THE SECRET POWER OF SPEAKING GOD’S WORD
by Joyce Meyer

You and I go through life with an awesome source of power—one that can produce death or life depending on how we use it—and it’s right under our noses. 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] (Proverbs 18:21).

We can use our mouths to speak God’s Word and minister life, or we can use it as a vehicle to agree with the enemy and minister death. I don’t believe that as children of God we want to be used as a mouthpiece for the devil. However, I do believe that if we don’t learn to let God tame our tongues and keep a guard over our mouths, we are in danger of using our words to further the enemy’s work.

1 Satan loves to hear us talk about all the depressing and fearful things that his plans for us would include. There was a time in my life when I agreed with him by thinking and saying all kinds of negative things about myself and my future. When God began to deal with me about my problem of being negative, one of the things He pointed out was that I kept saying the wrong things.

By voicing the negative thoughts he brought to my mind, I was setting myself in agreement with the devil’s plans for my life. Eventually I learned to quit speaking bad things, but I still was not seeing the changes I wanted. One day as I was complaining to God about it, He told me, “Joyce, it’s not enough to stop saying negative things. You have to start saying positive things.”

IN AGREEMENT WITH GOD
It’s good to stop saying wrong things, but the real harvest in our lives comes when we begin saying the right things. That’s what happened to me when I decided to get in agreement with God and plant good seeds with my words. In Amos 3:3 KJV it says, Can two walk together, except they be agreed? I wanted to walk with God in my heart, but that wasn’t enough—I knew in my spirit what I had to do.

If I wanted to walk in victory, I had to bring my mouth into agreement with God. For example, because I was abused by men in my life, I had trouble being a submissive wife. So one of the things I confessed regularly was “I am an obedient wife and no rebellion operates in me.” This confession is backed up by the Word of God in Ephesians 5:22, 24 and 1 Samuel 15:23.

I began confessing my list of things from God’s Word, out loud, twice a day. Change did not come overnight, but it came. I don’t believe I would be where I am today if I had not applied this powerful biblical principle in my life. I must stress that the things I confessed were in the Bible—they were not just things that I decided I wanted. Confessing God’s Word is not a way to get our own will accomplished, but rather the will of God. It brings change in our lives and is also a mighty weapon against the enemy.

DEFEATING THE ENEMY
All of us have enemies, or giants, in our lives that need to be defeated, and we will not win the battle with our mouths shut. First Samuel 17:42-48 tells us that when David was preparing to fight Goliath, he ran toward him, after confessing out loud what he believed the end result of the battle would be. As we open our mouths and speak the Word of God—even declaring our victory ahead of time—we too can win the battle against our enemies.

Speaking the Word out loud activates our faith for victory and brings us help from heaven. When you and I speak the Word of God over our lives, angels hear it and go to work for us. Psalm 103:20 says that angels are …mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word. Angels are eager to work in our behalf. But it’s when we speak and pray God’s Word on a regular basis that we release them into action.

A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE
We will not get the results we want after confessing God’s Word one time. However, if we practice it consistently—over time—it is an investment that will pay great dividends. Regular confession of God’s Word prepares you to resist wrong thoughts when they come to mind. Second Corinthians 10:4,5 teaches us to cast down imaginations, thoughts and reasonings that don’t agree with God’s Word. Each time a thought comes to our mind that does not agree with the Word, we must confess the truth out loud to see victory.

This is a powerful spiritual discipline. When we speak the Word, it becomes a two-edged sword that defeats the enemy and subdues our flesh with one edge, and it opens
the blessings of heaven with the other.

WRITTEN ON OUR HEARTS
If we expect to have the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) available at any moment, we must keep it hidden in our hearts, ready to speak out at any time. In Proverbs 3:1,3 the Word states that we should not forget God’s laws but write them on the tablet of our heart. Interestingly, David said that his tongue was the pen of a writer.

2 We see from these two scriptures that our heart is the tablet and our tongue is the pen. Therefore, when we confess God’s Word, we write it on the tablet of our hearts—establishing it deep within us.

MIXED WITH FAITH AND OBEDIENCE
Do not look at confessing God’s Word out loud as a formula for getting everything you want. All the confessing in the world will not change your life if you are full of doubt or knowingly disobeying the very Word you are speaking. But if you do it with faith, agreeing with and obeying the word you are confessing, you can unleash power for victory in every area of your life.

Be at rest about the timing of the results—that is up to God. Just make a decision to speak the Word and get started today!
(1) See James 3:8, Psalm 141:3. (2) See Psalm 45:1.