In the kingdom of God, the spoken word is powerful, and carries weight and consequences. Clearly our spoken words in the natural can be overheard by all – God, believers, non-believers and the powers of evil that are of this world. So, it’s always wise to be careful about what we loose into the air, after all, “the prince of the power of the air” is the devil himself.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air (emphasis mine), the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh…”.
God creates with the spoken word. In the account of creation, found in Genesis, Chapter 1, God created the heavens and the earth (quotations are from the New Living Translation):
On Day 1, God said, “Let there be light,” and He created day and night.
On Day 2, God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth,” and He created the sky.
On Day 3, God said “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear,” and he created dry land (separated from the water). He also created vegetation by saying “Let the land sprout with vegetation…” and he created plants, fruit, trees and seeds.
On Day 4, God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night,” and He created the sun and the moon (and the stars).
On Day 5, God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” And He created the creatures of the air and sea, assuring they would reproduce.
On Day 6, God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal,” and He created the creatures of the land, such as livestock and small animals. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in Our image [Father, Son and Holy Spirit], to be like Us,” and He made them, male and female.
According to John 1:1-3 (NKJV), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” You see, the words of Jesus are the very words of the Creator!
As children of God and New Testament born-again believers washed by the blood of Jesus, we initiate His creative miracles, blessings, and binding and loosing through our faith and our spoken words – in the power of the name of Jesus. When we release our faith and speak a word of truth or prayer of petition, we can be assured that it’s His will and desire to answer our prayers and respond to our declarations – as He deems best, not necessarily how we think it should be accomplished!
Here are some powerful scriptures to consider:
Psalm 37:4 (Amplified Bible) – “Delight yourself in the Lord, [a]nd He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.”
Matthew 17:20 (NKJV) – In speaking to the disciples, Jesus said “…if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain , ‘[m]ove from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 18:18 (NKJV) – “Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” How does this happen? By our speaking the word of God and standing on His promises!
Matthew 18:19 (NKJV) – “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”
This is key! Did you notice the importance of speaking (or asking) when activating the promises of God? When we open our mouths to speak, we have a choice. We can bless by edifying, strengthening, comforting, bringing peace, bringing healing, bringing unity, and demonstrating maturity and Christ-likeness OR we can cause harm by cursing, speaking discouragement, sowing confusion, sowing fear, sowing doubt, defaming others, or intentionally lying – which helps Satan in his desire to steal, kill and destroy.
Let’s consider the following:
Proverbs 15:28 (NLT) – “The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.”
Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, [a]nd those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Colossians 3:8-10 (NKJV) – “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth (emphasis mine). Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…”.
1 Peter 3:10 (NLT) – “For the Scriptures say, ‘If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.’”
If you’ve stuck with me this far(!), I’m pretty sure you would agree that the old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a lie from the pit of hell!
Summary
My brothers and sisters, whether we are engaging in personal or intercessory prayer, prophecy, evangelizing, teaching, preaching or worshiping, we should endeavor to use our mouths to speak blessing to God or to speak God’s blessing to others. We should, first and foremost, assure that God is the object of our praise and the Author of the truth we are speaking. To God alone goes the glory!
We are God’s workmanship, made to perform good works in the kingdom of God because of our faith and thankfulness, not to prove ourselves “worthy” of salvation through our works – because we’re not. We should use our tongues/mouths to bless and never to curse others. We should remember that our entire world and personal existence was established by the spoken word of God.
The best news of all is that if (when) we sin and speak poorly, as children of God, we repent and move forward. Our God is compassionate and loving! Remember, Jesus came to earth in the flesh and understands our weaknesses, so RUN to Jesus and continue on as His hands and feet (and mouths!) here on earth until He calls us home! Amen.
Praise Jesus forevermore!