There is a saying, “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This is a false statement. Take it from a girl who has been deeply wounded by hurtful words spoken about her and to her. Words can and do hurt when used as weapons. We need to always remember that our words have power. James‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ tells us, “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

Words Have Power

We have the power to speak blessing or curses over people and over ourselves. The words we speak over ourselves and others can bring blessing or cursing into people’s lives. We can take the promises written in the Bible and declare them over our lives and situations. Do you need healing? Speak ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ (‭ESV) over your life, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Notice it says you have been healed? That’s past tense. Pray this over yourself until your physical body obeys this command and promise. 

Promises From The Bible

Jesus says in John 10:10 (ESV),“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

We can declare that we have been given an abundant life right now! We don’t have to wait to die to receive this promise Jesus gave us. After all, the thief isn’t allowed in Heaven so how could he steal, kill, or destroy anything in Heaven? This promise is for you right here, right now. What happens if we don’t feel or see this promised abundant life? We continue to declare it. We believe what Jesus says about us and our life even when our 5 senses can detect them. 

Curses Can Be Spoken

With the same mouth we declare promises over ourselves, we have the ability to speak curses over ourselves and others. Here are some examples of curses:

•  “She will never (understand me, make good decisions, or fill in the blank        )”
• “They get to be blessed by God, but that will never happen for me.”
• “Prayer is your thing, I could never spend that kind of time in prayer.”
• “My relationship with ___ will never be good.” 

We need to be VERY careful what we allow to come out of our mouths. Curses and blessings are like legal documents in the spirit. God takes what his children say very seriously. The enemy will use the words we speak as weapons to hurt us and those we love. 

Words Are Seeds

The words we speak are like seeds that are planted. If these seeds find good soil they will take root and mature. Depending on the type of seed, the fruit will either be good (blessings spoken) or bad (curses spoken). ‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭33‬-‭37‬ (‭ESV)‬‬ says, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (emphasis added)

Notice it says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. One of the ways the Greek word for abundance used in this verse can mean: in which one delights. So what you delight in will be in your heart, and will overflow into what you say. What do you delight in? Do you delight in blessings or condemnation?

What Flows From Your Heart

What type of statements come out of your mouth more often? 

• God is doing amazing things in my life. Or God why do all these bad things keep happening to me? 
• I know God has good things for me in my life. Or I think God might have good things for others but he just keeps making my life difficult. 
• I don’t really think God wants good things for me and my family.

 Out of your heart your mouth speaks. What is the fruit of what comes out of your mouth? The words we speak are an indication of what is being poured into our minds and hearts. 

Filling The Cup 

It’s like if I had a cup and filled it with water. If I continued to pour out water, what will come out of the cup? Water. That’s because the cup is filled with water so only water can come out. 

What if instead of water I poured poison into the cup. What would come out of the cup? Poison of course!

Like pouring water – which is needed for life – or poison – which causes death – so what we choose to spend time listening, watching, and meditating affects what we plant in our hearts. 

When we watch things like the news 24/7 we are pouring poison into our hearts. The news is designed to incite fear and thus control over your actions. The world is always coming to an end according to the news. Only bad things happen everywhere when you watch the news. Are these statements true? No. 

God Does Not Give Us A Spirit Of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJ) tells us, ”For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.“

Fear is a spirit, an evil spirit that wants to control you. This evil spirit does not come from God. God’s spirit gives us the power to defeat fear, love for the peace only God can give, and a mind that is soundly fixed to the truth of what God has to say about any given situation. We must seek the voice of the Holy Spirit so we can have the wisdom to act. 

Furthermore, we can then partner with the Holy Spirit and his different attributes – The Spirit of the Lord, The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, The Spirit of  Counsel and Might, The Spirit of of Knowledge, and The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (see Isaiah 11:2) 

Depending on the situation we can call on the different attributes of the Holy Spirit to fill us and we can partner with Him as the Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, ect. To gain insight and answers to the questions we may have.

I’ve had to partner with the Spirit of Wisdom a lot this year. There have been meetings I was forced to attend that I didn’t want to attend. I’ve had to sit through verbal attacks spoken directly at me and behind my back. I needed the Spirit of Wisdom to direct me in both my words and action. 

It Takes Wisdom

We need to use the utmost wisdom to know when to speak up and when to keep silent. There have been times in my life when the best thing I could do is to stay silent. However, there are other times when I needed to speak up. 

Recently, I was involved in several meetings with some friends who were falsely accusing Brett and I of things. In one meeting that they set up, Brett and I were faced with lots of interruptions. They would ask Brett a question, and when he started to answer they would interrupt and throw more verbal daggers. At the end of this meeting they asked what I had to say. There was literally nothing in my head to say. I asked the Lord what I should say and nothing came to mind. I replied that I had nothing to say and we all left. 

Later we had another meeting with these same friends and I had a lot to say. I was able to defend myself against blatant lies these people chose to believe about Brett and me. In both of these situations I needed to remember Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬ (CSB) (Christian Standard Bible), “When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent.”

In one case I needed to stay silent in order to keep from sinning, while in the other case words were greatly needed. It takes wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent. 

Healing Helps 

In the past I would default to keeping silent. I would think if I just stay quiet the accusations will end and I can leave the situation. Through the healing of my soul God has given me the ability to speak up. I know I still need to develop this skill. With the help of the Holy Spirit I will choose to continue to partner with the Spirit of Wisdom and learn to speak up or stay silent.  

Once I am fully healed I will be better equipped to emanate ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬ ‭(ESV),‬‬ “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” I don’t know about you, but I really want my words to be gracious, like honeycomb, sweet to the hearer, and bring health to those I am speaking to. Even when my words aren’t all like rainbows and butterflies. 

What about you? Have you learned to partner with the Spirit of Wisdom to know when to speak up and when to stay silent? What are the words that flow out of your heart? Do you need to change the way you think about God and his promised blessings over your life? I encourage you to pray and seek the Lord for answers to these questions! Be blessed beyond all you can think and imagine my friend!