God's Word will not return void! @tag2>
Joyce Meyer
I think it’s relatively easy for people to believe that God’s Word is powerful. We even read in the book of Genesis how the Lord spoke the world and everything we see into existence— “Let there be light!”
However, we are God’s representatives here on earth, and we can speak His Word just the same as He would—boldly, with authority, and believing it has power to change our lives and circ*mstances. I love Isaiah 55:10-11. It shares a powerful principle about God’s Word:
For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah teaches us that the Word of God will not return void. In other words, it accomplishes what it was sent to do! The Word of God is seed, and when we release it in the earth, we will see good results.
Learning to confess God’s Word out loud has been life-changing for me. Confession means “to say the same thing as.” It’s so important for us to say what God says—to speak His Word—not what our feelings, other people or our circ*mstances are telling us. And when we say what He wants us to say, we’re going to have what He wants us to have.
When I first began learning these principles, I was terribly negative. I was a Christian and active in church work, but I didn’t know I could do anything about my circ*mstances.
God began teaching me that I should not think and say negative things. As I took action to stop speaking negatively, I became happier, because a negative person cannot be happy.
After a while, however, I felt like my circ*mstances really weren’t that different. I asked the Lord about it, and He spoke to my heart and said, “You have stopped talking negative, but you are not saying anything positive.”
So, I started making a list of the things that were rightfully mine according to the Word of God. I had scriptures to back them up. Twice a day for approximately six months I confessed those truths out loud. I did it in my house by myself. I wasn’t talking to anyone else—I was declaring the Word of God over my own life.
I began declaring things like:
“I am a new creature in Christ: old things have passed away, behold, all things are new!” (See 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV.)
“I don’t have a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” (See 2 Timothy 1:7.)
“I cast all my care on the Lord for He cares for me.” (See 1 Peter 5:7 KJV.)
“I am a believer, not a doubter.” (See Mark 5:36 KJV.)
Changes in my life did not come overnight. But gradually I did see changes, and to this day I continue to see good results when I verbalize my faith and speak in agreement with God.
Confessing God’s Word has become a regular part of my daily life. In fact, it’s one of the most important parts of my walk with God. The truth is, I don’t believe I would be where I am today had I not applied this powerful biblical principle!
I encourage you to confess the Word of God out loud throughout the day as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Each time a thought comes to your mind that does not agree with God’s Word, confess the truth of God’s Word out loud, and you will find the wrong thought disappearing.
Can we confess things that we can’t find chapter and verse for? Yes, I believe we can as long as we are reasonably sure that we’re declaring God’s will for our life and not just what we want.
For instance, I started smoking when I was nine years old and smoked for many years. I liked it! So when I decided to stop, it was really difficult.
Every time I tried to quit, I’d last a few hours and then I’d be running around, digging cigarette butts out of the trash or looking for cigarettes in my coat pockets—anywhere I could think to look for them!
I didn’t have success until I got a revelation: I was burying myself in defeat with negative confessions.
I finally realized that I was causing myself to fail through the negative things I was saying about myself. For a long time I would say, “I just know I could never quit smoking. And if I did, I’d probably gain a lot of weight.”
Thankfully, God was eventually able to get through to me and help me see that if I didn’t change my confession, I wouldn’t change. Then, He began to put desires in my heart to start speaking what I wanted, not what I had.
I started saying things like, “I can’t stand to smoke! These things stink and they’re expensive. I don’t smoke anymore!”
The Bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should take care of ourselves. I knew that quitting was a good thing that lined up with God’s Word. I also knew the Lord was personally speaking to my heart that now was the time to break this bad habit.
At first, I felt silly because I would make these declarations while I was smoking. However, within about a week of changing my confession, I realized I now had the grace of God to quit smoking.
Today, I look at my list of confessions and it absolutely amazes me how many of the things that I wrote on it have come to pass—things that seemed impossible at the time! And so much of it has to do with getting in agreement with God and consistently declaring His will over my life.
Amos 3:3 says, Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed? We cannot walk with God concerning His plan for our lives unless we are willing to agree with Him—in our hearts and with our words.
I encourage you to speak God’s Word out loud daily. Get in agreement with Him and become His mouthpiece, declaring the good things He has in store for you. As you do, I believe you will be strengthened in faith...and have the joy of witnessing God’s goodness and power in every area of your life.
