What power do words have in our spiritual life?
Discussion question for May 29, 2009
Last week we talked about the power of words in communication. This week we look at the power of words for life or death, blessing or cursing, from a spiritual point of view. How are we affected by the power of The Word (the Bible)? How can our prayers be made more effective through the careful use of our words? Is it important to guard your words from a spiritual point of view, specific to communicating with God, or unintentionally communicating with demons? All power comes from God, so how do we most effectively tap into that power through our words?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
We discussed the concept that as people, created in God’s image, we have the power to speak something into existence. It is true that God used speaking to create all the things we know of, as recorded in Genesis. With the power of God attached, the spoken word has creative properties. We have anecdotal evidence that this is true in our lives. Scripture expresses the power of our confession, which can be taken to mean “speaking audible words”. Certainly there are commands and promises that talk about making things happen when you “say” it.
The spoken word has great power in articulating, focusing and exacting our thoughts, much like the writing process. In the spiritual realm it also helps us identify what we believe and feel. By speaking it outloud there is a chance for the conscience to test it, to see if it is consistent with what we truly believe. The power of the tongue, as described in James, is a direct reference to the spoken word. It has power for good or for evil.
Jesus taught that when we confess (speak) and have faith (believe) then anything is possible. Aligning our beliefs with our spoken words can move mountains, save our soul, initiate healings and miracles. When our beliefs and words align with God’s will it will have powerful results for good (glorifying God). However, when our beliefs and words align with our own will, tending to be selfish, then it will have powerful results for evil (glorifying self). We can guard our thoughts by taking them captive and making them obedient to Christ through inundating ourselves in God’s written Word.
Pondering question: If it is important to God that we speak things into existence, then why does He seem not to use audible voice (except in rare occasions) when He communicates with us? – thanks for that one, Dan.
Does the enemy have access to our thought life? We think that he does not. However, he is a great predictor. Possibly he tempts us with a barrage of great variety, then hones in where he notices a weakness. So we should guard our words, but keeping silent is not enough to foil the wiles of the deceiver. We also have to be regularly absorbing the Truth – and the best source for that is the written Word of God.
The conclusion I have come to is this, that our spoken words have incredible power in the natural and spiritual realms. They are to be used carefully because they can do good or harm especially when my words and beliefs are consistent with each other. My God is loving and sovereign. That means He allows me free will for good or bad, but places boundaries on my ability to protect me. God is willing to do more than I can ask or imagine, but He desires that I seek, ask and knock. The interplay between these components defines our relationship.