Confessions, both negative and positive, are so powerful.
Medical science has also confirmed that the words we speak have an effect on the human body and health. Words shape human health by influencing stress responses, emotional well-being, clinical diagnoses, and treatment.
The confession we are discussing today is not the confession of wrongdoing but the practice of speaking biblical promises, goals, or favourable outcomes to change your mindset, faith, and life circumstances.
Words are powerful, and depending on the power backing them, they are given life to perform. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Jesus Christ said in John 6:63:
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Here, Jesus, the Word incarnate, sheds light on our discussion. The word “quicken”means to put someone or something in a state of activity or vigour, to excite, or to rouse.
The words we speak have a spirit backing them, so there is no joking or treating them as mere humour.
Now, depending on the words spoken, there is power backing their fulfilment. That is why James said in James 3:5–6:
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
But we also know that Matthew 12:34 says:
“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Also, Luke 6:45 says:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
So, it is not just opening your mouth that matters, but also what comes from your heart, being empowered by the Spirit. It is important to guard your heart.
Many Christians have made positive confessions on the spur of the moment or because somebody asked them to repeat after them. Such confessions, when they are not backed by a heartfelt relationship with the Word, will be of no effect.
Positive confessions are emboldened by your trust in and reliance on God and His power. He is faithful to His Word all the time.
However, negative confessions are backed by demonic power and have their stronghold in fear. Fear is an intense emotion triggered by the perception or anticipation of real or imagined danger, pain, or threat. The most common acronym for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.
So, when you engage in negative speech, you are empowering dark forces to bring to pass what would ordinarily be false.
Remove negative words from your vocabulary and ensure they have no place in your heart. Words and expressions like “No,” “Never,” “Could not,” “Cannot,” “Not for people like me,” and so on, should have no place in your confession.
Fill your heart with the Word of God, which tells you of the possibilities available in Christ Jesus. You can do all things through Him as He gives you strength.
Speak words that build and not words that tear down.
It is well.