{ words }

Submit Yourselves to God- James 4

 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people,don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"


Coming out of years of depression was HARD WORK. Looking back, I see that prayer is what truly was my freedom. I cried out. I screamed. I whispered my pleas to God. Words are a BIG DEAL. Speaking things into your life is real. 

Joel and I are very careful what we speak out loud. We are careful what people say in our home, about us individually, about our marriage, our daughter...etc. Many times when someone speaks something about us or our daughter that we do not wish upon ourselves or Harper, we renounce word for word what they said, and declare a Truth to replace it.

A small example is this: If I say "watch our car not start again..." Joel immediately will respond with "no, Sara...our car WILL start in the name of Jesus!" And I will agree with that and we move on.

I think it is so easy to forget that Satan is real. Spiritual warfare is real. Just like in the verses above, he is out to get us, whether or not we acknowledge it. We need to acknowledge it. Satan takes our words and, in a sense, shoves them back in our face. Taking our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) is so important. Our minds are sensitive, and we need to realize that we are in control of our thinking! 

Every night, I declare protection, health and rest over our family. And it happens! Every morning I declare that Harper will have a great day with whoever she is with, and it happens! I declare financial protection over our household, and it happens. I declare that I will not crave pop..and it happens :) I am not saying "look at all I have because I declare it". I want us all, as followers of Jesus, to realize the power that He has given us to speak Truth over our lives, and over the lives of others. When we pray, declare Truth and healing in the name of Jesus over those who need it. 

"...in the name of Jesus we declare healing"
"...in the name of Jesus we declare protection"
"...in the name of Jesus we declare wisdom"

Your words can be your fight. Your words can declare to Satan that you are serious about living for Jesus, and you are not one to be messed with. Start declaring Truth into your life and see where it takes you! 

{sara}