Our Words Matter – 12 Scriptures About The Power of Words

Many of us probably grew up with that old sing-song saying, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.

 It’s a nice little rhyme, but it’s far from the truth. As a writer, I hear three little words almost every day, our words matter.

THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO

Our words do matter. The Bible tells us just how much our words matter. There is power in our words. Power to either build up or to destroy.

We never know when a good word, carefully placed, may impact someone’s life. But just the opposite is true, too. Hurtful, demeaning, hateful words can change someone’s life forever. I just ran across a meme as I was writing this post that said, paraphrased, once out there, our words can only be forgiven but not forgotten.

Ouch!

Convicted.

Just this week, I responded in simple words, to a post written by a friend—just to remind her of God’s power in our lives. This person reached out to tell me how much my words meant to her.

What if I’d said something not so uplifting?

Our words matter.

Our Words Matter - 12 Scriptures About the Power of Words @DDuPreeWilliams #writing #faith #OurWordsMatter Share on X

COME, HOLY SPIRIT

When we write our blog posts, our books, or even when we just put a comment on a friend’s post on social media, we never know how those words will affect someone reading them. I’m sure you’re like me when you write long things like blog posts or books, you pray about your words, asking Holy Spirit to guide your writing and give you words to build up the body of Christ.

But on social media, it’s a lot easier to just react emotionally and hit send than it is to seek Holy Spirit’s guidance. I remember a book from back in the 1980s, Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth. Emotional reactions are a case in point. Just a short personal observation, I have written in my Bible’s margin in Proverbs 13, Self-control begins with the tongue.

My friend’s response to my words of hope was a reminder that I need to be in alignment with Holy Spirit in everything I write, no matter where it is or how insignificant it may seem to me in the moment. My words, and yours, can change someone’s life.

12 SCRIPTURES

Here are 12 Scripture verses to remind you to guard your words. I read these in the translation our church uses, the CSB. If you use the YouVersion Bible app, you may compare many different versions.

Proverbs 11:9; 12:18; 15:4; 16:24; 18:4; 18:21; 21:23

James 1:26; 3:5-10

Psalms 34:13

Ephesians 4:29

Matthew 12:36-37

I’m sure you will find more than these if you do a search. Over half of the ones I cited come from the wisdom of King Solomon. He understood the power of words.

The verses in Matthew are from the mouth of Jesus. A friendly reminder from our Lord and Savior about how powerful our words are and how they will impact our eternity.

Before I sit to write, I pray first. I hope you realize that the words I write are aimed directly to my heart as I need to hear them more than most, and I pray they will bless you in some way.

Let me know what you think and if you find Scriptures about words that you love. Share them with us.

Blessings, y’all!

It was a difficult task to find a hymn or anthem to accompany this post. I decided to share one of my all-time favorites with you. No doubt, you will be blessed. If you don’t know Paul Wilbur, all his works are directly from the Scriptures.