"Are We Speaking Life OR Death Into Our Lives And Marriages?"
by Linda Wattu and Diane Miller of Faith And Marriage Ministries
Perhaps one of the most challenging kingdom principles for all of us to understand and put into practice as humans, particularly as men and women standing for marriage restoration, is the power of the words we speak. Yet Proverbs 18:21 (AMP) leaves absolutely no doubt that our tongues have the power to bring about either life or death based on WHAT we say! It clearly and simply states that 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].
Yet, sadly, many men and women standing for marriage restoration and greatly in need of a miracle, speak death instead of life into their situations and circumstances, because the words they speak are so TOTALLY contrary to the written instructions and promises found in God’s Word. And since the devil is stalking around just looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8 ), when we do that, we literally give him permission and authority in our lives to steal, Kill and destroy (John 10:10) by the words we speak; and we usually even tell him exactly what it will take to do so!
On the other hand, when we SPEAK the Word of God, we literally dispatch God’s mighty angels to perform His spoken Word in our lives! As Psalm 103:20 (NASB) says, Bless the LORD, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! So if we want to release the divinely supernatural power of God to work on our behalf and avoid giving the devil power or authority in our lives, our spoken words should ALWAYS be the “voice of His Word,” especially since Psalm 91:11 (NASB) assures us; For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. Make no mistake: Satan has NO power in our lives and circumstances unless we give it to him.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. (2 Chronicles 32:7)
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:18-20)
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NASB)
And the way to insure victory when the devil does come against us, is to put the Word of God into practice in our lives just as Jesus instructed (Luke 6:46-49) and demolish every stronghold and argument and pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God by taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ and His Word (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
And one of the most encouraging passages of scripture as we stand for the restoration of our seemingly dead and hopeless marriages and families that illustrates the awesome power brought to bear in our lives and situations when we speak the Word of God is found in Ezekiel 37. What an awesome example of speaking something right back to life!
After seeing how some fellowship members struggled with understanding the power and importance of our spoken words during FAM Chat last Friday night, in addition to some other posts on the private website, I felt strongly led to write this post, but Diane posted the following without even knowing that I was going to write something on the same topic! And since it’s such a wonderful message, I requested and received her permission to share it here as well, which I greatly appreciate because I know that everyone who reads it and PRACTICES the wisdom of her counsel will be greatly blessed and encouraged!
Our Words by Diane Miller
I have really felt the Holy Spirit speak to me about our words. Jesus died so that we would have good lives; blessings and not living under afflictions or troubles. We are told many times to “fear not” and to “be anxious for nothing;” yet we still fear, doubt and worry.
When we suffer and have pain and difficulties, do we let them show us that we are weak or are we reminded that our God is bigger than ALL of them? The trick is to let the challenges we face remind us that we cannot do this in our own power and strength, but that through Christ we can do all things. God won’t just go halfway when He goes to work on our behalf; He will finish what He started. He will restore, rebuild and make whole. Even when we don’t see anything or feel anything, God is working and He doesn’t need us to do a thing except trust, rely and believe. Even when we don’t know what will happen or what we will face next, we can rest and accept it because we know that when we let go, we fall into the strong and mighty hands of God. I believe it is a choice we make, and the only choice.
When we say things out of our mouths, they go into our thoughts and become our focus. We can take thoughts captive and rebuke the devil, but if we don’t fill that space in our minds with God’s words, then those negative thoughts that are pretensions against the knowledge we have of God’s Word keep sprouting up. Instead of saying “It is hard.” or “I struggle…”- try filling that space with “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” or “I am blessed because God causes me to be blessed.” If we keep speaking out that we struggle, then that is what we focus on and we miss the message God is giving us or seeing how He wants to bless us.
For so long, we have made decisions based on how we feel, which is how we got where we are. So I hope that we can learn to fill our mouths with God’s promise that He will work everything out for our good because we love Him and have been called according to His purpose and not focus on the bad stuff. When the devil comes knocking, give him the boot with a promise from God and he will flee. The more we speak God’s word back to him, the less he comes knocking! So write out scriptures, read them, and get them in your heart so that the next time the devil comes, he hears that you have victory because God causes you to be victorious! Let’s stop helping the devil out and use the power and authority God has given us to stomp on his head; we are “more than conquerors through Christ!” I pray that we fill our thoughts with all of the blessings God has given us and the amazing things He has done and not what we are still waiting for. Let’s lift our eyes up and see the glory of God, His power and strength, and be amazed. He will do what He promised; He does not lie or change His mind. And we will not ever be put to shame for standing on His word and I believe we will never be the same. God sees our heart and He loves us. Be encouraged, Diane
The articles above were written by Linda Wattu and Diane Miller of
Faith And Marriage Ministries - please feel free to contact them
