The Power of Words

When we were kids in grade school it was so much easier to come back with "I know you are, but what am I." when someone would say mean things. What if that person was not another child, but a parent instead?

I was reading in Luke today about when John the Baptist was born. His father, Zechariah, was unable to talk from the time he was told his wife was pregnant until the birth due to his disbelief. When it came time for his son to be named and he acknowleged that John would be that name, he was once again able to speak. He prayed this over his son:

"And you, my little son,

will be called the prophet of the Most High,

because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

You will tell his people how to find salvation

through forgiveness of their sins."

Yes, John was too little to understand what his father was saying, but I doubt that it was the only time he heard those words from Zechariah.

It has me thinking today about the power of words in our children's lives.

What if we starting speaking words of encouragement rather than words of condemnation? What if we started speaking words of a possible future rather than an impossible one?