The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word

INTRODUCTION

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Everybody does! And I have discovered a powerful secret that I want to share with you—a secret that literally changed my life.

In 1976 God graciously granted me revelation on the power of confessing His Word out loud. Prior to 1976 I was a very negative person who always had negative things to say. Due to abuse in my past and growing up in a very negative atmosphere, my outlook on life was: "If I don't expect anything good to happen to me, then I won't be disappointed when it doesn't."

God had been dealing with me about the very destructive problem of being negative, and I had made a lot of progress in changing the way I thought and spoke. I was careful not to speak negatively, but I was not yet experiencing the positive changes in my life I desired. One day as I was talking to the Lord—basically complaining because I felt I had stopped being negative and had not seen positive changes—I sensed God speaking to my heart: "Joyce, you have stopped saying negative things, but you have not started saying positive things." It is good to stop doing wrong things, but the real harvest comes in our lives when we plant seed by doing the right thing.

Instantly I knew in my spirit what I needed to do. I spent the next few days compiling a "confession list." It consisted of Scriptures from God's Word and changes that I wanted to see happen in my life. I made sure everything I was planning to confess was in agreement with God's Word. For most of my confessions I actually had chapter and verse to back them up. Using that list, I began confessing God's Word out loud twice a day. I can honestly say that was the beginning of wonderful changes in me, my family, and my life.

Romans 4:17 states that God speaks life to the dead and calls nonexistent things as if they already existed. I began doing the same thing. I was calling those things that did not yet exist in my life into being by confessing God's Word. I must stress that the things I confessed are in God's Word—they were not just things that I had decided I wanted. Confessing God's Word is not a way to get our own will accomplished but, rather, the will of God. As we believe and confess God's Word we are setting ourselves in agreement with Him for His plan to come to pass in our lives.

Open Your Mouth

As one acquaintance of mine says, you cannot defeat Goliath with your mouth shut. We all have enemies or giants in our lives that need to be defeated. First Samuel 17:42-48 tells us that when David was preparing to do battle with the giant Goliath, he ran toward him confessing out loud what he believed the end result of the battle would be.

Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

—1 SAMUEL 17:45-46

We can easily see from David's example how we should approach the enemies that we face in our own lives. We must open our mouth and speak the Word of God.

He prophesied the end result from the beginning of the event. God does the same thing according to His Word.

[Earnestly] remember the former things, [which I did] of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose.

—ISAIAH 46:9-10

You have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment. And will you not bear witness to it? I show you specified new things from this time forth, even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known. They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word]. . . .

—ISAIAH 48:6-7

Ministering Angels

We also have angels available to help us, and they hearken to the voice of God's Word.

Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation?

—HEBREWS 1:14

Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

—PSALM 103:20

This is exciting! When we confess God's Word out loud, the angels hear it and go to work for us. It is easy to see we cannot defeat the enemy unless we wield the two-edged sword of God's Word. As David ran toward Goliath (not away from him), the Word was going forth out of his mouth, and angels were activated to assist him.

The angels are not activated by our complaining, murmuring, doubting, and unbelief. They want to work on our behalf, that is their assignment from God, but we need to release them by speaking or praying God's Word.

A Spiritual Discipline

Just as we need natural disciplines such as discipline to work and disciplines concerning appetites, finances, and so on, we also need spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, and confessing God's Word out loud. We may not always want to, but as we discipline ourselves to do these things, they will become habits. Then we will see good results just as we see good results from any other discipline that is applied over a period of time. Doing something good one time does not produce long-lasting good results. Discipline doesn't produce immediate joy, but it is an investment that will pay great dividends in due time. (Hebrews 12:11).

I strongly encourage you to confess the Word of God out loud daily—even two or three times a day, or throughout the day as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Each time a thought comes to your mind that does not agree with God's Word, confess the truth of God's Word out loud, and you will find the wrong thought disappearing.

Second Corinthians 10:4-5 teaches us that our weapons are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds in our mind. Casting down imaginations, thoughts, reasonings, and theories that don't agree with God's Word requires us to use our offensive weapon—the Word of God coming out of our mouth. When we speak, it becomes a two-edged sword that defeats the enemy with one edge and opens the blessings of heaven with the other. There are many other weapons that are defensive, but the Word is offensive—it chases the enemy, driving him back.

Like any other principle in God's Word, this will not work if it is not applied. Just knowing it doesn't change anything. Faith is active. It must be released. We can release God's Word through prayer, confessing His Word out loud, and taking God-inspired action. We are blessed in the "doing" not just the "knowing." James 2:17 says, "faith without works is dead."

Do not look at confessing God's Word out loud as a formula for getting everything you want. Do it in faith, knowing it pleases God when we agree with His word. Enter God's rest concerning the timing of the results. God is faithful and as we continue to do our part. He never fails to do His. When I began confessing the Word out loud in 1976, changes in my life did not come overnight. But gradually I did see changes, and still to this day I always see good results from verbalizing my faith and speaking in agreement with God.

In Psalm 45:1 David said that his tongue was as the pen of a ready writer. And in Proverbs 3:1, 3 the Word states that we should not forget God's laws but write them on the tablet of our heart. We see from these two Scriptures that our heart is the tablet and our tongue is the pen. When we confess God's Word out loud, we write it on our own heart, and it becomes more firmly established both in our heart and in the earth. God's Word is forever settled in heaven (see Psalm 119:89), and we establish it in the earth each time we speak it.

I know that my husband, Dave, loves me, but each time I hear him say, "I love you," it is more firmly established in my life. So it is with this spiritual principle.

The Pattern

We see a pattern for this principle in the book of Romans, which teaches us that in order to be saved, we must believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.

Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God) and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

—ROMANS 10:9-10

So I say we should believe and speak, speak and believe—the two work together!

Hold Fast Your Confession

Hebrews 4:14 and 10:23 both tell us to hold fast our confession of faith in Him. When we hold fast to something, it indicates that something or someone is trying to take it away from us. Satan will try to steal our confession by putting wrong thoughts in our mind, hoping the thoughts will produce wrong words that will come out of our mouth. The power of life and death is in the tongue, and we eat the fruit of our words, whether for life or death (see Proverbs 18:21).

Satan will tell us that confessing the Word does no good, that it changes nothing. He will cause us to forget to do it or to feel lazy and just not want to do it even though we know we should. He will cause us to get weary of doing it. Satan fights anything that will produce good results in our lives.

To confess means "to say the same thing as . . . to agree with or assent to." We need to say the same thing as God says and get into agreement with Him so that His good plan for our lives can come to pass.

First Timothy 6:12 instructs us to fight the good fight of faith. We must fight battles and press in to do what God tells us to do.

God's Word Does Not Return Void

Isaiah teaches us that the Word coming out of God's mouth (which I believe can also be our mouths dedicated to Him) will not return void. It accomplishes what it was sent to do. The Word of God is seed, and when we release it in the earth, we will see good results.

For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless] but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

—ISAIAH 55:10-11

We are God's representatives in the earth, His mouthpieces, and we are instructed by the apostle Paul to imitate Him. As His representatives, we should speak His Word just the same as He would. We should speak it boldly, with authority, believing it has power to change our lives and circumstances.

This principle has been life-changing for me. There were times when I let the principle slip away, but the Holy Spirit was always faithful to remind me to confess His Word. There are seasons when I spend more time than usual confessing God's Word out loud. Yet I can say with certainty it has been a regular part of my daily life throughout all these years. I don't believe I would be where I am today had I not applied this powerful biblical principle in my life.

This book contains powerful Scriptures arranged in an alphabetical topical format that allows you to quickly and easily begin confessing the Word out loud regarding your specific need(s). Make it a spiritual discipline. Release your faith as you release the Scriptures out of your mouth, and get ready to see wonderful changes in your life.

And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know! Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. . . . So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise and behold, a shaking and trembling and a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. . . . So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath and spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.

—EZEKIEL 37:3-4, 7, 10

These Scriptures are a striking example of how things can change by prophesying (speaking forth) God's Word.

God's Word spoken out of your mouth regularly produces a powerful, victorious life!

Now you know the secret—the power of the Word is unleashed when you speak it out—so make a decision and get started today!

How To Use This Book

You will notice that I have worded most of the confessions in first person for your ease in making them personal to you and your life. They are either taken directly from a Scripture or have a Scriptural basis in God's word.

The Scriptures are listed in categories I feel people will need the most at various times in their lives. I suggest that you use them frequently. Confessing the Word regularly is like a sick person taking their medicine regularly.

My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.

—PROVERBS 4:20-22

These Scriptures imply that God's Word works in us as medicine does in the flesh or body of a sick individual.

You can confess the Word in any area simply to keep it alive in your heart. Confess it for maintenance or to keep you strong in specific areas. You can and should also choose sections to confess and meditate on in which you are having problems. If you are repeatedly experiencing impatience, you can open the book to the section on patience and make it a matter of study, confession, and meditation. Likewise, if you are struggling with forgiveness, spend time confessing the Scriptures in the section on forgiving others.

The Word is like medicine but it is most effective when applied properly. If I have a headache, I don't put a Band-Aid on my head. If I cut myself, I don't put an aspirin in the cut. We know how to apply medicine in the natural and should learn to do so spiritually. If I wake up feeling extremely short tempered and grouchy, it won't help me to listen to a teaching tape or read a book on prosperity and success. I need something about walking in love and the fruit of the Spirit.

If you apply the Word to your life just as you would medicine to a wound or sickness you will be amazed at the power which will be unleashed in your life.

I believe I have provided you with a wonderful Word dictionary to help you begin your new life of meditating on and confessing God's Word out loud on a regular basis. These confessions are meant to provide a foundation for you, but you should add those that are pertinent to your own life and situations.

I want to reiterate how important this principle and spiritual discipline has been in my own life. I sincerely pray you will not just read this book and put it on a shelf. I encourage you to use it daily. I believe you will be strengthened in faith and have the joy of witnessing many manifestations of God's goodness and power.