How I Used Truth - Lesson 2 - Annotation 1
Why is the "spoken word" regarded as having more power than the "unspoken word"?
1. The "spoken word" has more power because it has drawn an idea from the invisible Mind substance and made it a mental pattern in the speaker's consciousness. The "unspoken word" is not yet a clear mental image thus it is not as effective; it is an indefinite or unformed thought. Words (silent or audible) are vehicles for ideas and an idea that has not been clothed by a word or a thought-word remains unproductive like an ungerminated seed.
The process of thinking assembles ideas, but words (silent or audible) give definite shape to ideas, clothe them and enable the blessings they contain to come from the formless realm into the realm of form. The forms these ideas take represent the various things needed in our manifest life.
We need to realize that the "spoken word" is not always audible. In our prayer periods we very frequently "speak the word" silently.
"Audible prayers are often answered but the most potent are silently uttered in the secret recesses of the soul" (Atom Smashing Power of Mind 12)
This does not mean that "speaking the word" audibly is valueless; on the contrary, it has a definite place in our spiritual unfoldment being part of our soul education.
"The one and only reason that we do not always succeed in our demonstrations is that we do not persist in our mental work. . . . This is accomplished by prayer, meditation, and the repetition of true words" (Jesus Christ Heals 175-176).
However, it is not always expedient to speak the word of Truth aloud, for to do so might cause contention and inharmony. At such times we "speak the word" silently, declaring the Presence and Power of God. There are also occasions when the feeling of the soul is so deep that audible words cannot be uttered, but only silent declarations. We must therefore bear in mind that the "spoken word" of Truth may be silent or audible.
As yet the "unspoken word" is the indefinite thought which has not become a conviction and a mental picture in the mind. When we pray for health, harmony, abundance, for ourselves or others, we need to affirm silently or audibly, or both. The method used will depend upon the circumstances at the time. We "speak the Truth" not to make something true, but to establish the Truth in our own consciousness as a spiritual pattern that will produce results in our life after its own perfect nature.
What is true of the positive word of Truth also applies to the word of criticism or condemnation, for by the law of mind action our words will also produce "after their kind" in our life. The title of this lesson, "Neither do I condemn Thee," comes from the incident in the life of Jesus (John 8:3-11) when a woman was brought before Him to be stoned according to the law. Jesus challenged His questioners and when they had left the scene He said to the woman, "Did not man condemn thee?" When she answered in the negative Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more." Jesus could not and would not condemn the woman for acts done in ignorance, so His word, which was free from condemnation, gave her just the lift she needed to change her life. In this case, Jesus "spoke the word" aloud for she had need of the definite communication of the idea of her freedom. In Jesus' compassionate attitude the woman was freed from condemnation of herself and was ready to "go. . . sin no more."
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Preceding Entry: Is "salvation" to be ours at some future time in a faraway place, or when is it acceptable? When is man really "saved"?
Following Entry: What is the meaning of the word criticize as used in this lesson? How is "condemnation" related to it?
