new seed.
And whatever we are planting, in due time, we will be eating it.
Every conversation a prayer! How would that change the world? How would that change us or our families and our children?
When one considers the Old Testament, when we read these extraordinary stories of men and women, who by their faithfulness change the world, they did it without the Internet or cell phones.
They had no way of spreading the gospel beyond word-of-mouth with the power of presence and relationship… with words they spoke that became prayers…
Prayers that were not a name it and claim it but ones that seeded into every person they met, everything they did, the promises of God himself. They lived to share their conversations, their prayers, of a Savior who came to save those who would call on His name and speak it out. And on the morning of Pentecost a church began with 3000 members because of a prayer that Peter spoke to them.
Every morning this week will you decide to speak who you are in Jesus.
Let your prayer be speaking life to your health, your marriage, your job, your finances. I am not telling you to name it and claim it but to plant the seeds of Gods word in your life today…
believing Gods words to you and me.
We are changed by God’s grace not by our work and efforts, but Gods words says…Our words bring life and death. Start praying and speaking life! Change your filter and rejects the thoughts coming out of you in the morning of fear and another day of difficulty and speak Gods blessing on your every word…
all 16k of them today and speak each of them as a prayer offered up to honor God.
