The Power of Our Words
“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.” Mark 11:23-24
Today, I would like to discuss the number one way we impact the unseen realm of the spirit. The answer may surprise you: it is with our words. Whether releasing our faith, ministering the power and/or life of Holy Spirit, or warring against satan’s kingdom, the number one way we influence the spiritual realm is with our words. Why is this the case?
I don’t pretend to know all of the complexities and ways of God. This much I do know, however: one of the primary ways He releases His power and authority is by speaking. He commands, declares, and decrees. When He does, His words release power, life, blessings, judgments, and of course, they create. With His words, God created all that exists (Genesis 1; John 1), and with the power of His words, He holds the universe together - keeps it working as intended (Hebrews 1:3). Obviously, spiritual power is released and carried by words. It isn’t the words themselves that are powerful; it is the source of the words. Jesus said on one occasion, “The words I speak are spirit and life” (John 6:63).
When God made us as spirit beings like Himself, in His image and likeness, He created us with the ability to also release power and authority from our spirits, through our words.
Amazing, isn’t it? We believe, we speak - we’re born again (Romans 10:9)! We believe, we speak - mountains of adversity gone (Mark 11:23)! Yes, the words spoken must be consistent with God’s Word and will. But when they are and we speak them, they are infused with His power and life.
How forcible are right words! (Job 6:25 KJV).
Job’s word for “forcible,” (morat) means “to press.”(1) One of its biblical uses describes a king pressing his seal of authority onto a decree or legal document with his signet ring, making it legally binding, the law of the land. Words seal deals and decree laws. They are powerful, even unto life and death (see Proverbs 18:20-21). The New Testament says we are justified or condemned by them (see Matthew 12:37).
Wars are started with words.
Love is communicated through words.
Instruction and education are shared by words.
Deception and confusion are propagated with words.
Kingdoms are built with words.
People are controlled by words.
Lives are shattered and healed through words.
The world was created by words…and so is our personal world.
Words may very well be the greatest conduit of authority and power in the world. God’s “Let there be” created the world and everything in it. Ecclesiastes 12:11 says, “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies” (KJV). Nails help us build, construct, assemble, and hold things together. So do words. The Master Craftsman used words to build the earth, the seas, the mountains, and all the other amazing elements and dimensions of creation. And, as we said, His words hold it all together.
Luke’s gospel says that even the incarnation - God becoming human - was caused by a combination of God’s words and Spirit. When Mary asked how she, a virgin, could have a child, the angel informed her that the power of Holy Spirit would overshadow her and impregnate her with Jesus (1:35). Then he said, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37). This translation of Luke 1:37 doesn’t do justice to the strength of what the angel actually said. The most literal and accurate rendering is: “No word spoken by God is without power.”(2) What a statement this is, and what ramifications it carries for us. Our all-powerful God infuses transcendent power into His words. They become the carriers of His awesome strength.
God also calls His Word a sword with which He rules and judges. His declarations not only create and build, they also judge and destroy; they’re both constructive and destructive. Consider the following: “Out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength” (Revelation 1:16); “Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war...with the sword of My mouth” (Revelation 2:16; see also 19:15, 21).
Some of God’s decrees are to create or perform in the present; others are declarations regarding the future. In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says of Himself:
“I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’”
Our amazing God stands outside of time, looks ahead, declares the future, and eventually, time catches up to His decree. How preposterous the fools who think they will outwit or overpower Him!
When time catches up to a decree God makes concerning the future, He often involves us in its fulfillment. We become the voice of God on earth, decreeing His decrees for Him! Job 22:28 says, “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.” The first part of the verse could be more literally rendered, “You will decree a decree.”(3) We discern God’s will and/or His decree - what He has determined about a given situation - and we decree His decree. Incredible!
The verse then states that when we decree His decree, it will be “established.” This is the Hebrew word quwm, which means “to rise.”(4) God’s Word is called a seed (1 Peter 1:23), and when we sow it into a situation, we are sprinkling the seeds through which He causes His will to spring up. Quwm also describes a variety of other activities, including God’s “creative, saving, and judging action” rising up.(5) Our decreeing of the Lord’s Word releases His creativity, His salvation, and yes, even His judgments!
I once stood and watched as a minister prayed, then commanded a young boy’s crooked legs to be healed. His lame legs were supported by metal and leather braces. As the minister prayed, the air was filled with the sound of joints popping; muscles and tendons formed, bones became new. The young man, who had never before run, took off his braces and ran around the church. We watched with amazement and awe. The entire congregation celebrated with this young man over his creative miracle...which was released through words!
I also watched another miraculous healing take place as the same man ministered to a lady who had stomach cancer. He spoke to the cancer, commanding it to leave her in Jesus’ name. The woman immediately vomited up the cancer, completely healed...again, through the release of Spirit-led words!
I know these stories sound like fiction, but in the 1960s, it was not strange to see miracles like these take place in services across America. Thousands were healed supernaturally. I personally witnessed dozens of healings.
Both of the above miracles were substantiated by doctors. I know, because the minister was my dad.
Pray with me:
Father, we release the power of Your words into America. (If you live elsewhere, do this for your nation.) We declare that the earth is the Lord’s - Yours - and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). All of it is owned by You. You are the King of all the earth (Psalm 47:7). All authority on earth belongs to You (Matthew 28:18-19). Yours is the Kingdom and power and glory forever (Matthew 6:10).
We declare that Your authority is now being released over the government of America, and that You are dismantling the arrogant systems and political forces that oppose You. All who have opposed You, along with the strongholds they have built, will be pulled down. Unrighteous laws they have written will be reversed in the coming season of revival and reformation. Their evil ways and activities will be exposed. Your angels are on the move now to expose and dismantle.
We declare Your words that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness and that Your mercy endures forever and triumphs over judgment. Through Christ’s cleansing blood, appropriated through our confession of sin, repentance, and faith we declare that America shall be saved! And we declare that the Ruler over and Lover of the nations will have His great worldwide harvest. Man can’t stop it, and demons can’t stop it. It shall be…in Jesus’ name!
Our decree:
We obey Christ and command over America: Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done in this land!
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
Portions of today’s devotional were taken from my book Authority in Prayer.(6)
Strong, James. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. 7th ed., Abingdon Press, 1980.
Bible Hub, “For no word from God shall be void of power.” https://biblehub.com/multi/luke/1-37.htm. Accessed 28 June 2021.
“Strong's Hebrew: 1504. גָּזַר (gazar) -- to cut, divide, decree.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1504.htm. Accessed 28 June 2021.
“Strong's Hebrew: 6965. קוּם (qum) -- to arise, stand up, stand.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6965.htm. Accessed 28 June 2021.
R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Workbook of the Old Testament. Moody, 1980, p. 793.
Sheets, Dutch. Authority in Prayer: Praying With Power and Purpose. Baker Publishing Group, 2015, pp. 102-106.