“The One Thing” Devotional by Joseph Prince, Days 14 to 15

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Day 14: The Power Of Your Words

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

Most people, when they desperately want something, will say things like, "I am dying for that piece of cake!" Few will say, "I am living for that piece of cake!"

What is worse is that we are quick to mention death when things go wrong. We Singaporeans are quick to say things like, "Die lah! Die lah!" at the drop of a hat. Nobody says, "Live lah! Live lah!"

Yet, the truth is that every word you speak has power – to build or destroy hopes and dreams, to restore or cause loss, to heal or break the spirit, to bring delight or despair, to bless or curse – for God's Word says that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

So, stop lining your words up with the negative circumstances. Instead, start lining your words up with God's Word and release the power of His Word to work for you.

For example, instead of speaking lack and poverty, say, "God's Word tells me that the good things are already here. I therefore pronounce my life blessed. I pronounce my life successful. I pronounce my life great. Darkness and gloom, poverty and sickness, defeat and depression, will not be in my life!"

Instead of speaking sickness and death, say, "I will live long. I will not die young. Jesus died young for me so that I can live long for Him. I am the righteousness of God in Christ and God's Word declares that no evil befalls the righteous. So, no evil will come on me now and in the future!"

Instead of speaking fear over your children, say, "God's Word declares that the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.  Therefore, my children are delivered from every curse, every power of darkness and every evil. In the name of Jesus, I call forth a great, bright and blessed future for my children!"

God wants you to have a life filled with good days and an abundance of every good thing. So, say, "In the name of Jesus, I command blessings, favor, health, provision, protection, dominion and power to fill my life!"

DAY 15: Prayers That Proclaim

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." Luke 13:12

When you have a need, do you pray, or do you plead? Do you begin your prayers with words like, "Please God, please! God, I beg You to have mercy!" Prayers that plead and beg imply that your heavenly Father is not willing to do it. Yet, He is far more gracious and willing to give to you than you are willing to ask, think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). He desires above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2).

In fact, long before you have a need, God has already met that need. Long before you knew you needed a Savior, He sent His Son to be your Savior. This is your God! He is a good God. So, when you beg Him for something, you are actually saying that He is reluctant to give and needs to be persuaded strongly before He will move. Yet, He is not like that.

Jesus knew the heart of the Father. When He saw the woman bound with a spirit of infirmity, He did not pray, "Oh Father! She has been suffering for 18 long years! I beseech You, Father, have mercy on her. Please, please heal her!" No, when Jesus saw her, He immediately proclaimed, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity," because He knew the heart of the Father. He knew that the Father wanted her delivered from her crippling condition.

At the end of a church service, I don't stand and pray, "Oh God, please bless Your people. Oh God, do keep them. Oh God, be ever so gracious to them!" Instead, I proclaim, "The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you!" Beloved, when you pray, proclaim your healing, protection and provision because your Father 's heart overflows with love for you. And when you declare it, He sanctions it. When you declare it, He establishes it!

Click here for PDF version of "The One Thing" Days 14-15

Click here for PDF version of "The One Thing" Days 1-13

Hi Everyone, I pray all is well with you all and your families! I have posted the new days (14 to 15) of Pastor Joseph Prince's 31 day devotional, "The One Thing!" I will post the other days, as I read them; posting two days at a time. Therefore, the next days you all will receive are "Day 16 & Day 17." I also will be posting the previous days, on each of the new days post, that way you all won't have to search for the previous days.

Have a blessed day and week! 

Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks