Words Matter – Part 2

James 3:3–5 (NKJV)

³ Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things…

 In “Words Matter”- Part 1 we established the importance of the words we speak.  If this is something new to you, don’t get into condemnation over negative words spoken. We live in a world where words are more about communicating than creating.  Phrases like “I thought I’d die” or “that scared me to death,” definitely create a powerful image for the one who is listening.  But a believer has no business using such language.  Ask Holy Spirit to bring it to your attention when you say something that contradicts the Word. When that happens, just say out loud, “I call for a crop failure over those words.” And then deliberately say something that lines up with the Word of God. For instance if you catch yourself saying, “I always get a bad case of the flu,” say ‘I call for a crop failure on those words.’  The Word says, I have been redeemed from the curse (Galatians 3:13) and the flu is part of the curse.’”

Two things will help you as you begin redirecting your words – knowing the Word and developing what one minister of the gospel calls “conditioned faith responses.” Knowing the Word is a key to staying on the path God has for your life.  James 1:21 says that the engrafted Word is able to save your soul.   Your soul – your mind, will and emotions – must be in a position to respond when the enemy attacks or when unfavorable circumstances appear.  We first learn the Word, then we take the Word and develop “conditioned faith responses” – Word statements that are so much a part of our spirit that whenever something contrary to what the Word says is spoken to us/ over us we automatically counter with a statement taken from the Word.

Here are some examples of conditioned faith responses:

• Someone looks at your situation and says, “That could never happen, that’s impossible.”
  The Word says (you respond), “With God all things are possible.” (Luke 18:27)
• You begin thinking, “I can’t go on like this.”
  You respond, “God’s GRACE is sufficient for me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
• You look at your finances and think, “I can’t make ends meet.”
  You respond, “My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory.” (Phil. 4:19)
• A doctor says, “There is nothing more I can do.”
  You respond, “By His stripes I was healed.” (I Peter 2:24)
• You have a situation in which you do not know what to do.
  You respond, “I trust in the Lord… and He will direct my paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Someone once said that the devil can’t stop the Word from working; he can only stop you from acting on It.  The first line of defense for acting on the Word is to give voice to It.  When your heart and your tongue come into line with the Word, you are positioning yourself both to enforce the defeat of the enemy in your life and to create the life Jesus died to give you! 

A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account,  but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

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