Do you realize the average person speaks 16,000 words a day which equates to 6 million words in a year! Every one of our words matters to God because our words have power. Words are a creative force that sets the course of our life. They are powerful because they can work for us or against us.
The most life-changing words we will speak are the ones that led to our salvation that starts with a confession of our faith.
“For if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). That’s how important our words are.
Words carry either a life-giving force or a destructive one. That is why it’s important we choose our words carefully — the words we say about ourselves, other people, and the words we speak about our circumstances and the future. Everything we say in this life has an impact. Words are containers of power.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Your tongue has the power to build your relationships up or tear them down. I can honestly say in the 34 years I have known my husband, Jim, he has not spoken an unkind word to me. Needless to say, we have had our share of disagreements! But there is a big difference between opinions and using words as a weapon to attack, criticize, wound, accuse, or tear down.
It’s the same thing with the words you speak about yourself. If we are constantly putting ourselves down we will see ourselves in a negative light. However, when you see yourself through God’s eyes, it will build you up. The more we get to know God’s word, the more we begin to see ourselves through his eyes. Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing the word of God”. I find as I speak God’s word over my life my faith grows and I start to believe what God says about me.
Problems in our life can be like mountains because they are like giant obstacles in our life. However, Jesus told us we can speak to those mountains. We need to pay attention to what we say to our mountains. We need to talk to them rather than about them. “‘Have faith in God.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea’, and does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say will happen, it will be done for them” (Mark 11:22-23). This scripture teaches us to carefully choose our words. If our words are filled with doubt and unbelief, our emotions will follow that path. However, if we speak God’s word and stand on his promises, we will be filled with faith and strength.
When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus answered every trial with the word of God. He kept saying, “It is written…”. He quoted scriptures that addressed every lie satan tried to deceive Him with. We see this in Matthew 4:3-4. “The tempter (Satan) came to him and said, ‘If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
When we are tempted to speak negative words filled with doubt we need to catch ourselves and follow Jesus’s example and say “It is written…” It is the word of God that brings the victory we need. We need to constantly be careful not speaking words that originate in our minds and our emotions, but remind ourselves what God’s Word says about our situations.
So no matter your circumstances, no matter what others may say or what your feelings are trying to tell you; when you begin to speak life into every area of your life by declaring God’s goodness and faithfulness every day, you will be amazed to see the impact it will have.