Open Your Mouth for the Dumb

Yesterday, your colleague at work made a casual remark mocking Christians. The whole office laughed. Your heart stirred—you knew the truth—but fear gripped you. What would they think? Would you lose respect? You said nothing, and now guilt sits heavy on your conscience. This is the battle many Nigerian believers face daily: the tension between comfort and conviction, between silence and boldness.

Proverbs 31:8 commands us to open our mouths for those who cannot speak for themselves. While this verse primarily addresses justice for the oppressed, it carries a deeper principle for every believer: we are called to be voices for truth in a world that desperately needs it. That truth is Christ. When we remain silent about our faith, we effectively abandon those around us to spiritual darkness.

Boldness in evangelism is not rudeness or aggression. It is courage rooted in conviction. The apostle Peter and John demonstrated this before the Sanhedrin. After being threatened and commanded not to preach, “they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye” (Acts 4:18–19). They chose obedience to God over fear of man.

Notice what gave them this boldness: “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Prayer preceded boldness. They did not manufacture courage through self-effort. They asked God, and He provided what they lacked.

In Nigeria, where darkness manifests in corruption, witchcraft, and spiritual oppression, your voice—your simple, faithful witness to Christ—may be the only gospel light someone encounters. That colleague who mocked Christians is not beyond Christ’s reach. Your silence leaves them without a witness. The vendor in your neighbourhood, the schoolmate, the family member struggling with identity—they need to hear that Jesus saves, that He transforms, that He is real.

But boldness without grace becomes offensive. Paul wrote, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). Speak the truth, but speak it kindly. Your boldness should be matched by genuine love for those you witness to.

The question is not whether you should speak—Scripture is clear. The question is: will you obey? Will you ask the Holy Spirit for boldness as Peter and John did? Will you trust that God’s Word accomplishes what He sends it to do (Isaiah 55:11)?

Today, identify one person in your circle and pray for an opportunity to share your faith naturally and boldly. Do not wait for perfect circumstances. Open your mouth.

Lord, give me boldness to speak of Jesus without shame, and grace to speak with genuine love.