‘We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4:13).
I heard a minister say, “Anytime you see a therefore in the Bible, stop and see what it’s there for.” In this verse, Paul uses the word therefore to combine the two parts of faith: “I believed and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
If we’re going to believe something, we also have to speak it. Believing alone doesn’t make it come to pass. It has to be combined with saying what God’s Word says.
Jesus said, “If you believe in your heart that what you say will come to pass, you’ll have whatever you say” (Mark 11:23). The truth is, we can spend a lot of time feeding on God’s Word, but what we continually say is what we’ll ultimately believe.
When I was growing up, I had a friend who was a chronic liar. He started out lying just to get himself out of trouble, but it eventually became a habit. He’d make up a whopper of a lie about some situation; then six months later, no one could convince him it hadn’t happened that way. He’d said the lie so much that he actually believed it.
If that can be done with a lie, we should be able to do the same thing with the truth of God’s Word. When we first start saying, “By Jesus’ stripes I was healed,” it can sound hollow. It’s easy to think, I know the Bible says that by His stripes I was healed, but I feel sick from head to toe. But as we keep saying it and saying it, soon we’ll believe it no matter what we feel like.
How do you come to that place of faith? By feeding on God’s Word and speaking it with your mouth. Once you believe in your heart what God says, you can declare it with the added push of faith behind your words. Then get ready, for your answer will come to pass!
God’s Word is truth. As I continually speak His Word and believe it with my heart, His Word becomes truth in me. I believe God’s truth, I declare God’s truth and I receive His very best!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
For over 40 years, Pastors Mark and Janet Brazee have traveled throughout the world sharing the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Together they've shared the powerful truths of faith and healing in more than 50 nations.
Today Mark and Janet pastor World Outreach Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they base their ongoing outreach to the world. The Brazees still travel as the Lord leads, and they are raising up a congregation who share their passion to reach Tulsa and the world.