Motivational Speech? Nope! What Fasting my Words Taught Me.

Fasting for two days is difficult- for me anyway! I love food, and a fast never goes by fast. 

But God did not tell me to fast my favorite foods, or even coffee; which might have killed me, I am just sayin’.

Nope. He told me to fast my words.

As a woman, I talk an average amount, maybe more than average… and not talking for two days was much more difficult than I thought. Playing a perpetual game of charades for 48 hours is not as fun as it sounds.

There were very funny moments trying to mime certain things to my girls and them asking me “What is it Lassie? Did Timmy fall down the well?”

The funniest thing was people’s reaction in public. Knowing just a little bit of ASL (American Sign Language) and typing out requests or questions on my cell phone for store clerks to read caused quite a stir. People’s faces and body language changed. Some people got louder. Some people looked at me like I had three heads. I wasn’t handicapped in any way, just communicating in a different way.

So here are three things I learned from fasting my words.

First: My body language is communicating so much more than I thought.

My husband took a wrong turn coming home from the beach. Since I usually give the directions, he got very upset when I was “telling” him he had made a mistake, because he said I was acting like it was a bigger deal than it was. My body language was all he had to go by, so what he “heard” was me yelling, even though I had not said a word.

Even when you don’t talk, you mind is still trucking along at full speed. 

Being quiet in the physical did not slow me down mentally; it actually did the opposite for me: my thoughts seemed to race. Stuck in my own head, I had paid very close attention to what I was thinking, how I was thinking. It made me realize that I gave too much focus to unfruitful and sometimes even harmful- thoughts: much more than I should.

So the second thing I learned is that I must pay attention!

48 hours of silence made me realize that there is a battlefield I am not even fully engaged on: the battlefield of my thought life. Taking every thought captive that exalts itself against God is a battle. When we allow our thoughts to encroach into God territory, coming in direct conflict with what He says about an issue, then we lose. Often, we are not even aware the trespassing is going on, because we are not paying attention.

The third thing I learned is this: Our words have power. Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

With our words we can insight riots or inspire change. With our words we can tear down, or we can build up. With our words we can plant seeds or we can pluck them up. Our words can and do set the course of our lives.

So now, as I reflect back on my two days of silence I know I will remember these lessons and I am sure there will be more lessons to come.

Questions: Have you ever had an unusual fast? Can you share a story about a time when you know words moved you to either a positive or a negative action? Please comment below.