Giving It Away

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
Mark 4:14-15 NKJV

I shake and shudder at Matthew 12:36 that says we will answer for every idle word we have spoken. Has your mouth ever gotten you in trouble or am I the only one? I have said some of the stupidest things and at the worst times... I cringe even now when I think about them. I should have been handed a pencil and paper from the very beginning and never allowed to speak. At least when I'm writing, I can delete or erase or rearrange and edit, and I would stand a better chance of getting it right before someone hears it or is hurt by it. 

You might be wondering what that has to do with our Promise for Today. How does satan take away the Word that was sown in our hearts? For the answer, we have to ask ourselves, do our words agree with Truth or lies? The Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth according to John 16:13, and satan is the father of all lies. Both speak into our lives constantly. And we speak, also. The question is - What is coming out of our mouths? With whom do we agree? 

As an example, when we tell ourselves (or others) I just can't get it right, I'm stupid, I'm such a loser, I can't win for losing, I can't get ahead, et cetera, we align ourselves with satan's lies instead of God's Truth. Whatever Word was sown in our heart to overthrow those lies is given away when we open our mouth and side with satan. 

Mark 4:4 tells us we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. The writer of Hebrews instructs, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Proverbs 18:21a tells us that Death and life are in the power of the tongue... Stop giving it away.

Prayer:

Father,

          Your Word tells us we are snared by the words of our mouths, but You, O Lord, are the Lifter of our heads. You came to set the captives free. Open our eyes to see the Truth of Your Word, to walk in it and like Jesus to speak only what we hear You say. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Shut the Door

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Matthew 6:5-6 NLT

I attended a retreat a few years back and witnessed many illustrations of God's Word. One in particular drove home the necessity of finding time to be alone with God and taking the time to hear Him.

One woman, Pat, was called from the rows of women and told, I have a Word from the Lord for you. She was asked to come to the front and sit in a chair to await God's Word.  Then other women stood near to represent her husband, 3 of her grandchildren and 2 of her friends. On cue, the representatives all started talking to Pat - not yelling or clamoring - just all talking, as did the speaker who had the word from the Lord. On cue, everyone stopped talking and the speaker asked, "Did you hear what God said?" Pat, of course, did not.

The speaker instructed, "Try harder to hear what God is saying to you. Concentrate." So, on cue, the representatives all started talking to Pat again - not yelling or clamoring - just all talking, as did the speaker who had the word from the Lord. On cue, everyone stopped talking and the speaker asked, "Did you hear what God said this time?" She wanted to. She believed she would, but of course she didn't.

And neither can we unless we get alone with God and wait to hear His voice. He's speaking. Are you listening?  Can you hear Him from where you are? If not, shut the door.

Prayer:

Father,

          Your Word tells us to be still and know that You are God. Forgive us for all the times we thought You were silent. Help us to be ever mindful to be still so we can hear Your voice. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.