From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him. Proverbs 12:14

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Proverbs 13:4

The two passages above from the Book of Proverbs should be a point of reflection for every believer. They both relate to blessings and prosperity in the life of an individual – especially an individual in a covenant relationship with God. I have often spoken of the power of our words in this blog and the first scripture above relates directly to that. Most of us are convinced of the value of hard work in producing financial blessings and provision. There are numerous proverbs that attest to that truth and the truth that laziness leads to poverty. For the most part, if you work hard you will prosper and enjoy the fruit of your labors. But the above proverb also speaks about the fruit of our lips.

The idea that our spoken words produce fruit is an important concept in a world where talk is cheap and abundant and people are incredibly loose with their lips. And yet, scripture attests to the fact that our words produce consequences. As the Word of God is compared to seed that grows, our own words possess that dynamic as well. What we speak bears fruit in both the natural and spiritual realms.

In the natural, our words prompt either positive or negative responses from those around us. They can engender trust and draw people to us or push people away. Our words also establish ways of thinking that get physically imprinted on our brains (neural pathways) so that we tend to see life through the mindset we have established. If it is a positive, faith-filled mindset then we are in a good place. If it is a doubt-filled, bitter, and pessimistic outlook on life then I will simply not see the blessings of God that come my way. Our words have great power in establishing those neural pathways that become our filters for life.

Thoughts will come to us from a number of sources – our own subconscious, the world that is trying to seduce us, the Holy Spirit or even the devil. Each of these sources introduces thoughts into our minds. When we have a thought and express it in words, we come into agreement with that thought. Whatever we come into agreement with, we empower. Whatever we empower, wields great influence in our lives. Even in the natural world, our words produce fruit that we will have to live with.

But beyond the natural, our words produce fruit in the spiritual realm. Because we have authority, our words activate the spiritual realm to fulfill the words that we speak. When our thoughts and words focus on our brokenness, we inadvertently come into agreement with Satan and he empowers those words to produce even more emotional brokenness within us. Our words are seeds that produce fruit after their own kind.

When a couple begins to throw around words about divorce and the failure of their marriage, they open the door for the enemy to come in and produce the fruit of those words. On the contrary, when we speak life over our marriage, faith over our children, provision over our finances, health over our bodies, and so forth, then those words bring us into agreement with the Father’s promises and that fruit begins to be borne in our lives.

The second proverb quoted above is also interesting. It relates diligence to the richness, not of a bank account, but of a man’s soul. Diligence is constant, thorough work. The constant, thorough work that brings richness to a soul is time in the word, prayer, obedience, and a constant conversation that agrees with the thoughts and promises of God. The fruit of conversation that is seasoned with faith and the truth of God’s word is a rich soul that then produces increased faith, peace, and health for every believer.

John offers an interesting prayer in his third letter that relates to this principle as well. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 Jn.2). John tells us that our provision (finances and relationships) and health are directly related to the condition of our souls. A healthy or rich soul depends on diligence in feeding our spirit and in speaking life giving words over others and ourselves – words that agree with heaven, not with this world or with hell. As our soul is enriched and prospers then even our health, relationships, and provision will increase as well. God has established a direct link between our richness of soul and our prosperity and health.

When we are in alignment with the Father, we choose and speak words that agree with his truth and promises and those words bear fruit in our souls, which, in turn, determines our words which the bear more fruit. It is a spiritual cycle represented in nature – the seed produces the plant which produces the fruit which produces more seed which produces more plants, more fruit, more seeds, etc.

As an external manifestation of the condition of our soul, we will experience health, peace, loving relationships, financial provision, favor with men, and so forth because words that pour forth from a healthy soul will engage heaven in producing those things in our lives.   Be vigilant with your words – those you speak over others and yourself – because every word is a seed that has the potential to bear sweet, nourishing fruit or rotten, poisonous fruit in our lives. May you prosper today even as your soul prospers. Blessings in Him.