What a person says with his mouth can either release or negate what he believes in his heart. Not only does God desire His children to believe His Word, but also to speak and obey His Word. Jesus said, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Your mouth actually reveals what is in your heart. Jesus explained the connection between the mouth and heart in this way:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:35-37).
It does not take long to realize that Jesus believes that what you say is important. Your words will either justify or condemn you. There will be an account given of the words spoken by your mouth. If they are not according to the truth of God’s Word, they will be idle, meaningless, and oftentimes destructive.
Death and Life in the Tongue
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).
This is practically the same thing Jesus said. The tongue can either work for you or against you. It is never a neutral force because it is usually speaking words of life or words of death. The words a man speaks create the blessings or curses that come his way in life. It is definitely God’s desire to bless His children. But you must believe, speak, and obey God’s Word before you can receive God’s blessings.
“You are snared by the words of your own mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth” (Proverbs 6:2). The words you speak determine the life you enjoy. The reason is that your mouth is a revealer of the beliefs in your heart. If heart and mouth both get in accord with God’s Word, then the blessings of God’s Word begin to be tapped.
“A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth, and from the produce of his lips he shall be filled” (Proverbs 18:20).
Salvation, blessing, prosperity, victory, and joy are all promised in God’s Word. The man who receives them is the one who believes the promise and begins to confess it with his mouth.
Believe and Confess
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, even in your MOUTH and in your HEART’ (that is, the WORD OF FAITH which we preach): 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 to righteousness, and with the MOUTH CONFESSION is made to salvation” (Romans 10:8-10).
Paul preached the word of faith to the people in Rome. He told them that this word is in two places: in their heart to believe and in their mouth to confess. This Scripture tells us that confession is part of salvation just as believing is part of salvation.
Whenever you hear the good news of God’s Word, it is up to you to believe and confess it personally. Thus you begin the important process of both hearing and doing the Word. Jesus equated this to a man building his house upon the rock (Matthew 7:24).
Keeping the Word in your Mouth
God has given you a plan for success as you go about your daily routine of living. It is a message that He spoke first to Joshua concerning his success as leader of Israel.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
The plan for success that God gave to Joshua was:
- Keep the Word (book of the Law) in your mouth.
- Meditate day and night in that Word.
- Do what the Word says.
Notice that God said Joshua would make his own way prosperous by doing these things. He would not only have success, but it would be “good success.”
It is no wonder that David prayed to God, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
David knew that his own success greatly depended upon his meditation and confession. He had experienced a tremendous victory as a teenager because of meditating God’s Word and boldly speaking it forth in the face of Goliath (I Samuel 17:45-50). Remember, he spoke words of faith BEFORE the giant fell. Anyone can shout after the victory is won, but it takes faith to shout BEFORE the walls fall (Joshua 6:16).
The important thing to remember in faith confession is that God’s Word must be the foundation. You must know the truth and be convinced concerning God’s will (II Timothy 2:15). Then God will back your confession, because he is faithful to keep His Word (Numbers 23:19).
No Corrupt Communication
Begin to speak forth God’s Word believing He will bring it to pass. At the same time, stop speaking negative words that are contrary to the Word of God. In the beginning, this may seem a little strange but it will become a tremendous blessing. Make a decision to say as David, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). Refrain from speaking anything evil, negative, critical, or idle. If you must say something, then think first and speak about “…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report” (Philippians 4:8).
Generally, you cannot improve a situation by speaking negatively about it. Nor can you help someone by criticizing them without love. But if you speak God’s Word over the situation or person, you have released your faith and brought the power of the Lord on the scene.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).
Every time you speak, you hear yourself and God hears you. By speaking the Words of life, you can minister to yourself and to God, not to mention what it will do in the lives of others who hear your conversation.
Overcoming by the Word of your Testimony
Those who overcome Satan will be required to use the power of the spoken Word. It is the sword of the Spirit in the Christian’s armor (Ephesians 6:17). Jesus spoke the Word aloud directly to Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), thus giving a battle plan to the Christian on how to defeat the devil. You can resist the devil with the Word and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11).
The blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin and frees you of all condemnation from Satan (I John 1:7), (Romans 8:1 ). The word of your testimony is the sword that puts Satan to flight. It is the Word of God coming from your lips that produces an overcoming spirit in you.
Speak to the Mountain
Jesus said, “…Have faith in God. 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 come to pass, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:22-23).
Jesus said the person who believes in his heart what he says with his mouth, would have what he says. It is true we have the things we believe and speak. For instance, the person who believes he is going to get angry over a situation and then says, “I’m going to get mad,” usually will get mad. This just seems to work in every area of life. The reason is that it is spiritual law. It works whether you understand it or not. It is the same as the physical law of gravity–it works regardless of our attitude towards it.
If you believe God’s Word is true for you, then you can begin to claim its promises by confessing them in your life. Faith requires you to speak them before you feel or see them.
If there is a mountain of a problem in your life, family, body, or finances, you must speak directly to the problem. As you speak, you must believe that what you say will come to pass. God says that what you say will become a visible reality in the natural world if you steadfastly hold to your confession of faith.
There is power in your mouth. The belief in your heart is released by faith out of your mouth. By believing, confessing, and acting on God’s Word, you can receive salvation, healing, the Holy Spirit, righteousness, and a victorious abundant life. All of these are promised to the Christian and are available by faith.
Billy Joe Daugherty