The spoken word is powerful. There is power in speaking a name. There is power in speaking a declarative statement. There is power in asking a question. God created man with the ability to formulate and express thoughts with words. We know God through His word, and we express ourselves to God through words in prayer. Our relationship with one another is developed by the words that we speak. The spoken word can be glorious in that it can encourage, inform, bring joy, and heal. The spoken word can also be destructive in that it can discourage, deceive, and wound. With our words, we can enlighten or confuse, bless or curse, build up or tear down, encourage or demoralize.

The ability to express thoughts and emotions through speech is part of being made in the image of God. God is one who speaks. God spoke all things into existence. The third verse of the Bible begins with the words, “and God said.” With these words, God declared what was good and pleasing. Later God gave testimony to Himself through the words of the law. And finally, Hebrews tells us, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” And our God who speaks, by His command, created man in His image with the glorious gift of expressive speech.

We spend much of our lives talking about our bodies—what hurts, what is failing, what needs treatment, and what is growing weaker with age. Since Genesis 3, every generation has known the painful effects of sin’s curse through sickness, frailty, and death.

But Revelation 21 points us to a day when the former things will pass away. In heaven, God’s people will no longer speak of pain, weakness, or death. With glorified bodies and redeemed hearts, our conversation will be overtaken by the glory of God and the joy of life in Christ forever.