When You Have Nothing to Say
By David Faust
Have you ever been speechless? Maybe your friends threw a surprise party, and you were too stunned to speak. Or some shocking news took your breath away. On the memorable days when my children were born or adopted, I struggled to put my feelings into words. At least I got my voice back quicker than the old priest Zechariah, who couldn’t speak for months until his son John was born.
What if you’re a preacher without any fresh ideas to share, and Sunday is coming? It’s tough being speechless when it’s your job to give speeches. I have been a preacher for many years, but occasionally when I’m asked to speak, my first reaction is to think, I have nothing to say!
Public speaking isn’t for everyone. We’re not all like Elijah, whose bold prayer brought Heaven’s fire to the mountaintop. Or Peter, who preached and saw thousands baptized. Or Paul, who addressed influential philosophers in Athens. But if we watch for opportunities, we all can be like Philip, who shared the gospel with an audience of one . . . an Ethiopian in a chariot.
Just as authors have to overcome writer’s block, God’s ambassadors have to overcome preacher’s block. Whether your audience is large or small, what should you do if you have the opportunity to speak, but feel like you have nothing to say? Here are some suggestions that have helped me.
Recognize you’re in good company. Moses didn’t consider himself a great speaker. Neither did Jeremiah. The apostle Paul showed classic symptoms of stage fright when he came to Corinth “in weakness with great fear and trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). You don’t have to be an eloquent orator to deliver God’s message. If the Lord used a fig-picker like Amos and a fisherman like Peter to communicate his Word, he can use you.
Seek God’s help. Your own prayers—and the prayers of others—can help you get unstuck. Paul urged his friends to pray that God would open a door for the gospel and help him “proclaim it clearly” (Colossians 4:3-4).
Keep it simple. When I get stuck during sermon preparation, I ask myself, Why am I struggling? Am I trying too hard? The goal is to express the Word, not to impress the crowd. Jesus communicated profound truth by using uncomplicated language and down-to-earth illustrations. In a world starving for hope, the theme of DBR is always relevant: Death, Burial, and Resurrection—the bad news of sin followed by the good news of Christ.
Speak from your heart. Listeners can detect even a hint of phoniness, but sincerity and conviction make the message harder to resist.
Do your job. Paul instructed Timothy, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Pats on the back are not the goal. Like faithful postal workers, our job is to deliver the mail and share God’s message in every season, undeterred by “snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night.”
Trust God with the results. We plant and water seeds, but the Lord makes them grow. Remember, it pleases God “through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). If you and I feel speechless now and then, it doesn’t mean God has nothing to say.
Personal Challenge: What opportunities has God given you to be an ambassador of the gospel? What step will you take this week—either one-on-one or in a group—to communicate biblical truth to someone who needs to hear it?
Well said! Thanks.