We are starting a series of teaching on the Power of blessing and Cursing. We are
going to zero in on the power of the spoken word, the power of the tongue. In this
Episode, we shall consider the topic-With the tongue we bless God and curse men.
The book of James says of the tongue in James 3:3-5- When we put bits into the
mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships
as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a
small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
We can speak in such a way as to bless and build others up, we can also speak curses
over people’s lives. Proverbs 18:21  says, “Death and life are in the power of the
tongue. Proverbs 12:18 says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the
tongue of the wise brings healing.”Our words can bring life, blessing or healing. They
can also bring death, cursing or harm.
One of the deep seated problems of Christianity today which never ceases to amaze
me is the way Christians shift from praising God and praying to using abusive words,
profanity; condemning and pulling others down; even comfortably sliding from praise
songs to singing obscene lyrics
In response to this habit of blowing hot and cold with our utterances, James says further
in verses- 9-10- With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse
human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come
praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
I add my voice to the voice of James to say my brothers and sisters that this should not
be. James words in James 3 are not new to us. We have heard them times without
number but for some reason, those words do not seem to be making any impact in our
lives. My objective in this series is to find practical ways of leaning on the help of the
Holy Spirit to help us to begin to bridle our tongues to speak blessings and positivity into
our lives and that of those around us.
We bless by appreciating God; saying a prayer on behalf of someone else; by saying
good things about others to God or speaking God’s word over their lives; by saying
good things about them to others and by saying good things about them to their
hearing.
Cursing on the other hand is to use profane words; desiring and calling down
misfortune, evil and punishment and harsh judgment on others. Cursing extends to
continuously criticizing and condemning people for something they have done; for the
way they live their lives; to always finding something negative to say about someone or
situations. It includes consistent use of angry words and threatening people under your
authority. It includes constantly murmuring and complaining. So if you are using your

tongue in any of these ways, you are indulging in cursing others. But it’s not only what
we say to others that matters, but what we speak over our lives also. What are you
saying about your finances, your health, your children? What are you declaring over
your current situation? We are also cursing when we are constantly criticizing and
finding faults with ourselves.
Words like-I hate my life; nothing ever works for me: I can’t stand that girl; he drives me
crazy!;“I’m so dumb!”“I always get sick every Christmas!;“I’m probably going to die early
just like my mother!; “I’m dead!” Go to hell- may not sound like curses, but they are;
because they are speaking negativity and confessing harm over God’s creation.

1 Peter 3:10 states-For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his
tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.”  This means we can either see
good days or bad days in our job, families, income, health, and surroundings,
depending on what we say about them! We can have a blessed or cursed future by the
things we are saying today!

Most times we speak these words carelessly without thinking. But the words we speak
over ourselves and people under our authority without even meaning to cause harm can
rob us of our comfort, peace, health, protection, and even life. Psalm 21:23 states-
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” 
Our words can give permission to the devil to take our spiritual rights. When we speak
negative words over ourselves, we invite the devil to use those words to harass and
attack us because instead of resisting his lies, we have invited them into our lives.
Negative words cause more harm when they come from those in authority: parents,
teachers, and even pastors. When a parent declares over a child, most times without
meaning harm, such words as-
“You are such a failure. You can’t do anything right; You are so stupid. You are not
going to amount to anything in life.” “Nobody would ever want to marry you.”, the parent
is literally cursing that child. The curse does not automatically take effect, but when a
child believes such words, they become internalized in him, and they become a
hindrance over his life. Off course the devil whose nature it is to tell lies is happy to
reinforce the lies that have been spoken in the heart of the child and convinces him that
those words are true.
We must be careful about the words we speak to our children and those under our
authority.
God declares in Exodus 30:19, -This day I call the Heavens and the earth as witnesses
against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose
life, so that you and your children may live.

This scripture is explicit on the truth that life flows from blessings while death, decay,
sickness, poverty, lack and all demonic activities flow from curses and negative
utterances. God has admonished us to choose life; to choose blessing that we and our
children may live. There is no better way of putting this. Even when people have used
curse words against us, threatened us or have been mean to us, retaliating by cursing
does not solve the problem. In Luke 6:28, we are instructed to bless those who curse
us. I agree that this must be a challenging thing to do. But cursing even when we feel
we are in the right leads to death and attracts negative consequences to us. When
people curse us or confess negatively against us, our response as I have said above
should be to resist and cancel the negative words by speaking words of blessing over
our lives. Leave the cursing to those who have chosen death. You have chosen life!
We shall conclude this Episode by considering the question- Where Will You Be 5 Years
From Now?
Do you want to know what your life will be like 5 years from now?  Listen to what you
are saying today.  Listen to what you complain about.  Listen to what you say about
yourself, your family members, your friends, your job, your life.  You are headed in the
direction of your words. Is the glass always half empty for you? Is your conversation
always about your poor health; your poor finances; the way people mistreat you and
how you suffer from this and that. Are you spending so much time thinking and
confessing that sickness in your body? Have you prayed to God about a matter and yet
continue complaining about that situation? Then it’s very likely 5 years from now you
will still be suffering from the same thing. This is tough but true.  We prophesy our future
with our words.  Our words have the power to bless our lives and build a positive future.
 Our words also have the power to curse our lives and build a negative future. The
word of God says we shall have what we say. But you keep saying what you have. But
it does not matter what the facts are saying; what your eyes are seeing; how your body
feels or what people are saying. The truth is what the word of God says and you need to
decide who to agree with. You must confess the truth about your circumstances. If you
are not satisfied with your life today, change your confessions. Stop saying what you
have. Start saying what you want. Start blessing yourself. When you catch yourself
talking about the problem, try to replace it with something positive. If you can change
your words you can change your life.
The Ball is in your court!