What Are You Saying?

 Romans 10:8- “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach)” NKJV

If there is anything I have learned in life, I have learned that what I say matters. As a matter of fact, what I say plays an important role in what I experience in life.

When I was in high school, my English teacher taught a lesson on the principle called “self-fulfilling prophecy”. What this basically meant was that we have a tendency, or an ability to fulfill the words of our mouth. What she wanted to instill in us, as young people, was that it was very important that the words we say about ourselves be positive words and not negative words, for it was human nature to fulfill the words that we say!

Paul believed this principle, for as a young boy he was taught the scriptures. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, Moses spoke similar words to the children of Israel:

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 NKJV

Moses said that the word, or the commandment was not far off, nor mysterious, but very near, in our mouth and in our heart! Paul is referencing this scripture when he says the righteousness of faith speaks!

Over the years we have heard others criticize word of faith people. You know, “name it and claim it”, or “blab it and grab it”! And whether they seem flaky or not, or whether they get it a little twisted or not, it is scriptural that faith speaks! I’ve lived it for decades! Not every word that I speak comes to pass, thank the Lord, but words of faith manifest!

Think about your life. What is it like today? How do you feel about where you are at? Now, think about what you say? Do you listen to your words? Are you speaking life, or death? Are you speaking gloom and despair, or hope? Are you speaking fear and worry, or faith?

In Proverbs we find these words:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.

Proverbs 18:21 AMP

Your tongue hold the power over life and death for you, your family, your situations. Those who love their tongue and indulge their tongue will eat the fruit of their tongue and bear the consequences of the their words! Isn’t that pretty straight forward?

God said that He has placed life and death before us, but it is up to us what we choose:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live

Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV

How do we choose? By our words! Now Paul is leading us to understanding how we come into a relationship with Jesus! With our words, that are in our mouth and our heart, we are born again and step into a right relationship (righteousness) with God through Jesus Christ!

 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Romans 10:9-10 NKJV

What you say about what you believe about Jesus is vitally important to your salvation. And what you continue to say about Him, the word, and your life in Him will be the compass of your existence! Let me share a few examples!

Remember the story of Ruth? Naomi was intent on being bitter, to the point of calling herself Mara, which means bitter. That bitterness followed her life, until Obed was born to Ruth and Boaz. After Obed’s birth, the women of Bethlehem reminded her of the goodness of God in her life. I believe she probably stopped calling herself Mara, and stopped seeing herself as bitter, to become blessed!

When our children were small, (I’ve probably shared this in a blog), people told us to wait for the terrible twos, but they never came, because we never joined our words or faith with that! Then we were told about the turbulent teens, something else we didn’t get with, and we didn’t see it! We spoke different words over our children, what we believed and wanted to see, not what others expected!

But on the other hand, when I am working and I start talking negative about my job, I experience negativity! Then I have to stop myself and say, “what are you saying?” Sometimes God will bless us in spite of ourselves, but the vast majority of our experiences in life can be traced back to what we say!

Jesus said it like this:

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 

Mark 11:22-23 NKJV

Are there mountains in your life that won’t move? Speak words of faith to it, and watch them jump in the sea! Are there situations that need to be turned around in your life, begin to speak God’s word over the situations, and watch them turn!

How do you do this? Well, I do it in this manner! When things are going south at work, and I realize that I have been speaking negatively about my job, I repent! Then, I begin to speak what I believe about how things are supposed to look at my job! I always, always find a word in the word, and as I speak it over my job, I meditate on it. And as I meditate on it, my faith builds when I speak it! It gets in my mind, and in my heart, and as it comes out of my mouth, I begin to speak words of faith! Then I see the manifestation of it come to pass!

As Christians, we may know these things, that we need to watch what we say! But sometimes we need to be reminded of this simple truth! I don’t speak negative words over my marriage, and thus I have been happily married for decades. I watch what I say about my husband and our daughters, and we have healthy relationships! I choose life and not death, so I speak life and not death! When I hear myself say something that’s contrary to the word, or see things happening, contrary to the word, I repent, and get it right!

So what are you saying? Are you speaking God things over you and your family, or are you speaking like the world? Whatever it is that you are saying, if you need to change it, it’s an easy fix. Just stop saying it and say what God says! Then enjoy the fruit of your lips for God has said:

As I create the praise of his lips, “Peace, peace, to him who is far away [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near!” Says the Lord; “And I will heal him [making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise].”

Isaiah 57:19 AMP

Let’s give God something He can work with! What are you saying? Wonderful Jesus!