Hi Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all had a wonderful time with your family, friends and loved ones.  Today I am sharing a vision and a message from the Lord that I received this past Friday in a prayer session at our church.  This is a message that all Christians everywhere need to hear and understand.  It concerns the words that have come from God, and the words that come from our own lips.

The Vision

I saw a hand holding several letters of the alphabet.  They were like made of silver and gold.  There was also a box made of silver with gold trim.  Everything was highly polished, like a mirrored surface.  The hand held the letters in his fingers.  His fingers moved back and forth over the letters as if they were coins, showing that they had great value.

The Meaning of the Vision

The Lord is showing us in this vision that words are precious.  His words are life, and his decrees are lasting: “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.” Psalm 19:10

What the Lord speaks, is truth. His words are eternal. His words have creative power. He spoke and the universe came to be. His words give life and breath to mankind. His words can raise up nations and can bring them to an end.  The words we speak have power as well, for they can support, defend, admonish, and correct. Our words can also condemn and kill. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21

The Bible speaks of words, and the necessity to control and direct our thoughts and our speech very carefully, for we will be judged by every word we speak.

“The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:35-37

This is an important scripture because we see that the words we speak come from the heart, where we store our memories, our thoughts, our judgments and beliefs.  The silver box with the gold trim represents the store of treasure in our hearts.  “A good man out of his good treasure brings for good.”  

If we store good thoughts towards people, we will not be overly critical.  We will see others as God sees them from a true, and non-judgmental view point, understanding that we all “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23 

For that reason we should guard our hearts and choose carefully the things that we allow into our lives.  “I will place before my eyes no unclean thing.”  Psalm 101:3

We take captive negative thoughts, images and beliefs that are contrary to God and his ways.  We must be vigilant to store good thoughts of people and value the things that God loves. 

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”   Philippians 4:7-8

If we “guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus,” we will have the right attitude towards God, his word, and all people.  In this way, we will not so easily tempted to disparage one another.  We will be able to keep from slander, gossip and verbal abuse.  As it says in Proverbs: “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.”  Proverbs 21:23

I am sure that everyone of us has on some occasion said something that we have regretted.  Words are something that once spoken cannot be taken back.  Words have power and once they are unleashed, they can cause great harm.  That is why the Bible also says “to be slow to speak..”  

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.”  James 1:19-20

If our hearts are not right with God, and we lack self-control, we can be quick to judge, and speak without thinking.  We can give a careless response which may or may not be truthful.  It may come as an automatic or emotional response to a perceived attack.  Before we know it, these hasty words can spark a needless argument that may lead to broken relationships.  

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  James 3:6

What causes these harmful words to come out of us?  If we have unforgiveness and contemptuous thoughts stored up in our hearts towards various people and circumstances, there is no doubt that equally hateful and bitter words will spill out.  “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

Sometimes people blame God for their circumstances. They may believe that God failed to answer their prayers, so they turn their backs on him.  They may curse God in their hearts and open the door to the enemy through unforgiveness.  Is God at fault? Do we hold him accountable? No - this error in their thinking is due to a lack of understanding God and his ways. They are unable to accept his sovereignty. Some expect God to override someone else’s free will.  He will not do that. God will not make a person love you.  He will not make someone faithful to you.  He will not always heal. He will not necessarily provide for all your desires.

God himself has said:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

When our hearts are aligned with God’s, we will better understand the Lord’s wisdom and why he may not grant our every little request, even those we believe to matter the most.  The Lord is interested in our spiritual growth and our faith in him.  He will not give us the things that will stunt our faith or will take us down a path away from him.  He is looking at our circumstances from an eternal perspective.  We on the other hand seem to get stuck in the here and now.   

But our words are very important, for they have creative power.  God has said: “I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all my good pleasure I will accomplish.’”  Isaiah 46:10

The Lord uses his words to speak things into existence.  He created the earth and set the stars in the heavens with his words.   

“For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:10-11

As the Lord’s disciples we are to follow his lead and do the very same things that he did. 

“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  John 14:11-13

So if we are to do the greater works, then we need to do what he did.  He used his words to create.  We are to do the same.  We know that the words that proceed from our mouths will not return to us void, but shall accomplish the task for which they are sent.  And this is true because the Lord said that “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father will be glorified by the Son.”  This is great news, and it is a promise to all believers who ask in the name of Jesus.  And of course asking with the right motives. However we cannot expect God to move on our behalf when we have selfish motives.  

 “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”  James 4:2-3

The Lord wants us to understand that our words are to be used wisely.  This is not just the communication between people, it also concerns our communication with him. When we become born-again believers, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. He leads us and teaches us his ways. When we spend time in his word and in in communion with him, our desire for him increases. Our spirit longs for more of him, and he wants to gives us more. He will baptize us with fire in the Holy Spirit when we show this greater hunger for his presence. As evidence of having received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, he gives us the ability to speak in tongues with a heavenly language. We refer to this language as a prayer language, for our spirits pray with the leading of the Holy Spirit to pray the perfect will of the Father.  This pleases God and it builds up our own spirit.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.  And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  Romans 8:26-27

The gift of speaking in tongues as our prayer language is such a wonderful - wonder!  It is our spirit moving with the Holy Spirit that allows him to use our voice and our words to praise him and worship him. By praying in the Spirit, we accomplish so much for we pray the Father’s perfect will. Our spirit grows stronger and super natural faith increases the more we speak in tongues, pray in tongues and worship in tongues.  As our faith in the Lord increases, he will use us in healing and in miracles. We become more open to receiving words of knowledge and words of wisdom. When we pray in the Spirit, and yield to him, he will give us his counsel and cause us to go deeper in our relationship with him. 

I really believe that speaking in tongues is so important for the believer who wants a closer walk with God.  It allows us to move in the Spirit and to become more sensitive to the voice of God.  I believe that is why Paul said that he wished that “all of you would speak in tongues.” (1 Corinthians 14:5)

And he also wanted everyone to prophesy.  When we pray in tongues we speak to God, and we are edified.  When we prophesy, we edify the body of believers, for they can hear the message from God in a language they understand.  Very often, when I pray in the Spirit, I will receive a vision that encompasses a message that is given to build up or encourage the church or an individual.  There are also visions that come as a warning to the church.

By the vision of letters in gold and silver, the Lord wants us to value his words above all else. His words have been preserved for us by the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles. These words are truly a treasure trove of his thoughts and his plans for mankind.  We are greatly blessed in our time to be able to read the word, and commit it to our hearts.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11   

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Psalm 119:105

The word is life.  And the Word is another name for Jesus, our Lord.  John, who calls himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” wrote the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John. In his gospel, you will see how he describes Jesus as the “Word of God.”

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.  John 1:1-18

What an awesome passage of scripture.  The Lord is the living word.  “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  

Jesus comes in the flesh to teach us about God and the kingdom of God. His words are powerful:

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12  

Truly wonderful is God’s word.  Truly wonderful is the Lord himself, the very “Word of God.”

And truly wonderful is the Lord’s use of our words. He speaks through us to send his word forth to accomplish he purpose. His word will not return to us void!  So as his words and our words have value, we must be careful to use them wisely.  Declaring those things that are not as though they were:

“As it is written: ‘I have made you a father to many nations, even before God whom you have believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which are not, as though they were.’”  Romans 4:17

I would like to share with you a practical means of applying this principle of declaration. I have entitled this message as:

“Do Not Buy What the Enemy Wants to Sell You!”

When you first get a terrible report, hear an alarming statement of fact (or opinion), encounter fear or have a negative thought—immediately rebuke it!  Do not embrace it. Do not buy into the idea and try it on for size. Do not buy it or you will own it and you will find yourself in bondage!

Instead—
Declare out loud—“I rebuke that in the name of Jesus!” 

Take that thought or statement captive—“I take that thought captive and send it back to hell from where it came!” 

Declare what is God’s intention and purpose over the situation—“He will not die, but live and declare the wonders of the Lord!”

Bind the demonic powers in the name of Jesus.

Cancel every assignment of the enemy against an individual or circumstance by God’s authority and in the name of Jesus

Loose any person or entity from the power of the enemy and from any wrong thoughts or attitudes.

Come out of agreement with the bad report, or the negative thought or circumstance.

Here is an example of what I might pray:

“I do not have cancer in the name of Jesus!  That is a lie from the pit of hell, and I send it back to hell from whence it came!  It has no power over me.  That word is null and void.  It is cancelled.  No weapon formed against me shall prosper, for I am the Lord’s healed.  I am a child of God and healing is the children’s bread!  And by the Lord’s stripes I have been healed!  I come out of agreement with that lie and believe God’s great intention for me is life and to have life abundantly.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  I am healthy, sound, whole and well.  I have no sickness or disease.  My ---- is healed in the mighty name of Jesus.  Jesus is God.  Jesus is Lord. He is the great I AM. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. There is no name above the name of Jesus. All sickness and cancer must bow its knee to the Lord.  Jesus is good and his banner over me is love!  I am the Lord’s healed!  I declare over myself that I am healed in the name of Jesus, for the honor and glory of God the Father!  Amen!”

It is so important that we do not buy what the enemy wants to sell us. 

When we hear a report like my daughter has ____ or my husband has _____ we go into battle mode NOT panic mode!  God declares that we are to not buy into the reports that we hear.  We take those words captive. Faith should immediately rise up within us and with all of God’s power and strength, we declare God’s purpose for those individuals. Declaring those things that are not, as though they were, knowing and believing that with God all things are possible! And if God be for us, who or what can stand against us? God is good and his purposes are yea and amen!

This is one example of a miracle that came by placing our faith in God and declaring his purposes over the situation.

A Miracle

One day a few years ago, my friend called and said that her son-in-law was on a ladder when he lost his balance.  As he fell off the ladder, he shot himself with a nail gun.  The 3’ nail went into his abdomen.  His teenage son was with him and drove him to the nearby hospital.  The hospital flew in a specialist by helicopter, because every organ that was punctured needed to be repaired.  The nail had to remain in place until the doctor could see where it went and what structures were damaged.  

My friend was Jewish, so I told her I would pray that the nail would not harm any structure whatsoever.  I called my sister, my prayer partner, and we prayed that the nail would not damage a single organ or structure. I so wanted her to recognize that power of God could be found in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, our Lord.

When I spoke to my friend, she told me that the specialist said that the 3” nail went into the abdomen but did not harm anything at all!  Wow! God is good!  We prayed in the Spirit and we declared what we wanted to see. And the Lord answered with a miracle!  It is easy to imagine what could have happen if we had not had the faith to believe God. Both my sister and I have seen the Lord do many things.

Without the Lord’s intervention, it would have been impossible for a nail to squeeze between and around organs, dodging structures in the body, and not hit something! Our organs are tightly packed, and placed next to, behind and around other organs. A nail is straight.  Where could there possibly be a 3” straight line between organs?  The intestines are like spaghetti, how could a nail dodge such a structure?

But the Lord is good.  He did the impossible.  What was needed was our declaration over the situation and the faith to believe him for a miracle. Hallelujah the Lord is good!

Another Miracle 

On another occasion, I was with one of my prayer partners. We had just begun a month of all night prayer.  Our third partner came in a little late and wanted us to stop and pray for her employer who just found out that she was pregnant with a child having Downs syndrome.  Immediately we started praying and declaring over her baby that he was entirely healthy with no abnormalities.  When we finished, I told her, “Make sure she goes to the doctor for a second opinion, for that baby is all right!  She came in the next night with news that her boss went for a second opinion and they did another test.  The test showed that the baby was perfectly normal! Another Hallelujah! God you are so good! We praise your holy name!  

There are many instances like this.  We need to open our mouths and let God fill them.  We need to stand in faith and believe God for the impossible, because he is more than able!

Hallelujah! We trust you Jesus! We are in awe of you!

So, now that you know, please do not give the enemy a foothold. Don’t buy into his lies. Don’t entertain his thoughts, for the mind is where he likes to play havoc. So please— do not say things like this:

“I think I am getting the flu—This pain in my hands must be arthritis— I have no self-control— I can’t fast—I am hypoglycemic—My boss doesn’t like me— I am always rejected— My mother never wanted me— I look stupid— I am a failure— I can’t do anything right. Just stop it! Take those thoughts captive. And Praise the Lord. Seek him and believe him!

Some deny healing for themselves:

I have prayed with many people who have asked for prayer because they complain about a certain problem or issue.  And after praying with them, and believing that our prayers have been heard, they will immediately take back their problem, and start talking about it as if it was still there. “Didn’t we just give this problem to the Lord?  Why do you want to pick it up again?

The answer I have found is this:  They really don’t want to lose their problem. They use their problem as their calling card. Their problem is their identity. It is who they are.  They identify with their problem.  They can’t imagine life without their problem. They take their problem where ever they go—to every social setting. It gives them a comfortable platform from which to speak. They talk about their poor health, or their problem, be it a troublesome family situation or an emotional hangup.

They are not looking for their problem to disappear.  They just want to use their problem to get attention and the emotional stroking they need.  They want others to feel sorry for them, or they want someone to tell them that they are right and their “awful husband is wrong.”  This is bondage, and they don’t know it.

We must trust in the Lord, for only he can heal and loose the chains of spiritual bondage.   We must pray that those who are in bondage, come to the realization that holding on to their problem or holding onto a offense keeps them from being free and able to engage and have a relationship with God.

I hope this message is helpful to you.  In whatever circumstances you find yourself, speak over those circumstances.  Speak with faith in the Lord.  Ask in the name of Jesus and trust him to heal, deliver and bring about the change that both you and the Lord desire.  Pray in the spirit, for you will be praying his perfect will.  God is good and you can trust him!

Be blessed!  Please share this message with others that need to hear!  God bless you and your family.  And keep Jesus in your heart and in your mind all day long.  Call to him, draw close to him, and he will draw close to you!