"I have indigestion." ... "My body is not reacting well to the food I ate."
We don't want to take possession or ownership of our condition. We want to acknowledge it is a spiritual attack and that we believe Jesus is Jehovah Rapha, our healer." -- Kathy DeGraw
We see the same skewed theology that insists all sickness is some form of attack, when it just might be that your sick. DeGraw says to change our speech to not "own" our conditions. This reminds me of a sister who used to work for me who refused to use her reading glasses, which she desperately needed. She would say, "I am not claiming that." My response was always that she may not have claimed it but it has claimed her. Denying reality is not a Christian trait beloved. So what about the often referenced Proverbs 18:21?
Let's break this into the two parts it has. Not surprisingly, those who seek to twist God's Word will often ignore the second half of the verse and just say that life and death are in the power of the tongue. This is in relation to other people though, not how we "self-speak." Our words can cause offense to a brother who then becomes unyielding towards us. Our words can edify however and build people up with wholesome conversation as opposed to corrupting talk. Let us see what Gill's Exposition of the Bible says about this verse:
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, of witnesses, according to the testimony they bear; of judges, according to the sentence they pass; of teachers, according to the doctrine they preach; of all men, who, by their well or ill speaking, bring death or life to themselves and others; yea, judgment at the last day will proceed according to man's words, "by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned", the tongue is the instrument either of a great deal of good, or of a great deal of evil. -- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
If we are a witness of Christ, which we all are, the power of our tongue carries life or death for the hearers. If we are a judge, our sentence does. If we are a teacher, our doctrine does. Remember beloved the Bible says we will all be held to account for every careless word. False judging does matter. False witnessing does matter. False teaching does matter. Our tongue is indeed the source of great good or great evil and thus life or death but this is always in relation to other people -- not ourselves. There is nothing that even vaguely hints at the power of creation in our words.
What then about the second half of the key verse? Those who love the tongue will eat of its fruit. Matthew Poole's Commentary succinctly summarizes this by saying we shall receive good or evil according to the quality of our speech. This is supported throughout Scripture and there is a universal precept of sowing and reaping. If we are constantly tearing people down then we can expect the same in our lives. Bitterness and anger are like acid in our stomachs eating away at us day by day. But please note, it is not the speech itself that results in what the world might refer to as karma. It is the principle God has set up. Word faith removes God and His principles from these equations. Instead of God having His way, we create our own. The power goes from God and His precepts to our mouths and the power of our own words. It is simply blasphemous. So if we find ourselves in love with the sound of our own voice, we better make sure our speech is seasoned with salt and preserves rather than destroys people.
"As you declare and speak over your life, you are prophesying into your future. You are speaking into existence what you believe will happen. Prophets prophesy into our lives, and we believe we will see the fruit of those prophesies. Prophesy into your future what you want to see happen. Write a declaration (see my book Powerful Prophetic Proclamations, which has positive declarations and includes journal pages to write your own) to call out and claim forth what you want to have manifested in your life. Here are some sample declarations you can apply to your life:
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