Presented by Lauren Stibgen

Staying quiet when you are in conflict is hard! I know I have been guilty of saying too much during a conflict—especially if it is something I am passionate about!

Getting wound-up during a conflict is easy. You have a point of view, and you think it is the right point of view. Maybe you have stated your point of view, but it seems like no one is listening. Perhaps you are experiencing a conflict and don’t know what to say, or you feel plain defeated in trying to continually do the right things and it doesn’t seem to get you anywhere.

Are your words empty? The Bible cautions of the words that we use.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words (Matthew 6:7).

Are you talking a lot but without a lot of substance?

Proverbs 21:35 in the message translation also warns,

Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save a lot of grief (Proverbs 21:23).

In the heat of a conflict, you can often say things you don’t want to say.

My greatest encouragement is to tell you to remember it is ultimately God that fights your battles. He even calls us to be silent.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14).

Have you ever tried deploying silence and waiting for the Lord to work on your behalf in a conflict? In the world this is counter intuitive. We are told to speak up and to fight for our point of view.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

In this silence and waiting, turn to the Lord in prayer. Those empty words that you may say during a conflict are better used in a silent prayer to God to step in for you. Prayer is powerful. It draws you near to the Lord and helps you increase your trust that he knows the plans he has for you.