When Words Fly

The Bible says that Samuel had words that did not fall to the ground. It also says that anything the Word is sent out to accomplish, it will be done. The words have power. You can create with words. You can pray and prophesy and praise with words. You can speak life with words. Words encourage. Words inspire. Words heal. Words bring the good news to those who are lost.

Therefore, we need to watch our tongues. We should not curse. We should not complain. We should not tear other people down with our words. Our words can hurt others. We should not lie, and we should not gossip. Words can cause harm to ourselves or to others if they are negative.

I pray that you are so close to God that you can speak words that do not fall down to the ground. I know it is not easy, but tell others about Jesus and how much He loves them. Share your testimony. Speak out the Word of God as you pray, so your prayers will be answered. We can use our voice as a tool to fight for victory.

1 Samuel 3:¹⁹ The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

Isaiah 55:¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Psalm 107:²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.

Genesis 1:³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Matthew 8:²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

Proverbs 18:²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Psalm 68:¹¹ The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:

2 Samuel 23:2“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

Exodus 4:¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Psalm 34:13keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.

Joel 2:²⁸ “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Psalm 35:28My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.

Psalm 37:30The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.

Psalm 71:24My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.

Proverbs 25:¹¹ Saying the right thing at the right time is like a golden apple in a silver setting. ¹² Wise advice to a listening ear is like gold earrings or fine jewelry.

Proverbs 12:18The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 16:1To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

Proverbs 21:23Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.

Isaiah 50:⁴ The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
    to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

Philippians 2:11and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

James 3

Controlling the Things We Say

3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should be teachers. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.

² We all make many mistakes. A person who never said anything wrong would be perfect. Someone like that would be able to control their whole body too. ³ We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body. ⁴ It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go. ⁵ It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things.

A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. ⁶ The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.

⁷ Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. ⁸ But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen.