The Creative Force (Proverbs 18:21; Psalm 103:19-21; Daniel 9:23; 10:12; Mark 11:22-23)

PROVERBS 18:21 says:

"Death and life (are) in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (KJV)

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who make it a friend shall eat its fruit" (NAB)

"Of life and death, tongue holds the keys; use it lovingly, and it will requite thee" (Knox)

"Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose" (The Message)

"Death and life (are) in (the) handle of (the) tongue; and the ones holding it shall eat of its fruits" (LXX, Apostolic Bible)

"Life and death are in the power of the tongue; and they that rule it shall eat the fruits thereof" (LXX, Brenton)

CONTROVERTIAL

It is quite obvious from the text, that our words shape and give substance to our lives. Some, perhaps well meaning Christians, even fight this reality, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It is similar to teaching on the topic of speaking in tongues. Many "church", or rather, denominational doctrines, deny the existence or benefit of such spiritual activity, even though statistically, as of 2007, there were estimated to be over 600 million "tongue talking" Believers in the world, with the numbers continually multiplying. Even if a person teaches on tithing, there is often a backlash, though the scriptures in both the OT and NT clearly present the subject. We don't want to find ourselves in the number, as referencing the scriptures written by Paul, the apostle, where, "...in all (his) epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as (they do) also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2Pet.3:16).

PRINCIPLES of SCRIPTURE

It is essential for us to embrace, rather than denigrate, the principles of scripture, especially when absolutely everything the Father is trying to get us fluent in, is always for our benefit and betterment, in our relationship with Him.

JEWISH THOUGHT

"In Jewish thought, a word was more than a sound expressing a meaning; a word actually did things" (NT Words, p.185, Barclay).

CONTAINERS of POWER

In the ancient orient, words were widely regarded as containers of power, which had effect in incantations and magical spells, both in blessings and curses. There was obviously a recognition that there were spiritual forces that "took" the words spoken, and set about to produce the intended results of those words.

PSALM 103:19-21 says:

"The LORD has prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, you His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word. Bless you the LORD, all His hosts, servants of His, that do His pleasure" (KJV)

"...you His angels, you mighty ones who do His word, hearkening to the voice of His word!" (RSV)

"...all you His angels, you mighty in strength, who do His bidding, obeying His spoken word" (NAB)

"...all His angels, heroes mighty to enforce His word, attentive to His word of command" (Jerus)

"Bless the Lord, you who are His angels; powerful beings, who execute His commands, and listen to His utterances. Bless the Lord, you who constitute His armies, to attend on Him to perform His will" (R.K. Harrison)

DANIEL 9:23 says:

"At the beginning of your prayers, the word [giving the answer] went forth, and I have come to tell you..." (Amp)

"The moment you began praying, a command was given." (Taylor)

DANIEL 10:12 says:

"...from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words" (KJV)

"...your words were heard, and I have come as a consequence of [and in response to] your words" (Amp)

"...your words were heard, and I came because of your words" (LXX, Apostolic Bible)

PUT INTO EFFECT

How do we imagine that prayers are put into effect, other than through the spiritual reality of our words, in accordance with His will, issuing the commands, to angelic beings, that carry out the force of His words, through us, here, in this material, natural realm?

ANGELS

HEBREWS 1:14

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (KJV)

"Are they not all ministering spirits, being sent in service on account of the ones being about to inherit deliverance?" (Apostolic Bible)

"Are not the angels all attending spirits, commissioned to serve; sent forth to do service, for the benefit of; for the assistance of, those who are to inherit salvation?" (Wms; Phi; Wey; Ber)

MINISTER FOR

Notice that the scripture does not say the angels minister TO, but rather the angels minister FOR.

AUTHORITY

In other words, angels carry out and perform, the words that we speak, in what we call prayer. Obviously, our words have authority.

GOD SAID

In the beginning, the scriptures repeatedly say, "...and God said..." (Gen.1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26,29).

DIVINE WORD

In every ancient culture there is some account of their version of God, creating the world with words. In Egypt; Assyria; and Babylonia, the power of creation and the preservation of the world is traced back to the "divine word". The "divine word", whether spoken by their god, or one of his representatives, was believed to possess dynamic power.

WORD of the LORD

In the Old Testament, the phrase, "...the word of the LORD came to...", is repeated at least 113 times. The portion of the phrase translated, "...came to...", is the Hebrew verb (hayah), which means, "it was", denoting something that becomes effective, and could be translated, "...the word of the Lord became active reality to...", or, "...the word assumed effective shape in...". This dynamic word was then spoken out of the mouth of the prophet or messenger, and it came to pass, according to the will of the Lord.

Paul says that, "...when you received the word of God, which you heard of us, you received (it), not (as) the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in you that believe" (1Thes.2:13).

WORD of GOD

"...when you received a spoken word from us --- which was God's --- you welcomed it --- not as a human word --- but what it really is ---the word of God --- which has living power in you; which is also inwardly working itself in you; exercising its [superhuman] power in you; which is even now doing it's work in you who believe; who have faith" (Rhm; Wms; Bas; Amp; TCNT).

SPOKEN BY US

It is not just the spoken word of Paul, that was the word of God, that had authority, but any word, spoken by us, that has divine directive from the Father, [which includes all 66 books of the Bible], we can speak out of our mouth, and it will have the same force.

MARK 11:22-23

Jesus said, "Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'You, be removed, and You be cast into the sea', and shall not doubt in his heart, but SHALL believe that those things which he says SHALL come to pass, he SHALL have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive, and you shall have".

"Take hold on God's faithfulness; have faith in God constantly. I solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up from your place; move; and throw; hurl yourself into the sea!', and does not waver; has no inward doubts, but believes that what he is saying is happening; is done, it will be done for him. For this reason; that is why I tell you, whatever you pray about and ask for, believe that it is granted to you; that you have received, and you will get it; it will be yours" (Wms; NEB; Nor; Mon; Rieu; Phi; Alf; Amp).

"Whoever [whatever man] says to this mountain, 'Be shifted and flung into the sea', and does not waver in his heart, but consistently believes that what he is saying, is taking place, it shall be his" (Ron Ward)

"Jesus says to them, 'Have the faith of God!', For amen I say to you, that whoever should say to this mountain, 'Be lifted, and be thrown into the sea!', and should not examine in his heart, but should trust that what he says takes place, it will be to him what ever he should say. On account of this I say to you, all as much as you ask praying, believe that you receive! and it will be to you." (Apostolic Bible)

Jesus said to them, "Be constantly; continually having the faith of God! For it is an established fact; reality, that I am telling you right now, that whoever says to this mountain, 'You, remove yourself, and you go and throw yourself into the sea!' and there is no back and forth, or difference between what is in his spirit and soul [his heart]; there is no difference between what is in his heart and what he is saying with his mouth, but he is constantly believing that what he is saying is happening, he will have whatever he says. Because of this reality, I say to you, whatever you ask or demand for yourself, when you make bold or confident assertions about yourself [prayer], be constantly believing that you have immediately received, and you shall possess".

(Paraphrase, with careful consideration to the literal and implied meanings of the text)

SPOKEN WORD

Your words have the dynamic power to create in your world, and the angels will obey your spoken word, inspired by the Spirit of God, to bring your spoken word into fulfillment!

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours