Say WHAT???

In our everyday lives, it seems that nothing seems surprising to hear anymore – we “love” this thing or that, we are “dying” to see such-and-such, and so-and-so is “killing” us. All of these are common things said and heard, along with the all-to-common self-defeat talk that is so prevalent in our modern society. As you read this, I want you to try to think back over the past 24 hours and see whether or not anything comes to mind regarding your own speech. You see, our speech is far more important than how we may treat it. Let’s go to God’s word to build a case for this:
First, according to Genesis, we are made in God’s likeness and image. We have his attributes (and according to what Jesus said, we have His authority – Luke 10:19, for example), and we, like Father, are creators in our own rite. Proverbs 18:20-21 says that “From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it (life or death) shall eat its fruit.” Additionally, Proverbs 12:14 says, “From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.” And check out Proverbs 13;2, which tells us that a man enjoys good things from the fruit of his lips. Clearly, Solomon was trying to nail down a point in Proverbs by repeating this several times throughout his writings. Even Jesus said that, “"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37).
Imagine for a moment that you would INSTANTLY see come to pass whatever you would speak forth. What would your world look like, assuming this happened suddenly based on what you had been saying recently? This is where I believe we will stand to see the deepest impact. It has been my experience that most people don’t really believe in guarding what they speak because the impact isn’t usually immediate. Words are often like seeds: they need to grow first before they will ever produce a harvest. There can be a lot of time between what we are saying and the actual manifestation of it. Additionally, we can easily poison our “seeds” by other actions in our lives. For example, how many people do you know who are confessing health, but go around telling everyone of all their many ailments? Or how many have you seen who are believing God to help them in their finances, but keep telling everyone everywhere all about their woes and of how “un-blessed” they are? These are the easy ones. What about areas we don’t naturally tie to our words…like our actions? Are we speaking one thing, yet our actions showing another? Are we holding onto bitterness, unforgiveness, or sin? What about rebellion against authority? Ok, enough meddling, let’s move on.
Sometimes, we just can’t seem to help ourselves – we say things we shouldn’t. WHY? I am so glad you asked! Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Perhaps this is why we were instructed in Proverbs 4:21 to guard our hearts. We have to be careful what we allow to penetrate to our heart, because inevitably, our mouth is going to reflect exactly what lies in the depths of our heart. I would go so far as to say that word issues/ speech issues are simply outward symptoms of heart issues. The words we speak are a diagnostic readout of the condition of our hearts. My challenge for you for the next seven days is to carry around a notebook and a pen and write down what you catch yourself saying. You will be amazed when you stop and take inventory of your words of what you are really saying. I pray that all of our eyes will be opened to see, and that the Lord would give us a pure and clean heart of flesh, that we might speak His truth over our circumstances and into the lives of those all around us to effect change. Let me leave you with this thought: We were created in the likeness and image of God, so we are creators by nature. Perhaps the very reason we have not seen our prayers manifested is because we are begging God to do this or that, and not standing in our God-given place of authority and COMMANDING the thing to come to pass. Perhaps God is sitting back watching us to see when we are going to use all of the tools and raw materials He has given us to build the thing we are asking for. STAND in your authority, and COMMAND the thing that is not as though it were. Job 22:28 – “"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways.”

Blessings to you and yours,

Chris