What do you believe about your words having power?

[DelilahC]

Hi people

I was raised in a household and church that taught me that every word you speak has life-changing power. I was taught to cancel out and 'tie up' my words in Jesus Name. When I say every word I mean every word. I spent most of my adolescence being super careful with what I said and if I said something 'wrong' I'd have to go aside and pray against it.

Then I had a breakdown. I was spending all my time cancelling out other people's words or my own, in case I'd said something. I wouldn't sing along to secular songs. I wouldn't even sing along to some worship songs in case certain words or phrases would happen and I'd pray against them after if they seemed negative.

Now I'm trying to get to the bottom of this.

Verses to back this up were Matthew 21:18-21 a d Mark 11:12-25 where Jesus curses the fig tree and says to his disciples that they can do the same i.e that if they speak something out verbally it will happen.

What are your opinions on this?

How much power do you think your words and other people's words have?

Is this a common/normal thing? A lot of people in my old church did it

Do you think God gives our spoken words power because we're his children?

Do you think He gives the devil permission to make negative words you utter happen?

Any thoughts and Bible verses explained would be helpful.

 

[Alithis]

Love ... its a whole lot easier .

there is in deed power of life and death in the tongue , and of course we should not have bitter water come forth with the sweet or both become bitter .

But God is able to work all things together for good ,so when others say unwise or cruel things we simply forgive them and love them and have faith in God rather then in the words of others .

 

[Job8]

How much power do you think your words and other people's words have?

Words do have tremendous power and ideally we are to weigh every word that we utter (Mt 12:36,37).

Do you think God gives our spoken words power because we're his children?

The power is not in our words but in the words of God (the Word of God, the Gospel, Scripture) (Rom 1:16; Heb 4:12,13).

Do you think He gives the devil permission to make negative words you utter happen?

If you are a child of God, it is the Holy Spirit who should control your tongue (Phil 2:13). However if you allow your "flesh" (old sin nature) to take control, then Satan will use his influence to cause you to speak that which should not be said (Gal 5:16-26; Jas 3:1-18).

The important thing is to avoid idle words and bring Scripture to bear on all issues by quoting the Word of God. God has not given His people any ability to use "magical" words.

 

[RileyG]

First...relax and talk to your pastor. I pray that you may find some peace and comfort.

The question:
Depends. Words have meaning that can harm people. Call a man a SOB and you just insulted his mother.

So, yes, they can have "power".

 

[HOLYTHUNDER3]

Joyce Meyer and Joseph Prince are really into it because they are "Word of Faith". Try that forum if you want to hear people defend it. But typically I think as long as it is not sinful words that it won't cause too many problems. But some people believe speaking negativity over your life can give satan "power" over your mind. Some even believe that if you say "I'm going to get shot today" that you just might. Believe what your spirit says.

 

[princesa]

Daily I declare good words into my life

"I am blessed and highly favored"

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"

"Father in you I am complete and lack nothing"

I choose to speak life instead of death and I believe in it strongly because not only is it in the Word of God but I see it manifest in my life as I speak it....

 

[lismore]

Lamentations 3:37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?

 

[timberwallace]

I don't see this concept in the scriptures. While words certainly matter, Jesus never presents faith in him as something that comes with conjuring power, and he never gives the impression that our words make God do things. This isn't sorcery. Instead, words should build others up and glorify God.

 

[DelilahC]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for replying.

This is what I'm trying to figure out - surely if you're nice to people and you're following the Bible and putting it into practice it's OK.

I'm not talking about swearing at people or practicing magic or anything like that. I'm merely talking about the difference between confessing something like "I'm going to fail my exam" and then that happening as a result of your words because you're a Christian.

I find it really interesting Lismore what you quoted:

Lamentations 3:37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?

Thank you so much for sharing the verse I'm going to look it up.

Because right now I've got my parents who are very Word of Faith and telling me to be careful all the time about what I say, and to only confess positive things, and then I have friends who are non-denominational Christians and they're saying that you can't speak something into existence just by saying it and I'm trying to figure out the truth.

Because either our words as Christians have that much power or they don't. How can Word of Faith Christians and non-Word of Faith Christians both be right? The Bible isn't meant to be interpreted however people want it to be or what's "true for them". The Bible was written by people who had a message and intention behind what was being written and what they wrote they wanted it to be understood the correct way, not any way.

Because surely if your words had that much power what would be the point in praying? If you could just speak anything and make it happen why would you pray?

 

[joshuanazar]

Hi people

I was raised in a household and church that taught me that every word you speak has life-changing power. I was taught to cancel out and 'tie up' my words in Jesus Name. When I say every word I mean every word. I spent most of my adolescence being super careful with what I said and if I said something 'wrong' I'd have to go aside and pray against it.

Then I had a breakdown. I was spending all my time cancelling out other people's words or my own, in case I'd said something. I wouldn't sing along to secular songs. I wouldn't even sing along to some worship songs in case certain words or phrases would happen and I'd pray against them after if they seemed negative.

Now I'm trying to get to the bottom of this.

Verses to back this up were Matthew 21:18-21 a d Mark 11:12-25 where Jesus curses the fig tree and says to his disciples that they can do the same i.e that if they speak something out verbally it will happen.

What are your opinions on this?

How much power do you think your words and other people's words have?

Is this a common/normal thing? A lot of people in my old church did it

Do you think God gives our spoken words power because we're his children?

Do you think He gives the devil permission to make negative words you utter happen?

Any thoughts and Bible verses explained would be helpful.

First off the very universe was created by the word of God. And he has given us this very authority. Our words have power to speak life or death into existence. But, these words are not just the sounds that proceed from our mouth but also the spirit and meaning behind them. If someone hates me and says to me "bless you" while wishing a tree would fall on me, then they have tried to curse me. Notice I said tried to curse me. Because the only authority they have in my life is what I choose to give them. I do not have to allow their words to effect my life. Our belief in what we say gives our words power. If I say I will receive $100 dollars but do not believe that I will then I will still be broke. We shouldn't say that we will fail a test, because the more we say it the more we will believe it. Now the most important part: Do not live your life in fear of what you say. Remember that God is in control and he only has good plans for us. When we fall (and we will while on earth) his grace will always cover us. I hope that this helped some.

 

[FlyLights]

Being raised Pentecostal, I can relate. Altho this teaching wasn't that enforced in our house, I still see it being vouched for. I don't like this teaching because while words do have power, you can't expect to use your words to bend and twist life to create a selfishly biased favor for yourself.

I've learned from experience that your actions have more power than your words. Words can come out of you as a result of your actions but they can also come out due to lack of action. Matthew 15:8 - This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

If you say "I'm going to fail my exam today." and you do fail it, it is because you did not study or the subject at hand isn't your strongest point. Simple truth. You didn't fail it because as a Christian you said you were going to fail it, that's non-sense to put it bluntly. It wouldn't have made a difference if you confessed "IM GOING TO PASS MY EXAM IN JESUS NAME!" yet you did not study or prepare one bit... you're going to fail the exam. It's not about how positive you are or weren't, it's just the reality.

I recently saw a thing where a guy place his hand on a fancy car and confessed it was his in "Jesus name!" and I personally thought it was ridiculous. If its a coping mechanism to get him to work towards the car, then it could work. But don't expect for a car to land out of nowhere on your driveway just because you "confessed it" despite having a bad work ethic and bad money habits.

The effective prayer would be to pray about God helping you with your bad work ethic which stems from your personal being(the heart) and your bad money habits, which again stems from something in you(the heart) rather than praying for or confessing a brand new car.
Proverbs 23:26 - My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

 

[pescador]

Why would anyone think that the idea of Christianity is to physically prosper? I'll cite two examples...

Jesus was poor and homeless. People expected the coming Messiah to be a king in the earthly sense, i.e., wealthy with riches and splendor, and many missed him entirely.


Paul was in rags, shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, and often dependent on the generosity of others.


The "prosperity" gospel is nonsense. Period.

 

[joshuanazar]

Why would anyone think that the idea of Christianity is to physically prosper? I'll cite two examples...

Jesus was poor and homeless. People expected the coming Messiah to be a king in the earthly sense, i.e., wealthy with riches and splendor, and many missed him entirely.


Paul was in rags, shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, and often dependent on the generosity of others.


The "prosperity" gospel is nonsense. Period.

I agree with you in some parts. God did not call us to have a physically wealthy life. Nor did he call us to have a physically poor life. He called us to have a healthy, effective life. Some of us Christians might be poor and some might be rich. Neither are wrong for being rich or poor.
God wants us to be happy. If you want a car. Why wouldn't he give it to you? After all he knows how to give good gifts. But if you cannot be happy without the car, then your priorities are amiss. James said that if we ask amiss, we will not receive it. God will bless us spiritually and physically, but we need to see that Jesus is our portion and be content with what we have in this world. Don't focus on prosperity, whether for it or against it, just focus on Jesus.

 

[Neogaia777]

Hi people

I was raised in a household and church that taught me that every word you speak has life-changing power. I was taught to cancel out and 'tie up' my words in Jesus Name. When I say every word I mean every word. I spent most of my adolescence being super careful with what I said and if I said something 'wrong' I'd have to go aside and pray against it.

Then I had a breakdown. I was spending all my time cancelling out other people's words or my own, in case I'd said something. I wouldn't sing along to secular songs. I wouldn't even sing along to some worship songs in case certain words or phrases would happen and I'd pray against them after if they seemed negative.

Now I'm trying to get to the bottom of this.

Verses to back this up were Matthew 21:18-21 a d Mark 11:12-25 where Jesus curses the fig tree and says to his disciples that they can do the same i.e that if they speak something out verbally it will happen.

What are your opinions on this?

How much power do you think your words and other people's words have?

Is this a common/normal thing? A lot of people in my old church did it

Do you think God gives our spoken words power because we're his children?

Do you think He gives the devil permission to make negative words you utter happen?

Any thoughts and Bible verses explained would be helpful.

Quantum Physics is beginning to touch on this power of thought and the written/spoken words and the effect they can have on our reality...

I posted a thread on this here:

http://www.christianforums.com/t7870550/

God Bless!

 

[lismore]

This life is only a shadow of the life to come. How much better to have treasure in heaven!

As the Lord said:


“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"