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Change Your Words – Change Your Life

There are countless books and blogs being published all the time about the power of our words, but the fact that words have power is not a new revelation. In fact, long before these books and blogs, the Bible revealed truths about the importance of the words we speak. Many scriptures address the power of words.

It’s no mystery that we can hurt or heal with our words, that we can encourage or tear down by what we say, but there’s much more to it than this.

 

Words Contain Creative Power

Romans tells us that, “God … gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” God created the entire cosmos by speaking words into nothingness. In fact, God created people in His image, so we too can create with the words we speak.

Likewise, we can discourage and destroy with our words. Proverbs tells us, “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Our words bear fruit; if we want life, we need to speak words of life. If we speak words of death, negativity or doubt, we can expect to reap a harvest of death and destruction.

Since “God … gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did,” we can expect to do the same! What is dead in your life that needs to live again? Do you need joy, hope or love to live inside you again? Do you need your dreams to come back to life? Do you have relationships that need to be reborn?

Since we were made in the image of God, we too can speak to the dead things in our lives to live again; we can call into existence things that seem impossible.

 

Words Start in the Heart

Jesus taught: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

The words we speak come from our hearts, so if our hearts are not lined up with what the Bible teaches, then we won’t speak words of life. So how do we change what’s in our heart? We need to change what we are thinking about and what we are spending our time on.

When we constantly think about negative things or watch or listen to things that are destructive or critical, we cannot help but have negative thoughts and feelings inside which often turn into negative words. To speak words of life we must intentionally put good things in our minds and hearts and reject bad or negative things.

 

Make God’s Words Your Words

The good news is that if you need something to change in your life, you simply need to align your words with the truth in the Word of God (Bible).

For example, Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” You can declare aloud, “God, as I delight myself in You, I thank you that you will give me the desires of my heart.” (Of course, this is as long as the desires of your heart line up with the will of God for your life.)

Delight yourself in the Lord

But if we say things like “things will never change” or “I’ll never be able to have good relationships with the people I love,” then we are speaking death, and we will reap what we are saying because our words have power. We must use the power of our words wisely because they shape our life and our future for the good or for the bad.

We must study and know the Word of God (Bible) so that we can line our words up with His words. Since “God is not a man, that He should lie,” (Numbers 23:19) we can trust that when our words align with His, we can expect the outcome that He promises.

 

God Cares About the Words We Speak

Jesus warned in Matthew, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” Obviously, Jesus understood the importance of words, and He instructed His disciples to be careful when speaking.

Proverbs gives us lots of great life advice, including reminding us that, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” You don’t have to look far to find someone who said some careless words that caused trouble. The Bible teaches that “a fool’s voice is known by his many words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3). When we keep our mouths shut and don’t talk as much, we don’t sound like a fool and we are more likely to stay out of trouble.

James teaches that “no man can tame the tongue,” which is “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison”. According to this scripture, only God can help us control our tongues; we must seek Him for wisdom and strength to say what is right and good and to refrain from speaking wrongly.

Ephesians instructs, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” And in Proverbs, rash words are compared to piercing someone with a sword whereas a wise person uses their words to bring healing (Proverbs 12:18). Undoubtedly, God wants us to use our words for good; our words matter to Him.

 

Final Thoughts on the Power of Words

“He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3).

We must take an active role and determine to guard our mouth from speaking evil or negativity. God wants us to be like Him in every way, including in the words we speak.

Proverbs teaches that, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Obviously, our words do have power, even bringing health and healing to our souls and bodies. Therefore, we must pay careful attention to what we say and ask God to help us speak only words that bring life to others and to situations.

~ by Jennell Houts

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Comment(1)

  1. Reply
    Alfred says

    Powerful thanks for the wonderful words that I have learned to day.

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