Words are not primarily for communication, though we use them for communicating with one another and with God all the time. Words are actually meant for far more—they are containers. They are containers whose primary use is to release faith, love, life, healing, power, joy and the goodness of God into this earthly realm. But oftentimes, we forget this, and we use our words to release quite the opposite. We use them to release doubt, unbelief, sorrow, hate and other destructive forces.
James 3:6 tells us of its power: “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”
God wants us to take authority over our mouths so we Speak the Word—Only. This is what the Scripture shows us in Matthew 8:8, when the centurion answered Jesus saying, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed” (KJV).
What Are You Speaking?
God wants us to only speak what He speaks in His Word and in our spirits—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, health, wholeness, and every other uplifting and encouraging word. He wants us to speak words of life!
When Kenneth and Gloria Copeland were newlyweds, this truth came alive to Kenneth for the first time. Gloria had bought a sack of cantaloupes from a man selling them along the roadside. The first two they cut open were ripe and delicious, but the rest were rotten. In a heated moment of frustration, Kenneth told Gloria to give him the sack so he could go back to the man and confront him, but Gloria was quick to say, “No, you’re not.”
In those brief moments, something rose up in Kenneth and he immediately identified that it wasn’t good. When he asked God was it was, the Lord said, You need to forgive him, talking about the man who sold them the rotten cantaloupes. So, Kenneth did; he spoke words of forgiveness over the man. It was then that Kenneth recognized the power of his own words. By speaking words of forgiveness, the unforgiveness that had come up in him left. He was free of it!
Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]” (AMPC).
How are you using your words? Are you using God’s words that bring life? Or are you using words that invite destruction? It’s our choice what we speak
We speak death, or we speak life.
We speak hate, or we speak love.
We speak hurtful words, or we speak helpful words.
And those words go to work on our behalf and on the behalf of others right away!
10 Confessions for Speaking Life
Sometimes we get so used to saying things, we don’t hear what we’re really saying. Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, that scared me to death”? That’s not speaking life, is it? Perhaps you’ve heard someone say, “I almost died laughing.” Why would we want to laugh until we died? Of course, none of us do, so let’s not say that. To help you take authority over your words and begin speaking words of life, consider these 10 confessions for speaking life to help you get your words—your containers—full of life.
- I will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17).
- I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37).
- I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1).
- I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).
- I rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).
- Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
- Just as Jesus is the light of the world, I am salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-16; John 8:12)
- I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11).
- My words are gracious and seasoned with salt; and I have answers for everyone who asks about the hope within me (Colossians 4:6).
- I love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And I love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39).