God gave us the ability to speak for a reason.

Tonight I was able to catch a little bit of the State of the Union Address by our President.  I always find that speech intriguing for different reasons.  I like to see the responses of people in the room and I enjoy listening to the leader of our country talk about topics important to him and the country as a whole.  He has much of the country's attention and he is able to vocalize these topics for everyone to hear.God has been consistently bringing up the topic of being vocal recently.  Whether that is through worship, through accountability, through prayer, through forgiving, or something else, He has continued to explain the importance of actually having words come out of your mouth in each of these instances.We get stuck a lot in not using our voice, or being quiet and hoping/assuming that an issue will resolve itself, or that someone else will say something.  God was very clear throughout the Bible and Jesus did it as well to speak audibly to others and have others speak audibly to show the power of our God.Think about it.  God was showing us how to release His power from the very beginning.  He spoke the earth we are living on into existence with just a few words (Genesis 1).  In the Old Testament, God had Joshua and his army march around Jericho and the final act of obedience that made the walls fall down without any force at all was to shout together in a loud voice (Joshua 6). In the New Testament, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead by speaking out (John 11).  Jesus even tells us that we can speak to a mountain and have it throw itself into the water (Mark 11).The point is simple.  God gave us the ability to speak, and had us begin doing it at a very early age because it was/is important.  Yes, our words can be hurtful, but I believe the power they have outweighs any hurt they can cause.  There is something about praying, singing or reading out loud.  Try it and see if God doesn't speak to you through your own voice.Listen to God this week, and if He tells you to say something, or tell someone something, do it.  Talk to those close to you and tell them what is going on in your life so they can hold you accountable.  Go ask for forgiveness (in person) from that person that you know you need to.  Sing OUT LOUD in church next time you go. Look for ways to be vocal this week and use the power of your voice that God has entrusted to us.  He wouldn't have given it to us if He didn't want us to use it.