Matthew 10:17-20 "The Words of His Mouth"

Read Matthew 10:17-20.

“…do not worry about what to say or how to say it.” NIV

Being a wordsmith, this is a very difficult one for me to do. I will work and work to get even a conversation worked out in my head before I have it. But Jesus is saying that when we are faced with opposition, we don’t have to worry about the words to say, God will give us those words.

Now this is only going to happen under two conditions 1) we remain in an intimate relationship with the Father 2) we are listening for His voice.

Remaining intimately close to the Lord involves spending time with Him and learning His character. The more we study who He is and what He is about, the better we recognize His words when they come to mind. The enemy will try to interfere. But because we have known the Father, we will know whether or not the words coming to mind line up with who He is. If they don’t, we discard them as foreign and wait on the Lord. God never does anything or directs anyone contrary to His nature. If we learn as much as we can about His nature, we are prepared to discern anything that is not of Him.

Developing the skill of listening for God’s voice takes patience, solitude and silence – and sometimes fasting. It requires resisting the urge to always talk to Him and remaining silent to receive from Him. Sometimes, God remains silent for reason unknown to us but very clear to Him. But according to this verse, when words are needed, He will not fail to deliver.

Usually when we are confronted like the disciples were, the situation is very chaotic. The moment is urgent and the pressure is high. But if we’ve taken the time to exercise and develop our spiritual muscle of listening, we will know what we are to say when we need to say it.

Further Thoughts:

1. Moses needed God’s words to speak through him to get the Hebrews freed from the Egyptians. Read how Moses got to the place of being used by God in Exodus 3:1-4:31.
2. What words did Stephen use when faced by the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:1-53? How are these words given to Stephen differently than Moses received his words?
3. What words did Jesus use against Satan in the desert in Luke 4:1-13?
4. Are you spending enough time in the word to recognize the character of God? If not, commit to more intimate times with our Lord in His Word.
5. Prayer is not a monologue, it’s a conversation and God wants His share of the talking time. Do your prayers tend to be one-sided and full of “give me’s?” Spend more time in worship, praise, and thanksgiving, then in silence. It’s amazing what the Lord will speak to you. Keep a notebook nearby to record His words. When the Almighty Creator of the Universe takes time to talk to us, we should write it down. It must be very important.