Friday Fight 196: Communicating or Concealment (confusion)

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF196.

Have you ever gone to bed with everything fine and woke up to a breakfast table full of anger, arguments, and misunderstandings the next morning? Suddenly, feeling blindsided by the drastic change. How does this start? Many things can spark an argument, but in this instance, it is one person's expectation of the day versus the other person's actions. Communication is at the root of everything, particularly our spiritual growth. Our interaction with God in prayer is the basis of our relationship and the foundation for fighting spiritual warfare. What can we do to help mitigate these situations and potentially learn to reset once they begin?

Communicating or Concealment (confusion)

In any relationship, marriage, friendship, or work environment, communication is imperative for an adequate flow of thoughts to better understand the other's preferences, needs, or wants. We have all been in situations where we thought we had conveyed our intentions well, only to realize that confusing communication contributed to the concealment of thoughts. It happens quickly and quite often.

Being a teacher allows me to witness communication misunderstandings and offers teaching opportunities through modeling and mediation. It is unbelievable how fast people react when they make assumptions about others’ intentions. When we need mediation to let us know when our words are hurtful and confusion has taken over, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us in Truth. Psalm 141:3 says “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” David continually asks God to restrain his mouth to keep his words from being harsh when he felt compelled to lash out at others.

Let's unpack how we could apply this to better our communication skills and how this can impact our spiritual walk. Examine for a moment the adverse effects of a lack of communication. While situations vary, many include unintended hurt, confusion, misunderstanding, anger, and finger-pointing. Unfortunately, name-calling, criticism, and breaking each other down can also surface. A whole lot of hurt that we can avoid.

Perhaps we do not plan to remain silent or to mislead others intentionally, but in these moments, hurt causes us to shut down, or our desire to be correct is so compelling that pride emerges, and our needs suddenly become all-consuming.

How do we avoid instability in our relationships with others or, more importantly, with God if we do not communicate effectively, or worse, remain silent and expect others to understand? Let's look at an analogy. Imagine going to a surgeon to explain a problem, but the only information given is a vague, "my stomach hurts." How can a doctor proceed with any surgery without clear communication? There could be numerous issues that explain the pain. When children need things, they convey those needs to a parent. At work, does a co-worker receive from their employer if he never asks? How can we ever love and truly understand our significant other if we refuse to share our thoughts and plans or limit what we communicate? The answers to these questions are found in our words.

In our communication we should be open and honest. Similarly, prayer is not a one-sided dialogue, but a meaningful exchange with God. We cannot simply watch a sermon or listen to a podcast and expect it to replace our responsibility to seek God and know Him intimately. As Christians, good communication is the foundation for walking in love and with grace, as Christ displayed. We can speak the truth, but with clearly stated words of integrity that lead us to peace, not to make a point or to be right. Let's practice peace!