Mwaramutse JESUS's family! May the LORD heal your body and your soul. May he speak for you and rise up for you. May he answer your prayers and grant you discernment. A thousand may fall at your left and ten thousand at your right; death will not come near you (Psalms 97:1). You shall live, you shall fulfil your destiny, for the LORD your GOD refuses to lose you. Like a fencing champion, you will wield the sword of the Word. Like a sniper, you will have precision. Like an archer, you will have discernment. You are blessed with a blessing that cannot be stolen. Whatever may happen, never forget that GOD is the master of times and circumstances. He is not surprised by anything.
« And when you pray,do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.» (Matthiew 6:7, NKJV)
A vain word is a word that produces no result or whose result is useless. It is a word that contradicts or opposes the Word of GOD (2 Timothy 2:16). It is a word that does not serve to edify, impart grace, or instruct (Ephesians 4:29). It is a word that does not fit in with GOD's purposes. It is a word that produces bad fruit: lies, mockery, half-truths, insults, seductions, flattery, vulgarity, arrogance, etc.
JESUS asks us not to multiply vain words and not good words. Do not hesitate to repeat verses and good words (if necessary) when you pray. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45, S21) May the abundance of gratitude, faith, and reverence be reflected in your words.
Eloquence does not impress GOD. Neither does false humility. 🙂 GOD is sensitive to sincerity and not flattery. A sincere person is one who expresses himself without disguising his thoughts and feelings. A flatterer is one who excessively compliments others in order to obtain advantages, favors, or seduction. Flatteries are praises addressed with hypocrisy. GOD looks at the intention before the action. If the intention is not good, the action will be rejected.
" 3 And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is [d]for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him." (Genesis 4:3-8, NKJV)
Although GOD rejected Cain's offering, He approached him to question him, exhort him to do right, and warn him against sin. By approaching Cain, GOD made it clear that He rejected his offering, not his person. Cain never asked GOD why he preferred Abel's offering. When GOD spoke to him, he said nothing. He did not even admit that he was angry. Cain acted as if GOD did not read his mind. He pretended not to hear GOD. Ignoring GOD is the same as pretending not to hear him.
If we read verses three to five without reading the rest of the story, and especially without understanding the offering of the first fruits, we will think that GOD has unjustly appreciated Abel's offering. But the rest of the story shows us that Cain's intention was never to honor, thank or please GOD. Cain did not make an offering because he loved GOD. Irritated and disappointed that he did not get what he wanted, he decided to kill his brother Abel. Perhaps he thought that Abel's death would force GOD to bless him. Cain killed Abel, yet all he had to do was give GOD his first fruits, the best of his fruits, to be blessed. I thought for a long time that GOD had rejected Cain's offering because he had not given the first fruits or the best of his harvest. Until the day the HOLY SPIRIT reminded me that intention precedes action.
There are some people, no matter how good they may say to us, we don't care, because we know they are hypocrites. Their intention is to manipulate our attention and not to celebrate what GOD has done or is doing through us. The more they talk, the more we want them to shut up. If we, as human beings, can discern such people, how much more so can GOD. We are imperfect and our knowledge is partial. We can be hypocrites at times and there are hypocrisies that we will not discern until GOD exposes them. Whether it is our hypocrisy or the hypocrisy of others, just because GOD does not expose it does not mean that he does not know. Therefore, let us guard against hypocrisy. And consequently, from vain words.
GOD honors faith in Him. If we multiply empty words when we pray, it means that we actually have faith in our words and not in him. It means that we think that our words will act as magic formulas on him => It means that we think that our words manipulate the power of GOD. => This means that we are not conscious that GOD is the master of his will, thoughts, and actions.
No word of JESUS is insignificant. He asks us not to multiply empty words because he knows that we will sometimes speak empty words. Otherwise, he would have said "do not say " and not "do not multiply ". He asks us not to multiply vain words, not good words. Again, Do not hesitate to repeat verses and good words (if necessary) when you pray. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45, S21) May the abundance of gratitude, faith, and reverence be reflected in your words.
Let us not tell GOD what we do not mean and let us not be ashamed to tell him what we do mean. GOD already loves us with eternal and unconditional love. There is nothing we can do that will reduce or increase his love for us. GOD is not only Love, he is also Truth. He will not lie for Love. Let us love as GOD loves, speak as GOD speaks, pray as GOD prays.
** Mwaramutse = Good morning in Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)