How do I know what I really believe?
I listen to what I say.
If you are taking a moment to reflect upon your life, as I am at the moment, do yourself a favor and listen to what you are saying to the people around you. Pay attention to what actually comes out of your mouth as opposed to what you think you say. Doing this has pointed out thoughts and attitudes in my life I was not aware of.
Jesus tells us in Matt 12:34 and Luke 6:45, that if we want to know what is IN our hearts (in other words, what we really believe) it will be revealed by what comes OUT of our mouths.
Jesus taught his followers about a connection between the heart and the mouth.
A few years ago, someone pointed out to to me that Satan also knows about a heart-mouth connection.
When I was younger, I always thought that Satan could read my mind, but Psalm 139 makes it clear that only God knows my thoughts, He knows everything about me. Satan has to listen to what I say, because he does not know my thoughts. Satan only knows what I believe and what I am thinking, by what I tell him. To me this has been a real wake up call to be a bit more careful about what comes out of my mouth. (James 1:26 “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”)
Now according to 2 Cor 10:4-5 I can allow Satan to captivate my thoughts (think only about what he wants me to think about) and so my heart, but God makes it possible to take control of my thoughts and submit them to the authority of Jesus.
The Heart-Mouth Connection:
What I really believe is a product of my thinking and what I believe in my heart. What I really believe is revealed by my mouth.
Scripture also points to this connection when it comes to salvation, in Romans 10:10 “For it is with your heart that you believe…and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess that you are saved.”
As a believer, the Holy Spirit operates in our thoughts (aided by scripture) which translates into belief in our hearts. Then as the mind reflects on this belief, the mouth operates. Jesus teaches another aspect of this heart-mouth connection. Teaching the disciples, he says in Mark 11:23
‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
The principle is that you can bring to pass whatever you say and believe in your heart, the one condition being: the heart and mouth have to agree.
I am not suggesting any “name it and claim it” theology here, I am merely pointing out this heart-mouth connection in scripture. Jesus is pointing out that when the heart and the mouth agree: POWER IS RELEASED to move mountains.
Now, the enemy also knows this principle, it applies in the negative, as well as the positive. Our enemy likes to fill our minds with perceptions and illusions that captivate our minds. He is constantly feeding our minds with thoughts and messages. They breed negative thoughts that come out of nowhere, their goal being to ultimately destroy us. If he can get us to say negative things about our self, other people, our future – which we start to believe in our hearts, power for negative in our lives is released. A powerful strategy would you not agree?
The opposite is also true, when we with our mouths, give expressions of faith and trust in the Lord, that agree with what we really believe in our hearts, power is released into our lives, and consequently mountains are moved.
What would happen in our lives if we started making sure that what comes out of our mouths, reflects what we really believe in our hearts?
It is important to watch what we are saying. Is what comes out of your mouth negative or faith-filled? It is equally important to look at what we really believe in our hearts and compare it to the word, the truth. It is also vitally important that we watch how we think, because our thinking becomes our beliefs.
There is a definite connection to how we think, what we believe, what we say and the power that is released in our lives.
When the heart and mouth agree, creative power for negative or positive is released. It applies to everything in our lives, whatever we say and believe with all our hearts, will come about.
As I have reflected on this, here are some of the questions I asked myself:
- How much of what you are saying is what you believe in your heart? What is your heart and mouth agreeing about? Can you see the impact of that in your life?
- What are you saying and believing about other people? Does this agree with what you are praying?
- Are you saying you believe one thing, but confessing something else with your mouth? Is this the lack of answered prayer or power in your life?
- How is God responding to your faith? Is it impacted by what you say? For example, what you say after you prayed?
You may think these questions are not very difficult, but I challenge you to listen to your mouth for a while, critically examine what you have to say and see what you hear.
Father, please forgive me for the things I say, they do not reflect what I say I believe. Forgive me for the times I have misrepresented You by saying I believe one thing about
You, but behaving differently because I actually don’t believe what I say. Help me to get my speech in line with what I believe. Help me to examine what I believe to make sure it aligns with the truth of Your word. Help me to examine my thoughts and how they are impacting what I have to say. Build in me a heart of faith that gives expression to words of faith.
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Enjoyed the teaching.Going to put it into practice with the help of the Holy Spirit
Thank you Blessings