About 4-5 years ago I was working with a man who was struggling with his marriage. I had met his wife and had drawn my own conclusion about her. I had taken this couple’s concern to my prayer warrior. She asked me to talk to her about the two of them. In so doing I said that the wife was evil. When I said this I was immediately corrected firmly. She told me that my words were powerful and I needed to confess this sin and ask for forgiveness. My words would influence this wife and I needed to change my way of thinking about her. I did all of this and now these few years later I can understand much more clearly what she was saying.
My devotional message this morning was all about my prayer warrior’s message a few years ago. The author’s writing told how faithful David’s men were to him. Even though his warriors would do anything for him, David knew that he needed to transfer their faithfulness to God through his own words to them and not try to keep it for himself. David used his words to show his followers that their faithfulness to him was a step towards faithfulness to God. David was a conduit for them to God.
My words about this wife didn’t lead anyone anywhere except to cast stones joining me. Today as I write this I feel guilty all over again. I sure need to always remember how powerful our words are when we speak them. Even when someone does something wrong our words need to first be taken to Jesus asking Him to help us understand the story behind a person’s actions rather than to cast stones.
Earnie Lewis 