Psalms 141:2-3 NKJV Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. (3) Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Psalms 141:2-3 CEV Think of my prayer as sweet-smelling incense, and think of my lifted hands as an evening sacrifice. (3) Help me to guard my words whenever I say something.
Proverbs 18:20-21 NKJV A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. (21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Your life is filled with what your lips are producing.
Proverbs 18:21 ERV The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.
Ephesians 6:10-17 NKJV Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
In Paul’s day there were a few different swords that a Roman soldier might carry.
- “Double-handed” sword – a heavy sword, that required two hands, and mostly used in training because it was so heavy and could build muscle for battle.
- “Long” sword – soldier would be able to swing this sword and seriously wound his opponent, gashing a limb or their side so they would bleed out.
Ephesians 6:17 NKJV And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
In Ephesians 6:17, Paul used the word “machaira” when referring to the sword of the Spirit.
- “Machaira” – Smaller, dagger type sword meant for close combat and caused great pain and damage to its victim.
This weapon would strike fear in all those that heard it mentioned. It was long and narrow and often had a twisted end like a corkscrew or the blade would be bent up on the tip. When thrust in the abdomen, it would cause great damage and severe pain. It was always used in close-in combat.
- This weapon causes great fear in the heart of our adversary and his kingdom because it can slash our demonic foes to shreds!
Ephesians 6:17 NKJV And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
- In Ephesians 6:17, the Greek word for “word of God” is the word “rhema” and it means an inspired word that is spoken clearly and distinctly.
Here’s an example of a rhema or a quickened word: You are praying about a situation, and suddenly a Bible verse rises up from inside your heart. At that moment, you are consciously aware that God has given you a verse to stand on and to claim for your situation.
You’ve received a word that came right out of the mouth of God and dropped into your spirit! That word from God was so sharp that it cut right through your questions, intellect, and natural logic and lodged deep within your heart.
After you meditated on that rhema, or that quickened word from God, it suddenly began to release its power inside you. Soon you couldn’t contain it any longer! Everything within you wanted to declare what God had said to you. You wanted to say it. You want to release it out of your mouth! And when you did, those powerful words were sent forth like a mighty blade to drive back the forces of hell that had been marshaled against you, your family, your business, your ministry, your finances, your relationship, or your body.
Revelation 1:10-16 NKJV I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, (11) saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (12) Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, (13) and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. (14) His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; (15) His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; (16) He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
The phrase “two-edged” is taken from the Greek word distomos and is unquestionably one of the oddest words in the entire New Testament. Why is it so odd?
Because it is a compound of the word dis, meaning twice, and the word stoma which is the Greek word for one’s mouth.
- When the word “distomos” is used, it describes something that is two-mouthed or twice-spoken!
First, that word came out of the mouth of God. Next, it came out of your mouth! When it came out of your mouth, it became a sharp, “two- edged” — or literally, a “two-mouthed” — sword.
One edge of this sword came into existence when the Word initially proceeded out of God’s mouth. The second edge of this sword was added when the Word of God proceeded out of YOUR mouth!
The Word of God remains a one-bladed sword when it comes out of God’s mouth and drops into your heart but is never released from your own mouth by faith. That supernatural word simply lies dormant in your heart, never becoming the two-edged sword God designed it to be.
But something happens in the realm of the Spirit when you finally rise up and begin to speak forth that word. The moment it comes out of your mouth, a second edge is added to the blade!
- Nothing is more powerful than a word that comes first from God’s mouth and then from your mouth.
You and God have come into agreement, and that agreement releases His mighty power into the situation at hand!
Greatest example of this can be found in the life of Jesus Himself:
Luke 4:1-13 NKJV Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, (2) being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. (3) And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” (4) But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.’ ” (5) Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (6) And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. (7) Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (8) And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.’ ” (9) Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. (10) For it is written: ‘HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU, TO KEEP YOU,’ (11) and, ‘IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ” (12) And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.’ ” (13) Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
The Holy Spirit quickened the Word to Jesus in that moment and placed that dagger in His hand to defeat the enemy. Jesus spoke the Word and won that battle causing the enemy to flee from Him.
The next time you are in close combat with the devil, take the time to get quiet and allow the Holy Spirit to reach within your spirit to bring up that inspired Word and quicken it to you so you will have that rhema to put in your mouth.
- Be proactive and not always reactive.
- Begin to build in your heart the arsenal of God’s Word that the Holy Spirit can draw upon in those times of battle.
John 14:26 TPT But when the Father sends the Spirit of Holiness, the One like me who sets you free, he will teach you all things in my name. And he will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told you.
John Osteen: “Put the Word in your heart when you don’t need it and it will be there when you do need it.”
James 4:7 NKJV Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
- Put that Word in your mouth and use that sword to cause the enemy to flee.