From what we see and hear in God’s creation, He has created many forms of communication. But, for us, He chose that our primary means of communication is the speaking out of words! The heavens and the earth were created by God, with each part of creation being initiated by the words, “And God said….” After creating Adam and seeing it was wrong for him to be alone, God created Eve and, as Gen 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over …….””

Words that are spoken or written have power, importance and are the largest part of communication alongside of listening with understanding. “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20 [NKJV] God has also given us many other ways for us to communicate.

Scripture, 1 John 3:18 [NLT], “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” shows us that words alone are not adequate for successful and fruitful communication. We must support our words and writing with actions. You cannot show love through actions alone; words must accompany them. We should increase in telling others we love them, being careful about our choice of words to speak out. Throughout His word, God tells us many times that He loves us.

“Communication is fundamental to a Christ-centered home because it is the means by which a husband-wife relationship and parent-child relationship is established, grows, and is maintained. Apart from the open channels of truthful communication that Paul discusses (in Ephesians 4) . . . there can be no truly Christ centered home.” From ‘Christian Living in the Home’ by Jay Adams.

Open channels of truthful communication....

.... are not only a fundamental part of a Christ-centred marriage and family, it should also be the communication benchmark for every follower of Christ, for this is a substantial part of loving our neighbour. Many struggle with being excellent communicators and there are often differences between our styles of communication depending on where we are, e.g. at home or at work, but even with changes in style, our communication should glorify God and reflect His image (1 Peter 4:11; Ephesians 4:29).

The successful ingredient for good communication is prayer! Inviting God to be an active participant and guide, ensuring, of course, that we are open to His leading! No matter what you are doing, what subject you are talking about or who with, no scenario is beyond prayer.

We can never pray too early for as R.A. Torrey (1856-1928 A prominent American Bible teacher and evangelist) said “The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came. Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory.”

Open channels of truthful communication are a building block in strong marriages, families, and relationships.

Despite differences in communication skills, we all need to develop and enhance our communication, both verbally and through actions, to bring glory to God.

MARRIAGE MINISTRY KIT 2

Marriage Ministry Kit 2 has just been released and is available for free download its key focus is "Build Healthy Communication with One Another". Whilst this is aimed at marriage and family relationships it does extend through to day to day communication with those in our area of influence.