Every Idle Word

 September 27, 2022

Yesterday I wrote about Mrs. Cantrall’s prayer that God take away anything that came between her and the Lord. I’ve been thinking about that prayer and her conviction that God answered it when her beloved husband died. I remember, not a prayer, but a statement I made nearly twenty years ago that had a similar effect.

I don’t remember what I was preaching about this particular Sunday, but I’ll never forget what I said, nor what happened subsequently. My statement was this: “I would be able to survive if the church went belly-up, but I don’t know how I would survive if I lost my family.” 

That may sound pretty innocuous, but God took me up on it in 2004 when Park church nearly folded when an influential member got angry with me and orchestrated an exodus that threatened to break us. It was the worst pastoral experience of my life, and were it not for faithful people who stood by me, I wouldn’t have made it. My prayer partner at the time told me to my face he was trying to get me drummed not only out of Park church, but out of ministry altogether. I was brought up on charges before the bishop, who ultimately made (I believe) the correct decision, but who handled the situation abysmally. 

My prayer through it all was that God would allow me to hand over a healthy congregation when I retired. It took ten years, but God did just that, for which I am very grateful. My point in telling this very abbreviated story is simple: Jesus warned us to monitor every word that comes out of our mouth, and that we shall at Judgment Day give account for “every idle word” we speak. God isn’t afraid to test us to see if we really mean what we say, and when God tests us, we better buckle up, because we’re in for a ride! He is faithful to us, but also to himself. I learned the hard way that I not only need to be careful what I pray for, but also with what I say.