What we think leads to the words that come out of our mouths. What we think and speak may be one of our most important habits because it determines the other habits in our lives. In my opinion, thoughts and words are the starting point for forming all good habits and breaking all bad habits.
I am in a beautiful place right now working on this book. I need to go to the gym this morning because I did one of my conferences over the weekend and was unable to work out. I normally work out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but could not work out Monday because I was traveling. Today is Tuesday and that means that I really need to do it today. The thought came to me briefly that I could just skip today so I could have more time to write, but since I know the power of thoughts and I also know what I need to do, I didn’t entertain the thought. Instead, I said to Dave, “I briefly thought about not working out, but I know that I need to and so I am going to.” My thoughts and words could have aided me in doing something I would have regretted later, but instead they helped me keep the habit of exercising regularly.
I had to get rid of the wrong thought as quickly as it came because if I had meditated on it, before long I would have been saying, “I don’t really feel like going to the gym today,” and shortly after that I would have found an excuse not to go.
This same principle can be applied to any area of your life. When you are trying to develop a good habit or break a bad one, always remember that words precede action. Or, as I frequently say, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.”
I have done extensive teaching and writing on the subject of thoughts and words, and I know from experience and God’s Word that they are both key factors in success or failure. We must learn to say what we truly want, not what we feel, or even what we currently have. Let’s just say that a person sincerely wants to get out of debt, but right now is deeply in debt. That person can think things like, “I am so deeply in debt that I will never get all my bills paid off.” Or “This situation I have is impossible to change, it is too late for me.”
People who think like this will also talk like this. Their desire may be to be debt free, but their own thoughts and words can prevent them from taking the necessary steps to accomplish what they want to do. They will stay stuck in the rut they are in unless they start agreeing with God’s Word that teaches us that all things are possible with God. Such people should start purposely thinking, “It is not God’s will for me to be in bondage to debt, and I am going to do all I can to get out of debt. If I do what I can do, God will do what I cannot do. This may take a long time, but I will stick with it until I am free.” Thinking like this will give them a mind-set geared toward victory. It will change their words as well as their entire attitude.
We can literally talk ourselves into victory or defeat. We cannot merely get anything we think and say, but we can have anything that God says we can have in His Word. Don’t ever settle for anything less than the best that God offers you. This is one of the main reasons we need the Word habit. If we know what God promises in His Word, we can have direction and be encouraged to go for the best that God offers us. God’s Word says that we should owe no man anything except to love him (Romans 13:8), so why should we settle for being in debt all our life? We shouldn’t and we don’t have to.
Jesus told people that they would have what they believed (Matthew 9:29). They had to renew their minds to think like God thinks, so they could have the blessings that God wanted them to have. I hope this is not the first time you have heard this principle, but if it is, please believe that this amazing and powerful truth works for everyone who will work it. God’s Word is always the same, and it has the power to change things. But we are not all the same. Some will believe God’s Word and do what it says and others will not. Anyone who refuses to believe or is too lazy to make the effort to follow God’s instructions will keep their bad habits that are producing bad results in their life. Likewise, anyone who is willing to learn and change can break bad habits and form good ones.
As you learn that you can change the things in your life that are unfruitful and causing you problems, the devil will offer you many excuses to stay the way you are. One of the things you can expect to hear in your head as I share with you the importance of your thoughts and words is, “I can’t help what I think. The thoughts just come whether I want them or not.” While it is true that thoughts come without being invited, it is not true that you cannot do anything about them. God’s Word teaches us to cast down, or refute, wrong thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5). That simply means we are not to allow them to stay in our mind. You can get rid of any thought you don’t want by simply deciding to think something else.
Verbal affirmation helps in this process. If I am thinking, “I don’t want to go to the gym today,” but know in my heart that I should go, one part of me (my spirit) wants to go while another part (my flesh) doesn’t want to. I can say out loud, “I am going to the gym today.” What I say interrupts what I am thinking and gives me something new to meditate on.
If you believe the lie that you can’t help what you think, then you will never change. Take responsibility for your thoughts and words and begin choosing them carefully because they are the raw material for your actions.
God’s plan for each of us is good. Who would not want a good plan for their life? I am sure we all do, but we are not all willing to do what it takes to get it. Wanting something is not enough… we must also take action! The apostle Paul teaches us that God has a good plan, a perfect will for each of us, but we must renew our minds according to His Word if we want to prove it out in our experience (Romans 12:2). This Scripture is a key to success. Another Scripture that teaches us the same principal is Joshua 1:8.
This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
This says it all as far as I am concerned. God’s Word must be something we think and talk about regularly and in all situations. If we do—and that if must not be ignored—then we will see what we are to do, we will do it, and we will have success. God had given Joshua a tremendous opportunity to lead the Israelites the remainder of the way to the Promised Land that Moses had not conquered. He was told to fear not, be strong and courageous, and keep thinking on and speaking God’s Word in order to accomplish the goal in front of him.
What would you like to accomplish in your life? What would you like to change starting right now? Do you have some bad habits that you want to break and some good ones that you want to make? What you want won’t happen unless you learn to think and speak in accordance with your desire.
I believe that forming the habit of thinking and speaking good things will definitely lead to many other good habits. The power of life and death are in the tongue, and they who indulge in it must eat the fruit of it (for death or life) (Proverbs 18:21). If we develop the habit of speaking life at all times, we will have life and have it more abundantly. However, if we speak death (negative things), that will be our experience. The writer of Proverbs stated that we will be filled with the fruit of our mouth and that we must be satisfied with the consequences of the words we choose to speak, whether good or bad (Proverbs 18:20). I have been studying, teaching, and writing on these Scriptures for more than thirty years and they still amaze me. Do we realize the power that God has given us in the choice of our words? I don’t think we do, for if we did, surely we would make better choices.
This must be a matter of constant prayer, for no man can tame the tongue without God’s help (James 3:8). Hundreds of Scripture verses are about the tongue and the mouth and words. I have most of them underlined in my Bible, and quite often I go through and simply remind myself of the power of my words. I also pray about this area, asking God to let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart (thoughts) be acceptable to Him.
Our words can help us or harm us in any area of life. Words are spiritual, for they cannot be seen, and they reach into the spiritual realm and begin to create our future. According to Genesis, God created everything that we see with words! We are created in His image and told to follow His example in all things, so why would our words not work the same way?
In 1977, God began showing me the power of my words. I had never heard any teaching like I’m presenting to you in this book, but God convinced me that I was a very negative person who needed major change. He showed me that my words were negative and that my life could not change until my words did. I made a list of things that I wanted to see happen in my life and found Scriptures to back each of them up. Then, for six months, two times a day, I spoke those things out loud. When I started the project, not one of the things I was confessing was a reality in my life, but today they all are. I might add that I still confess those things and other portions of God’s precious promises on a regular basis. I suggest you try it. I believe if you consistently think and speak positive, good, life-filled things, you will see changes in yourself and your life that you will like.
I was recently speaking to a woman at an appointment and I said something about speaking positively. She quickly said, “I don’t believe in all that positive affirmation junk; I believe in reality!” I felt sad for her because she obviously did not know God’s Word and was not aware that she could change her reality by believing, thinking, and speaking in agreement with God. I am so glad that we don’t have to settle for reality! Today, reality television shows are very popular, and they are increasing all the time. I would rather have some life-changing power instead of more reality. I want hope and the faith that with God all things are possible.
Make the habit of thinking and speaking according to what you want to see happen in your life part of every other habit you want to develop or destroy. For example, if you are indecisive, don’t keep saying, “I have a hard time making decisions.” Start saying, “I have God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30) and the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and I am a decisive person.” Or if you tend to overeat and need to improve your health and perhaps lose some weight, don’t say over and over, “I just can’t control my appetite. When I start eating I can’t quit until I am stuffed. I have to have sugar every day.” If you keep saying what you have, you will always have it. But if you change what you believe by meditating on God’s Word and speaking in agreement with it, then you can have what God says you can have. His Word says that He has given us a spirit of discipline and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7), and we should say the same thing.
I am sure that you understand what I am saying, and I pray that you are convinced that you need to start doing it. As I said, try it! Your experience will convince you, even if I can’t. You will feel better and have more energy if you speak things that minister life to you, and all the people around you will enjoy you much more.
Please remember that you can’t just decide to do this and be successful. No man can tame the tongue. You are going to need a lot of help from God today and every day, and so do I. The mouth is like a wild beast that is unruly and undisciplined (James 3:7–8), but God can change all of that if we will make a commitment and stick with it until we see success.
What we think and speak, especially if it is frequent, is written on the tablet of our heart. It is embedded in our hard drive, so to speak. Just as a computer can only put out the information that is programmed into it, our hearts can only put out what is written on them. If we don’t like the result we are getting from our computer, we don’t hesitate to get a new program, and that is what I am suggesting that you do with your life. Start rewriting what has been programmed into your heart. What is on a computer program determines the information that comes out of it, and what is in our heart comes out of our mouth.
For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:34b
I want to assure you that you can do this with God’s help. You may have many bad mental and verbal habits, but they can be changed into positive, life-filled ones. It is time to renew your mind and become the person God wants you to be in every area of life.
The good will of God for us is not going to just happen with no effort on our part, but it is possible if we listen, learn, and are willing to change with His help. Change takes time, but it is time well spent because it brings a great reward. We all spend our time on something, so why not spend it on something that will produce benefits to us and our families and friends? It is possible to change. Truthfully, you are filled with possibilities!
As a child of God, He dwells in you, and all that He is is available to you through faith in Him and His promises. You can know God and have intimate fellowship with Him. You can enjoy a life that will leave a legacy for others. God loves you, and He has created you in a unique and special way. No one can do what you can do, exactly the way you can do it. God wants you to learn to enjoy yourself and every moment of your life, but that cannot happen unless you develop habits that are life-giving instead of life-draining. The habit of right thoughts and words is one of the most important habits to have, and it will open the door to many other good habits that will lead you into the best life possible for you.