There have been a few times, in my parenting stint, where I have felt like I was completely wasting my words. These have usually been extremely important instructional points that are sure to lead to complete destruction of their future if my children refuse to catch onto and apply them. Examples might include things such as taking out the trash every morning; not fighting with one's sibling over something stupid like who had such and such toy first and who it belongs to in the first place; not leaving clothes piled on the floor of the bedroom or bathroom or living room or hall or any of the other rooms where my kids love to leave clothes piled up; turning off the lights when you're not in the room because we're using up all the electricity; not filling the bath tub up to swimming pool levels when taking a bath; or NOT EATING ON MOM'S RUG!!! Ok, maybe those things aren't as life-altering to you as they are to me. These are the things, however, which I seem to harp on over and over and over again. It's like all my words on these issues are completely wasted. You get that because I'm sure that you, too, feel like there have been times when your words have fallen on deaf ears and were wasted as well.
The truth is that it's not just the unheeded words we speak that are wasted. You see, things can be wasted because they're used in wasteful ways OR things can be wasted because they sit there and are never used at all. Quite honestly, we waste as many of our words this way as we do the other! Perhaps it's that missed opportunity of telling someone how much we really do care. Or, maybe it's those words of encouragement that could make such a huge difference in someone's life that we leave unsaid. We, often, leave hard words unsaid because they could make things awkward, but we also leave great words unsaid because they could make things...well, awkward! And then, there are some words we don't say because we've wasted a couple of other resources that are so valuable...time or money. So, instead of being THERE to say the words we should be saying to the ones who need to hear them, we are off somewhere else using our time to make more money. If you're like me, this is all very convicting. That being the case, lets take it up a notch.
There are, perhaps, no words more wasted than those we don't say...to God! Yep, I'm talking about prayer. Lets be honest, some of us talk to ourselves more than we talk to God. An Ellis Research Survey for Facts & Trends magazine found that only 16% of pastors are satisfied with their prayer lives. The median amount of time that most spend praying each day is 30 minutes! Another poll found that only 64% of Christians pray more than once a day. Of these same Christians, only 38% see that an important purpose of prayer is to provide intimacy with God. So, as a whole do Christians pray enough? I don't think so. According to these statistics, there are quite a few wasted words out there. And, wasted is the absolute perfect term to use based on another study! Did you know it's been proven that prayers are extremely effective? A group of physicians wanted to determine the effectiveness of prayer so they set up a study. Patients at a medical center in California were randomly divided into two groups. One group was assigned to a group of Christians to be prayed for. The placebo group had no one praying for them. Before the study, there were no statistical differences between the groups. However, the results of the study were astounding. During the trial period, those who were prayed for suffered "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had few cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated." So, there you have the proof...prayer works. And, when believers don't pray, we're wasting some pretty effective words!
Now, I could have bypassed all of the above and went straight to scripture to tell you this, but sometimes we need a few physical proofs to get us moving in the right spiritual direction. Nevertheless, listen to what God's Word tells us in James 5:16..."the intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful." That's right...those aren't just words you're speaking to God...they are, perhaps, the most powerful and effective words you could ever speak to anyone, anywhere! So, Believer, pray it up! Or, as another Biblical author puts it, "Pray without ceasing!" I really don't want to get to heaven and find out that I could have had so much more impact on this world and the lives of those around me if I had just said a few more prayers! I don't want to miss out on God's blessings, nor do I want others to miss out on His blessings, because I have wasted my words.
Parents, pray for your children. Pray for them when they can hear you and pray for them when they can't! Husbands, pray for your wives! Wives, pray for your husbands! Children, pray for your parents! Friends, pray for one another. Pray for your family! Pray for this world...it needs it, by the way! Pray for our nation! Pray for our leaders! Pray for God's work to produce much fruit! Pray for God's workers to be effective! Pray that you'll be effective! Pray for opportunities to serve and work for God's Kingdom! Pray that God would bless you and those around you in crazy ways! Hey, I have a few things that I'm praying for right now that are completely insane, but if they happen the only explanation will be God! Bottom line...DON'T WASTE YOUR WORDS!!!!
**the following website was cited in this blog: http://www.churchleaders.com/mobile/pastors/pastor-articles/150915-us-statistics-on-prayer.html
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