One-a-Day...Use Your Words
A friend and I were praying together recently, and we declared out loud the words of Psalm 43:5, Why so downcast, o my soul? Put your hope in God! If anyone knew despair and discouragement, David did, and he knew how to speak to his soul and give it a pep talk. My friend and I did the same thing in addressing discouragement and depression and used not only our words but our authority in Christ to command the dark cloud of depression to break and lift from her life.
Christ encourages us to use our words to bring about powerful changes in ourselves, our families, our government, and our world. The Father waits for us to verbalize our requests and ideas, then He takes action. For those suffering from depression, for instance, it is a mountain-moving declaration to say to the unseen world that we choose to “put our hope in God,” and that “greater is He who is within us, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
There are scriptures for every mountain we face, and it is music to the Lord’s ears to hear us declare verses that we have found to combat the struggles in our lives. Declaring His Word gets His attention, and it’s as if He rolls up His sleeves and says, “I can work with THAT!” Jesus said, in Matthew 21:21, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen.”
Keeping thoughts and scriptures inside our heads is good, but not good enough when facing our enemy. I can wish and hope with all my might that my very large, heavy, sleeping cat will jump off my legs so I can feel them again, but until I use my words and tell Lily out loud to get down, nothing will happen. The sound of my voice and strong command awaken her and prompt her to respond.
Many sick people remain sick because they do not use their words to speak healing and health to their bodies. I am the Lord who heals you (Exodus 15:26) is a verse that no doubt causes demons to shudder because they know it’s true! Similarly, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7) should be a “staple” in our go-to verses, for how often are we confronted with the enemy of fear? Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:21). Speaking the Word of God out loud can change things!
Little children often ask for things without verbalizing their desires because it’s easier to cry or scream or whine to get another bottle, cookie, or toy. How unpleasant that is for the adult in charge. Part of a child’s growth in communication skills comes when he is encouraged to “use his words” and ask for the things he wants. So, too, as we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we reach a new place of authority and power in activating our faith simply by using our words and declaring scriptures out loud that pertain to our problem or circumstance. We can appeal to our Father in a very meaningful way by saying what He said in His Word as it applies to our situations.
In Psalms 42 and 43, it’s interesting to note that the psalmist said, at three different times, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” That’s a pep talk if ever there was one! I doubt he was very shy about saying it by the third time. In fact, it was written for a choir director and intended to be sung! The descendants of Korah sang it apparently, and we should, too—or at least say it aloud.
It takes a little work on our part to develop a library of scriptures to effectively “use our words” in facing life’s difficulties. A good concordance is a very useful tool for sharpening our spiritual vocabulary and communication skills, and Holy Spirit is a great Teacher and Helper in directing us to or reminding us of appropriate verses for various situations or problems.
Many of us have quietly been hiding the Word in our hearts because we’ve been taught that memorizing it is valuable. It is, but now is the time to speak it out! I challenge you to use your words to speak scriptures over situations now, for there is nothing as powerful as the spoken Word of God.
© 2021, Chris Werre