Death and life is in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Your tongue can hang you and so be careful about what you say because you will have what you say.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
What constitutes a blessing or a curse? Words. Not only do we make the choice between the two but we actually make the choice between words of blessing on our lives or words of cursing on our lives. We also have to be careful about the names we give our children. If you name your child “Nhamo” you are inviting poverty. Words are powerful.
“Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen. Our world is framed by the words that we speak” (Hebrews 11:3 (TPT).
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. We are not called to be reporters; we are called to be forecasters” (Proverbs 21:23). I believe one of the most important times that we need to watch what we say is during our times of adversity, times of hardship. Anybody can be positive and say the right things when everything is going great. But how we respond in the adversities of life will either make you or break you. What you say in the midst of your difficulties will have a great impact on how long you stay in those difficulties.
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When times get tough, human nature is to want to talk about the problem, complain to all of our friends and family about how hard life is. Satan will do his best to pressure you to keep you talking about your situation because he knows that as long as you talk about the situation and circumstances, you will keep perpetuating them in your life by your words. Remember, when you face adversity, don’t give in to the temptation to murmur and complain. Pray the prayer of faith and speak words of faith and victory.
God desires for us to get into agreement with Him and speak the same thing that He speaks. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
According to notes from Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner, The phrase “two-edged” is taken from the Greek word distomos and is unquestionably one of the oddest words in the entire New Testament. Why is it so odd? Because it is a compound of the word di, meaning two, and the word stomos, which is the Greek word for one’s mouth. Thus, when these two words are compounded into one (distomos), they describe something that is two-mouthed! Don’t you agree that this seems a little strange? So why would the Bible refer to the Word of God repeatedly as a “two-edged sword” or, literally, a “two-mouthed sword”? “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17).
The word for “word” in verse 17 is not the normal word “logos” but rather “rhema” of God. This is the spoken Word of God. The Word of God does not become the sword of the Spirit for you until it is spoken from your mouth. Faith always begins where the will of God is known. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17. Hearing the Word of God is what drives out those question marks in our thinking that can hinder our faith. So, our faith is fed, grows and is increased by hearing and understanding the Word of God. Hearing what? What God has said about your situation or about you.
Let’s take a look at how faith is built: “Now Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses] (Hebrews 11:1). We must start with the foundation of hope. When we say that faith comes by hearing the Word, it is implied that hope also comes and it actually comes first.
The Word of God first produces hope in the heart of a person. Hope is Expectation according to the Greek Dictionary. So, we start with an expectation that God is going to heal us. In the Amplified, notice it says that faith is the confirmation or the title deed of the things that we hope for. Faith becomes the proof that what we are expecting is already ours, whether we see it or not. So, our faith takes those things that we are expecting to happen and creates ownership of those things now, not in the future.
Faith always takes ownership of that which is expected. How do you build your capacity for great faith? “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8)
We need to understand there is a difference between speaking God’s Word out of faith like God does and speaking God’s Word unto faith where we are speaking and getting the Word into our hearts. Sometimes we need to speak the Word of God as mentioned in Joshua 1:8 so that we get the Word into our hearts. This is a confession unto faith. God created us to be able to hear our own words and build a capacity to believe them in our hearts. Here is why this is so important: If you do not understand the importance of speaking God’s Word, you will never be able to overcome the incredible power of doubt.