For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:23)
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom 10:10),
Introduction: When Christians pray to God about something the word of God assures them that they can have, a very important aspect that is often ignored is confession. Confessing is affirming something you believe or testifying to something you know. You can tell what a person believes by what he says. It is not just enough to believe what the bible says you can have, you must open your mouth to confess that you have got it. Confession is the key to faith, it can be used to activate and increase one’s faith. Confession is the door to the supernatural.
Confess the word of God about what you want until you get it.
It is necessary to always confess the word of God about what you want until you get it. In Mk 11:23, Jesus Christ said it is the person who says to the mountain to be removed who will get whatever he says not the person who just believes in the heart alone. Moreover, in Rom 10:10. Paul also said with the heart, one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. The word of God is the power of salvation in every realm, take time to speak it and experience salvation in every area of your life
Remember that confession is not done only when you are praying. As you go along with your daily activities, interacting with people, mind what you say. Don’t say anything that negates the word of God especially those things you are praying for or that you desire in your life. The words of God are spirit and they are life; speaking them releases power. You cannot receive beyond what you say therefore you should learn to say what you want often.
Some weeks before writing this article, I needed to buy something. When I woke up and sensed in my spirit that it was time to purchase that equipment, I started confessing that I receive it that day, claiming the amount needed to purchase it. I rebuked the devil and told him to withdraw his hands from my money. I had a ministration that day and didn’t have any clue to the amount of honorarium I would be given but lo and behold, when I counted it and added the money from the sales of my books, it was N2000 above the amount needed.
I proceeded to the shop rejoicing, on getting there, I was told that the price had increased by a few thousands which was not available in my bank account. Unconsciously, I just told the owner (a Christian) that I had been confessing that I would go home with that equipment that day and was not willing to go home with the money on me, she just smiled, collected the money and started writing the receipt. I thought she was going to make it a deposit but she told her son to take the equipment to my car and gave me her account number to pay the balance later. God can never fail!!!!
Confessing the word makes God to act on your behalf
When you confess God’s words, it means you agree with God and acknowledge his ability If you approach an honourable man with his words, you have obligated him to perform. In the same way, God respects his words and will want to fulfill it in your life as you keep saying it. In Psalm 103:20, David said the angels of God do His word and heed to the voice of His word. When you as a child of God speak God’s word, the angels hearken to it the same way as if God has spoken it because they are sent to minister to you.
Speaking against what someone has said is an insult or character assassination. Therefore, speaking against God’s words will not make him happy. God rejoices when we say his words and will make him act quickly. (Prov. 23:16)
Confess all positive aspects of the scriptures into your life
Confess any positive words in the scriptures into your life especially the parts in the new testament that that contain ‘in Him’ & ‘in whom’.
Confess what God did for you through Christ in the plan of redemption. For example:
God has delivered me from the power of darkness, and hath translated me into the kingdom of his dear Son (Colossians 1:13). Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law, having become a curse for me (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon me (Gentiles) in Christ Jesus, that I might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:13-14).
Confess Who God is to you. Say God is on my side. He is supporting me now (Rom 8:31) God, the creator of the whole universe is my helper. He is helping me now. (Is 41:10). God is my shepherd, he is leading me now (Psalm 23:1). God himself has commissioned me, he is with me now (Joshua 1:9).
Confess what you are to God the father in Christ Jesus. God is in me now and he is greater than anyone in the world (1 John 4:4). I am the apple of God’s eye, nobody can harm me (Zech. 2:8), I am peculiar, my life will show forth the glory of God (1 Peter 2:9).
Confess what Jesus is doing for you now at the right hand of the father. Jesus did not just save me on the cross of Calvary, He lives every day to make intercession for me (Heb. 6:20), Jesus is my advocate. I cannot lose in life.
Confess what God can do through you or His word will do through your lips: God is completing all the good works he started in my life in Jesus name (Phil 1:6), I can do all things because God is strengthening me (Phil 4:13), I am more than a conqueror through Christ that loves me (Rom 8:37), I reign over all situations, I am not a victim of any bad circumstance or bad decision of a leader (Rom 5: 17), I am not afraid of any situation, I am bold and have a sound mind (1 Tim 1:7)
Some weeks ago, when we studied ‘Oh God! Enlarge my coast’ in Refreshing Manna I used the 1 Chron. 4:10, the prayer of Jabez to pray and confessed it for days and weeks. I thank God to day because the worth of my books business has increased and the marketing strategies have also been widened, the books are now being sold on line and in supermarkets along with the bookshops.
The devil is glorified when you speak wrongly or confess doubts.
Don’t ever speak against what you want. Don’t allow any circumstance around you to dictate what you say. It is better to keep quiet than to say anything contrary to the word of God. If you do, your faith will go down. The devil is glorified when you speak wrongly or confess doubts. Doubt is of the devil. Don’t talk about what the devil is doing. You will definitely face opposing situation while you are trying to believe and receive something from God but the advice is to resist the devil (James 4:7) not to affirm what he is trying to do. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 22:28), don’t use your own mouth to destroy the prayers you have prayed.
I once read the story of a woman who gave a testimony in church and spent almost the whole period describing what the devil has done and at the end said ‘Bless his holy name’ Apparently she did not want to glorify the devil’s name but what she ended up doing that because she has not learnt to spend more time saying what God has done. Whether during testimony time or otherwise, talk more about what God has done or is doing and less about what the devil did or is doing.
You may not get the promises immediately but don’t change your confession because God cannot fail. As long as the promise is in the bible or God himself assured you of what you are confessing, it will come to pass. The word of God works, it cannot fail but it works by continuous saying and praying. Don’t give up. (Heb. 6:14&15, Gal 6:9)
Don’t associate closely with people that despise or speak against the word of God
Don’t associate closely with people that despise or speak against the word of God; they will draw you backwards in faith. Just as what you say shapes your life, what you hear can also shape your life. They may not mean any harm, they are just carnal and speak according to the environment; but just as faith comes by hearing the word of God, fear also comes by hearing the words of the world, flesh or Satan. In Luke 8:49&50. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue wanted Jesus to go with him to heal his daughter but while Jesus was still speaking, someone came from his house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher. Immediately Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” He knew the bearer of the bad news unconsciously was going to weaken his faith, he had to quickly speak out to negate the effect. Jesus taught us from this story, that we may not be able to stop the mouth of some people around us but we can arrange our lives to listen to a lot of messages, faith songs, memory verses and other sources of the word of God to negate the wrong words being spoken in our environment.
Practical steps to ensure that we confess the word all the time.
If you want to increase the words of God you speak, then you have to increase the word of God you hear. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. You can set aside a specific time in a day just to confess the word about what you are praying for (May need to set alarm). You can also confess the word when bathing or dressing or walking or cycling or cooking among other activities.
Conclusion: God loves us but cannot violate the principle of His word to increase us. We must follow His word to receive our increase. There will always be seed time and harvest time. Your words are seeds! What you said some years ago determined what you are today and what you are saying now will determine where you will be in the next few years. (Gen 8:22, Hosea 10:12, Gal 6:7)