We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”  That is not a quote from the Bible but it reflects biblical truth. James, the brother of Jesus, spent a good bit of his five-chapter epistle warning us about the words we speak.  One small part says the following.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. (James 3:9-11)

We have talked about blessing and cursing before along with our authority as believers. To pronounce a blessing is a form of prayer that asks God to direct good toward the individual we have blessed.  A curse, on the other hand, is a form of prayer that asks for someone to direct evil toward an individual. Since God is not in the business of sending evil in response to hateful prayers, someone else in the spiritual realm will be glad to act on that prayer – especially a prayer uttered by one of God’s own children since that prayer gives the enemy authority to go after someone – even a fellow believer.

As a culture, we tend to dismiss words as meaningless but scripture doesn’t dismiss them so easily.  James clearly commands us to bless and not to curse. Proverbs tells us “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Prov.18:21). Jesus warns us that men will have to give account on judgment day for every careless word spoken (Matt. 12:36). And Paul admonishes us to let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouth but only what is good for building up other people (Eph.4:29).

Since our words carry authority as children of God and representatives of the King, they also carry the weight of prophetic messages calling things out that have not yet come to pass.  A prophetic word over a person does not just tell about future events but often activates a seed that God planted in that individual years earlier. A prophetic word about events moves things in the heavenly realms to bring that word to pass in the affairs of men and nations.

The point is that our words are more than random sounds or sentiments. They carry power or spiritual energy to influence things for good or bad. So God calls on us to speak well of those who would curse us, to pray for authorities, to give honor to whom honor is due, and to bless and not curse.

How many times have we spoken negatively about leaders, celebrities, cities, nations, or even preachers we don’t’ agree with?  How many times have we declared their depravity, their upcoming fall from grace, their darkness and their failure? How many times have we called judgment down with our words declaring that God should wash some city away, destroy it with an earthquake, or declare that some nation should be “nuked,” etc.?  But God was concerned even about the people of Nineveh who were Israel’s sworn enemies.

What if we spoke life, blessing, wisdom, revival, righteousness and hope over the people we usually curse? Would our words impart life rather than death, righteousness rather than depravity, peace rather than war, and love rather than hate?

Would politicians begin to serve the nation rather than themselves? Would presidents begin to make wise decisions instead of foolish ones? Would Muslim terrorists begin to see the world through different eyes?  Would failing husbands and fathers begin to succeed and marriages flourish rather than inch closer to divorce?

God wants us to bless and not curse because he desires that none should perish.  Blessing then becomes a powerful, divine weapon that God can use to transform men and nations. Blessing takes fuel and authority away from the enemy and begins to strangle demonic supply lines of hate and bitterness and cursing.

So today, ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of every word so that none are spoken carelessly. Ask him to make you a spring of fresh water rather than salt water and a fountain of life rather than death.  I will ask him to do the same for me.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Matt.4:23-24

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.  Matt.10:5-8

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”   Luke 10:1, 17-20

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.   Jn.14:12-14

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.  1 Cor. 12:7-11

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power.  1 Cor.4:20

Notice a pattern.  It is a pattern of power.  Jesus displayed it first.  Preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse lepers, raise the dead. Jesus then delegated power and authority to his twelve apostles. He told them to preach, heal, deliver, cleanse, and raise the dead.  Then he sent out seventy-two ordinary disciples who were told to do the same.  They came back triumphant.

Then Jesus promised that anyone who believes on him would do the works he had been doing and in fact they would do even greater things.  Then the Holy Spirit descended on the church and distributed spiritual gifts to every believer which included gifts that display miraculous power. The power of the kingdom of God was not reserved for Jesus or even for the twelve. It was given to seventy-two others and then to the whole church so that the church might continue to do the works Jesus did and even greater things.

There is no hint in these passages that the power and authority distributed first by Jesus and then by his Spirit would fade to a whimper within a few decades of their inauguration.  Power has always been at the core of the gospel: preach it, then demonstrate it.  That is the pattern. Destroy the works of the devil.  Heal broken hearts.  Return health to diseased bodies. Set people free from every form of bondage.

Why would we ever want less or settle for less? Instead, press in, cry out for more, risk asking for and declaring the miraculous works of God.  Bring Jesus everyone he died for by using every bit of the power and authority he paid for.  For the kingdom is not a matter of words but of power.

Words have power.  Your words have power.  Not just the power to influence or persuade but supernatural power.  God spoke creation into existence – both the seen realm and the unseen realm, the spiritual and the natural.  You are made in God’s image.  Your words also carry power. Although our words have power to create to a much lesser degree than the Father’s, they still have power to set things in motion with life-changing and world-changing  outcomes.

God intended to rule the earth through those he created and into whom he breathed his life giving Spirit.  He gave Adam and his descendants dominion over the earth and all the works of his hands.  They were given authority to subdue the earth and establish the culture of heaven (God’s will being done) on this earth.

How does anyone rule?  With power and authority.  Authority directs the power that backs it up.  In the case of Adam, he would command with authority and the power of heaven would back him up.  How do you command?  You command with words. As Adam would command, the Spirit of God or the angels of heaven would move to establish what he had spoken.

Our prayers accomplish the same thing.  As we pray, we invite heaven to act on our behalf or another’s behalf to bring about outcomes on the earth that are consistent with God’s will.  When we speak a blessing over another person, it is a form of a prayer and by faith we believe that God will act on behalf of the one we blessed to bring about some positive outcome.

In other words, your words set things in motion in the spiritual realm that creates realities in the natural realm.   That is why we pray and bless.  That is why we are commanded to pray and bless, even our enemies, because the heart of God is to do good to all men.  When we speak, he acts on our words.

But there is another part of the spiritual realm that hopes to harm, to oppress, and destroy.  The demonic realm also hears our words and has the capacity to act on them.  When we speak hurtful words, condemning words, or vengeful words we are declaring curses.  Curses are simply prayers for the harm or destruction of another.  Curses have the capacity to mobilize the demonic realm to being about destructive realities in the natural realm.

In Numbers 22, Balak, the king of Moab, was confronted with the presence of a million or more Israelites camping along his borders.  Terrified, he summoned Balaam and asked him to place a curse on Israel so that Moab might defeat them in battle.  The idea was to summon spiritual powers to war against Israel and to hinder them so that they might be defeated. Balaam sought God before he pronounced the curse.  God told him not to do so because he should not curse what God had blessed.

The blessing of God sets angels in motion to bring about positive outcomes for the one who is blessed – provision, success, victory, good health, protection, favor, etc. God commanded Balaam to refrain from the curse because that would set the demonic realm against Israel and hinder the blessing and victories that God intended.

Words, then, have the power to set things in motion for good or for bad in the spiritual realm. That’s why proverbs tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. It’s why James counsels us to guard our tongues so that we don’t burn down a forest with one spark – so that our words don’t ignite a destructive force in the spiritual realm that goes far beyond what we intended.

Your words have power.  You walk in the authority of the kingdom of heaven so your words have great authority.  God directs us to bless and not curse. He directs us to be careful with our words and speak only those things that build others up. In the same way we need to speak life to ourselves.  We need to speak blessing and goodness over ourselves rather than condemning words that curse and demean.

Watch your words.  They are powerful and authoritative.  Speak blessing, strength, success, peace, competence, provision, safety and affirmation over others as well as yourself. You have the capacity to set powers in motion in the spiritual realms for great good or great harm.  Watch your words and choose to be source of blessing.  Be fresh water that gives life wherever you go because you speak life to every person and situation your encounter.