“What do you mean he has not grown in six months?” I thought to myself as the pediatrician pointed at data on a growth chart. My second child, my one-year-old son, had not grown at all since his six-month physical. How could this be?
She said that he was healthy. Everything was in proportion. Nothing seemed unusual, except he had not grown. Everything was as it had been six months ago. “Take him home, feed him some extra baby formula and we’ll see what happens,” the kind doctor told me.
“Well, if she’s not worried, neither am I,” I decided as we left the office.
So, we went home, we did as the doctor said, and I prayed, “God, why is this happening? I need Your wisdom.”
God answered, “Words! The power of words.”
As the Lord spoke into my spirit, I remembered some things well-meaning people had said to me about my child. Sentiments such as: “Don’t you wish he’d stay this little forever?” or “Isn’t it too bad they have to grow up?” They were meant to be completely harmless, and yet…
Proverbs 18:21 says:
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (NLT)
Now, six months later, my sweet boy was “staying little.” Wow! So, I did what any God-fearing mama would do, I decided to reject those words. The next time a person kindly inquired, “What’s wrong? Why is he so small?” I reminded them of their words and asked them to pray that he would start to grow.
God heard. God answered. My boy grew!
Luke 1:1-20 tells the story of a Jewish priest named Zechariah. Now, Zechariah had been chosen to burn incense in the sanctuary of the Lord. While doing so, an angel appeared and told Zechariah,
“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.” v. 13
However, Zachariah did not believe and was made unable to speak until the child was born.
The child would grow up to be the one we know as John the Baptist. Can you imagine what would have happened if Zachariah had continued to speak words of doubt and unbelief? Would John even have been born? How the story could have changed!
We all know the saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Maybe we should change that. Maybe it should be, “If you can’t speak a blessing in faith, don’t say anything at all.” How important our words are!
Are there words you wish you could take back? Are there things in your past you wish you could change? We don’t have a time machine, but we do have Jesus! He wants to show you how to move forward from here.
Can you imagine what could have happened to my child if I and well-wishers had not agreed in prayer for my boy to grow? Those words of life and growth changed everything for my son.
Let God, through Jesus, show you how to pray blessings for a brighter future.
The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18
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