The Power of Wordsنموونە

Testify About Christ

There was a statement attributed to St Francis of Assisi. He allegedly said, “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

It’s not a bad statement. It contains many motivations to be faithful ambassadors for Jesus Christ with our whole lives, not just our words or beliefs.

The point of that statement is that if our actions don’t back up our words, we will probably do more harm than good.

But I think it can easily be interpreted in our Western context to mean, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and never use words.”

There are not a lot of bold witnesses for Jesus out there.

I have tried to live my life according to the Bible's standards, probably just like you have. But after fifty years, I think I can count on one hand the number of people who have come up to me and said, “Man, I want to know Jesus because you’re such a nice guy.”

We have to use words. We have to speak the truth about Jesus.

I know that some men are better than others at sharing their faith, but we are all tasked with that responsibility (Matthew 28:18-20). And we can all grow in our abilities in this area.

One thing that I often do is simply ask a person if I can pray for them. I’m okay if they say no, but almost always they say yes. Then, I use my words in prayer to speak blessing and the love of Christ over them.

We have the power of words to witness for Jesus.

May God give us the courage and boldness to tell others. Even Paul asked for courage to preach the gospel fearlessly (Ephesians 6:19). We can all pray that prayer, for we all need that bravery.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me the courage to be bold in expressing my faith. Help me to tell others about the love, grace, and life that You have given me. Open doors for me. Illumine me to the opportunities that You are giving me. Help me to know the best time to share the Gospel with others. Help me always to be ready to have an answer for my faith, for Your glory and honour. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection: When was the last time you shared your faith with someone else? How did it go? What keeps you from sharing your faith more?