James 1:26 says, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”
Your mouth can cause you to make your religion useless. You can go to church every week and be a Bible scholar, but if your mouth is speaking envy, strife, and hatred, your mouth will cause your religion to be worthless. You do not access the spirit realm and the throne of God with your religion. You access the spirit realm and the throne of God with your words of faith.
Second Corinthians 4:13 says, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak.” The spirit of faith operates this way. You believe it, and you speak it. You are going to speak what you really believe. That is why it is so important to watch the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart (Ps. 19:14).
Let me tell you about an incident I saw. A Christian lady approached another Christian lady for prayer. She prayed what appeared to be a prayer of faith. A few moments later I heard the lady who prayed tell another person that the lady she had just prayed for was in great pain and needed to be healed. She also told that person to continue praying so that the lady would be healed.
This is a great example of how a prayer can appear to be in faith, but not be. Faith is in the heart and the mouth. A confession or prayer without belief in the heart is not a faith confession or a prayer of faith. A positive confession is good, but a confession of faith is where the power is.
Did you follow what happened here? A few minutes ago, this sister had prayed for this lady to be healed in the name of Jesus. The Word says, if we pray in faith, we are to believe we have received what we prayed for. But within moments, her confession was that the lady she prayed for was in a lot of pain and still needed healing. Without saying it directly, she confessed that healing had not taken place.
What does this mean? It means when it came down to it, the person who was praying didn’t really believe in her heart that God had done what she prayed for Him to do. Out of the abundance of her heart, her mouth eventually spoke.
If we aren’t careful, we could find ourselves doing the same thing. What we say we are believing for, we could unconsciously deny with our own words. What we’re doing may not be clear to other Christians, but God sees the whole situation. When we are believing for something, we may be affirming and confirming our faith one moment and later denying it without really saying we’re denying it by the way we use our words. The devil very subtly tempts us to use our words to nullify our faith. God wants you to agree with the Word, but the devil wants you to agree with his lies.
Excerpt permission granted by Larry Ollison Ministries
Dr. Larry Ollison is founder and Senior Pastor of Walk on the Water Faith Church and founder of Larry Ollison Ministries. With over forty years in the ministry, he is a very popular speaker nationally and internationally and ministers the Word of Faith through radio, television, Internet, and daily e-mail devotionals. As the author of twelve books (including The Power of Grace, The Practical Handbook for Christian Living, Breaking the Cycle of Offense, Life is in the Blood, and recently released The Paradise of God), he is in frequent demand for radio/TV interviews, book signings, and magazine publications.
Dr. Ollison was raised a Southern Baptist. While majoring in theology at Southwest Baptist University, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For many years he traveled extensively speaking at Full Gospel Business Men's meetings and conventions. He later earned an M.A. in Theology and a Ph.D. and Th.D. from Life Christian University.
Currently President of International Convention of Faith Ministries (ICFM), Dr. Ollison is also Vice-President of Spirit FM Christian Radio Network, Missouri State Director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and a Trustee on the boards of several international ministries. He is also the host of The Cutting Edge Radio Broadcast and authors The Cutting Edge Daily Devotional.
As the owner of a marine dealership, his extensive business background brings a unique flavor to his teaching. He founded and served as chairman of the Missouri State Marine Board, President of the Marine Dealers’ Association, Vice-President of a bank holding company, along with holding several directorships in various corporations.
Dr. Ollison's strongest areas of teaching are the blood of Jesus, faith, relationships, the Hebrew language, the Holy Spirit, the end times, and heaven. During ministry, he operates freely in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. His use of humor and his ability to make a theological concept simple makes it enjoyable and easy for everyone to understand. Countless testimonies have been received from people who say their lives have been changed after experiencing Dr. Ollison's unique ministry.
Dr. Ollison is a pastor, pilot, teacher, and author. His number one goal is to meet the needs of the people through the teaching of faith in God's Word. He and his wife, Loretta, have two children and six grandchildren.