Are we Speaking Life OR Death into our Lives and Marriages?
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!
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
Hello FAMM Family,
This morning I felt a very strong urge to read the Seeds of Faith and after I read the post and Dianes’ words, I knew why. This is exactly what I had been struggling with these past weeks; thinking about the past; things my husband was starting to do annoy me again; and then all of the negative thoughts were coming back. I have been praying, but I also need to fill my mind and heart with more scriptures to rebuke the devil and make him flee from my mind. I love my husband dearly and I don’t want to go down that same road again. The devil knows exactly what our areas of weakness are and be tries to bring up the past to destroy us. God has restored my marriage and I am not going to give in to the devil’s doings. Thank you! FAM, Linda, and Diane for these words. God Bless.
Hi Lori. I strongly believe that by being involved in FAMM daily has really helped me. It keeps me grounded in HIS word, and it is a great feeling to see God’s hand at work in other people. And being able to encourage and help others along their journey to marriage restoration is very satisfying to me as well.
And I believe that God is speaking here again, because just before I read this I was working on a post about this very thing, and God knew someone needed to hear it. We are told in 2 Corinthians 1:3 that God is our comfort so we can be a comfort to others facing the same tribulations. Satan comes at us and when we start to go back to the old ways of doing stuff, he is thrilled; he thinks he has won us back to his side. I know that the restoration of our marriage is a gift given to me by God, for His glory, and I know that He has called me to stand with others and to be an encouragement to them as well. There are things in life that come up to try to make me think I’m too busy, but I refuse that path. I believe that staying involved has and will continue to help me; it lifts me up to pray for others; it gets the focus off of myself and on to the things God is doing.
He has brought us this far and He wants us to continue to look forward and not back. I have to check myself often for a “heart” check; to keep my heart cleansed of unforgiveness and bitterness. We have to forget the past and look forward to what Jesus has set for us. I pray that you will continue to ask God to cleanse your heart and keep your focus on Him. And I pray that people will continue to encourage others with God’s promises and not let our restoration become our focus. We are walking this journey with God and other’s hoping for the same outcome. I believe that Satan is trying to make us think that we are too busy with the everyday things of life to become involved. But it is by the grace of God that we are where we are and I hope that we never forget that.
I have just read in another response that this is a process and I know that is so true. I also believe that this “new us” that God has created is a life thing and we need to work at being the person God created us to be every minute. We will slip back, but through Christ, we can see that and catch ourselves and move forward. I know that Linda has had to point out to me at least once that I had a changed attitude and that my spouse’s attitude was changing to match mine in response. I want a good attitude and I want to pass that on, so I hope that you can do a heart and attitude check and see where yours is. We still need to focus on our self and not get caught in the “fix him” mode. I can’t express how important I believe staying involved is and I hope that others will see that too. God brought us here, but I don’t think it was just to get restoration; HE HAS HUGE PLANS and I believe He will bring us all to that point if we let HIM. I believe the scripture “do not grow weary in doing good” has told me that I am to be an encouragement and I know He will give me what I need to do that. Be blessed.
Diane,
Thank you for your words, and Wow! I agree; I need to be more involved and to check in more often. I do go through that “fix him” mode and I don’t see my faults. This morning, I had a great praise and scripture time with the Lord and I can’t tell you how much the lord has spoken to my heart! Prayer, Prayer and Prayer is the key and set the foundation of our marriage on scripture and most importantly, to keep focused on God. At a marriage seminar, I heard this analogy:. A marriage with God is like a pair of scissors; you have both sharp ends that form a triangle and that little screw in the middle that holds the scissors together is like GOD in our marriages. You have to have God in your marriage!
Keep up the good work and all the blessing the ministry continues to be. Thank you for your words and the many prayers that go out for all of us each day. God Bless!!