The Power of Words-Part 4

Words and belief go hand in hand. What comes out of our mouth comes from our heart (Luke 6:45) and Jesus taught on this multiple times. But when this teaching comes to his disciples, Jesus gives specific instructions on how to wield the power of our words. Speak directly to the circumstance!

This is phenomenal and life altering, for every where I have turned in church circles the thought was to take our problems to God. Make sure to let the Lord know about our worries, problems, struggles, and obstacles as if He doesn’t already know what I am facing. And then maybe, if I pray long enough and hard enough God will remove it for me. Sound familiar?

Yet Jesus is specifically telling his disciples, and us, that when we have a problem we should speak to it. The King of the Universe has placed his direct authority in us, and using his Name and power, our words spoken directly to the object or circumstance have impact.

I am sure this brings up all sorts of questions. It sure did for me when the Lord first revealed this truth to me. Here are a few that I can address:

Doesn’t the Bible say to “cast your anxiety on him?”

Yes and we should do so. However, this is in response to submitting to his will, plan, and directions. This is Peter’s response to believers (us included) that are facing suffering and persecution based on following God’s way. When God tells us to do something, a natural human response can be anxiety because it usually involves a task bigger than us. So, humble yourself, submit to him, and cast your anxiety on him as you follow his lead.

Doesn’t the Bible teach us to “pray without ceasing?”

Yes again! Pray to the Lord and talk to him about everything. Praise and thank him for his constant provision and blessing, ask for direction in life or a relationship, request revelation in understanding him more, or pray for your family or community. But God will not contradict his word, so the things he gave us promises for in life, he will not intervene on. His promise, combined with his authority in us (Matthew 28) and guidance to stand on his word (Ephesians 6) is the part of faith walk that we have responsibility for.

Can I manifest with my words anything I desire since it says, “He shall have whatsoever he saith?”

No. Here is where many people have taken this teaching the wrong way. Yes, Jesus says, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9) The part that we have to understand is that the authority and promises that Jesus achieved for us through his death and resurrection are unselfish promises. They are for the good of others and used to bring glory to God. If I use this idea to advance my kingdom and for selfish ambition then I will not see manifestations because those are not part of his promises.

I am a teacher at a small school and I take my students to the YMCA for PE. On occasion we get pretty competitive in our basketball and indoor soccer. I grew up the youngest of three brothers, so I am always competitive in nature sometimes to a fault. Anyways, one time we were playing a game of 4 on 4 basketball and the game was really close. The students and I were flying around the court, sweat was dripping, shouts were calling out across the gym, and people were watching us go at it. One talented young man cut to the hoop and twisted wrong crashing to floor in pain. He was writhing and screaming in pain, clutching his knee as his foot was contorted. I knew something was wrong, this young man was a tough kid. We gathered around him for a second, giving him a moment and as the crowd stood their unsure what to do I checked in with the Lord.

“What do you say Father?” I asked quietly.

“Lay your hands on him and pray for him.” the Lord replied.

I bent down and asked the student, “What’s wrong? Where is the pain?”

“My knee…it’s bad.” He barely spoke in reply.

“Can I pray for you?” I asked. He looked at me funny as if to say, “What’s that gonna do?”

“Sure, I guess.”

In the middle of the YMCA gym with people standing around watching, I laid my hand on his knee and commanded the pain to leave. I cursed any break, fracture, or tear in the Name of Jesus.

“How does it feel now? Straighten your leg out.” His face instantly changed with a look of surprise as he removed his hand from his knee.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” His foot was now facing upward as normal and he straightened his leg out. “Weird, I thought something was really wrong.” He got to his feet, jumped up and down a few times and said, “I’m fine, let’s play!”

I still think back to this moment and laugh. So many times in years past I would pray to God and ask him to heal someone without any result. Only now, through his teaching, through understanding his promises, and believing in his authority did I get to observe and experience a healing miracle. A great part about this story is that my students and I have had numerous conversations about what happened. God planted seeds in all their hearts for they cannot deny the fact that something supernatural took place in that gym. I get to share that Jesus is alive and they get to wrestle with the decision on how to respond to him.

I know there are questions out there. Don’t hesitate to inquire of the Lord about them. He is faithful and more than able to show us how to properly use our words to move mountains, fulfill his promises through us, and invite us into participation with him in his divine nature. (2 Peter 1:3-4)