In Luke 5:22 we read what happened when people brought a paralytic to Jesus but there were so many people, they had to climb onto the roof to lower him down in front of Him.
Among those present were Pharisees and teachers of the law. They thought, “Now this is going to get interesting.”
When Jesus saw the paralytic He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
The Pharisees and scribes whispered to each other, “Who can forgive sins but God alone.” Each one thought in his heart, “This is blasphemy.”
Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking when He asked them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?”
God understands the language of thought. We think in pictures and every picture we have in our mind is open before His eyes. Even words we speak in our mind are heard immediately by Him.
Our thoughts are in fact speaking much louder that our words because it comes straight from our hearts. When people say, “Praise God,” their hearts are shouting it out.
However, God hates lies. When we say, “I love You Lord.” We should really mean it because He knows exactly how much we love Him, not by listening to the words of our voices but to the words of our hearts.
This very subject is raised when Jesus said that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The Greek language underlines each meaning beautifully. Let me explain.
Heart in Greek means the inner self, which includes the thoughts, attitudes, opinion, and affection. The heart can be summed up as the foundation of our thoughts.
When we confess our love for God, He sees our heart, which is reflected in our thoughts. God notices how serious we are, how we desire to be close to Him, how ashamed we feel of our sins, just by looking at our thoughts.
Soul in Greek also describes the inner self but is associated with desire, sorrow, and pain, the essence of life in terms of thinking, willing and feeling. Again, it is reflected in our thoughts.
Mind is what it says – the brain with the understanding, reasoning, thinking and decision making capabilities. Whatever we decide with our brains is also calculated, considered and reflected in our thoughts.
Strength is connected to the ability and potential of the physical body to express our love for God. It could be by speaking, dancing, or raising our hands in the air with adoration, after thinking of what we want to do.
Our thoughts expose what we plan, feel and believe.
When we need to share our thoughts with God, we can either speak out loud or say it in our thoughts.
By clearing our minds and then focus on God, we can also listen to His voice in the language of thought. We might feel His guidance in doing or not doing something. It might also be quiet, intimate conversation with a loving Father, just listening to His tender voice.
We should be careful when we say something to God. It is an insult to say something to Him, which does not correspond with the feelings in our hearts!