[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] Fw: Harmful Words

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "TONY_at_FloridaHealth" <FloridaHealth21 at verizon.net>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>, <CcHhEeSsTtEeRr at yahoogroups.com>,
<INTERCESSORS-ALLNATIONS at yahoogroups.com>, "Donna Mae"
<btlg1370 at gmail.com>, <walkwithchrist at tampabay.rr.com>,
<rhansen at reachone.com>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] Fw: Harmful Words
Date: 
Fri, 07 May 2010 07:00:45 -0400


Destroying Harmful Words

(John 6:63) - "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are
life." 

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Have you ever been to a family reunion or other gathering where you can't
even get through the meal without replaying a negative or painful comment
that someone said to you, even as long as five or ten years ago? Words have
a way of sticking with us, but we must learn to deal with hurtful
statements that torment our minds and emotions.

You have heard it before: hurting people hurt people. Their words express
how their inner man feels-wounded and possibly mean-spirited. The word
tells us, "My dear brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry." (James 1:19) 

We know that quick anger can bring angry words. We wish we could get
angry, critical words out of our hearts and off of our minds, but perhaps
our greatest regret comes from things we let come out of our own mouths. 

Most of us remember rejection, name-calling or critical comments meant to
be defining words for us. You may think that healing comes by changing the
actions of the one who hurt you, but it's going to take some words. In some
cases, you may never get words of apology, so it takes new, potent words to
cancel out the power of harmful ones. 

Have you had potent, negative things said over you? Words like, "You will
never amount to anything." In order to trump it, we need something
omnipotent to replace it. Only God's omnipotent words can cancel out
potent, destructive words.

In Isaiah 54:17, the Lord says, "No weapon that is formed against you
shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
vindication is from Me."

There is a very real enemy of our souls and his name is Satan. He accuses
the sisters and brothers in Christ with words. You and I have been given
the power to cancel the accusing word with God's Word. What was true of
them in literal terms under the old covenant is true of us in spiritual
terms under the new covenant. No weapon forged against us will prevail and
you have the power and the words of God to refute every tongue the accuser
wags at you.

It is also important for us to look at the life of Job. When he needed
consolation, he was deeply hurt by his friends' words. We are told that
when his friends first came to him in his grief, they sat down with him and
were silent for seven days. I believe they should have stayed that way, but
they brought trouble the moment they opened their mouths. In (Job 42:7-12),
God gives Job an omnipotent prescription for healing his friend's potent
words. He told him to open his mouth and pray for the friends that had hurt
him.

I know this is hard to hear, but praying for the person who hurt you
(particularly by their words) is the very thing that God will use to heal
you and set you free. Get into a private place where you can open your
mouth and pray out loud. You will begin to realize that you are not
replaying so much of what they said to you, but hearing now what God has
caused you to speak over them. That is power!

If we are invaded and empowered by his Holy Spirit, we can be used of
Christ to speak words that are spirit and life. God planned for us to use
our mouth in ways that have effectual power beyond anything we have ever
experienced. He wants us to speak words that encourage, edify others and
glorify God. In order to operate in that pure flow of spirit and life, we
need to be set free from words of flesh and death that have been spoken
over us. We must let God heal us of words that come from wounded people. 

Open your mouth and say it! "God, I ask you to work in that person's life
and bring them into total restoration. Fill them with your spirit and
restore their lives completely. And God, I not only forgive them in Jesus'
name but I will be radical enough to ask you to bless those who have cursed
me."

Prayer
"Lord, I love your powerful words. Father, I choose to replace the
harmful words with the words that you have spoken for they are words of
Spirit and life to me."