The Power of the Tongue

My brother once shared a message with me. It was from a programme he watched where the preacher recounted his life's ordeal. From the preacher's story, his background was a very humble one, and his story revealed that he had been through a lot.

He made a prayer point and spoke about his experience. He was speaking Yoruba while an interpreter translated what he was saying into English. Whenever he said "Iya Jemi," the interpreter would translate it exactly as he said it: "I went through a lot; I suffered."

The preacher kept mentioning how much he had suffered. The interpreter became aware at one point that she was actually confessing what she did not experience. Why did she have to say that she had suffered? Rather than saying she had "suffered," she replaced it with "Suffering." As a result, whenever the preacher says, "Iya jemi," she interpreted it as "suffering," not "I've suffered."

The congregation couldn't stop laughing, and neither could I. Now, if you understand the Yoruba language, this would really be amusing because there's a way tones are imputed in our dialect and words, but far from this, there is a lesson to be learned from it.

The tongue has tremendous power and your words are seeds. You can not keep saying negative things and expect positive results. 

 

In whatsoever you are going through, if you choose to speak positive words about those difficulties, a shift in the spirit occurs, bringing about a change.

Whatever you have in your life is a result of what you've been saying. To change what you have, you must first change what comes out of your mouth. To change your life—from death to life, sickness to health, failure to success—you must take control of your words.

James 3:7-8 says, For every kind of beast, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

(Proverbs 2:6). He also said His words are spirit and life. That means it takes God's words to tame our tongues.

Be mindful of what you say, think about it, and listen to what you say. Ask yourself, "Do I want what I just said to come true?" If the answer is no, then stop and correct yourself immediately.

Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:10).

Allow the Holy Spirit to do his thing with your tongue. Ask God to help you keep a close eye on your mouth. Make your tongue's power work for you rather than against you. The tongue possesses great power.