If someone asks you today: how many times do you open your mouth to speak in a day? What would your answer be? Certainly, that you don’t know, because you have never actually thought of it or counted. Now, If they ask you how often do you control what you say? Some would answer ‘quite often’, others would say ‘never… because I speak my mind my I have something to say…’ My brother, my sister, like David, we should always pray like this: “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). Why? Because “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). Yes, my friends, it is very important to ask the Lord to keep us from speaking evil, even during persecution or hard times. Why? because everything we say could then turn back against us, and we sometimes forget that we pronounced it.
Let me tell you a short story: once I parked my car somewhere and it was towed away. I went to collect it and was asked to pay £265. I was so angry that I refused to pay, and left… but what I did not realise was that everyday my car was there, another £40 was added to my bill… I did not bother much and kept sending them letters of complaints to return my car. After 21 days, I met a man who works for that service who advised me to abandon my car if it was too old and get another one. I said, I am not intending to leave my car like that. Then I called the service to go and get my car, now they asked me to pay more than £1400. That’s the time I stopped complaining to them and started praying… My friends, I realised what the power of the tongue can do to us. I knelt down to beg the Lord over this situation, then the Spirit reminded me this: “what did you say they day they took your car”? Obviously, I was angry and said many things in anger… Then I remembered saying “If they want, they can keep it”… Oh, my friends, I went into repentance, prayed to reverse the words I had pronounced, etc… I prayed the Lord throughout the day but was still not sure of how I was going to get my car… But I always confessed they will return my car. That very night, I had a dream: my brother’s friend asking me to go and get my car because he had paid £1200 (those who say they don’t believe in dreams… it is their own problems, because they Lord speaks even in dreams). In the morning, by faith, I called a friend of mine, told him my dream and asked him I needed him to come and drive the second car when I pick the one that had been ‘detained’. When I got to the place they had my car, I was asked to pay more than £1400 by a lady. I said, I don’t have that money, and she told me she cant’ do anything for me; so I said, I want to speak to your manager. She said the manager was not there, I said I want to speak to whoever represents him. A man came, I told him I want my car back, he said I should pay more than £1400. Then I told them, they made a mistake not telling me my bill will build up and as soon as I am leaving I am going to see a lawyer, and we are going to prove their mistakes. My friends, I don’t know where this idea came from, but I said it… then my friend and I left. Not even 5 minutes later, they called me to come and pay only £265 and get my car back, which I did.
All this is to say that, sometimes we bind ourselves with our own words! I had put my own car in ‘detention’ by saying they could keep it. My friends, reflect about yourself: what have you condemned yourself in your own life? You know what to do now. Our Lord is alive and I can turn our wrongs right when we truly repent and have a sincere heart. Let’s all the time remember that Jesus Himself remained silent before His accusers (Matthew 26:63). Knowing the power of the tongue, let’s always ask the Lord to guard what we say so that our words will rather bring honour to His Holy Name. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.
[facebook]
[retweet]