Walls Must Fall: Day 2: "Guard Your Tongue: Unlocking the Power of Words"

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent. Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought was possible. Enlarge her territory. Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment. Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

0:49 This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman Podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we're going to continue on our series, Walls Must Fall, a 12-day Jericho fast of consecration and dedication. And this is going to be part 2B of walking in silence. And I want to call this one Words on the Altar, Day 2 of Dedication and Consecration. You know, once I finished that, I said, I didn't want to leave it like it was. It just needed a little bit more information to help you be successful and help me be successful in our walk with God during our consecration and dedication.

1:36 12-day Joshua-Jericho fast, okay? And so let's just get started. When the Lord calls us to a fast of consecration and dedication, He's not really asking us to abstain. He is inviting us to become holy. So God, when God calls you out, He's setting you up for success, right? He's setting you up to be holy like Him. The Bible says, be ye holy because I am holy, right? So we're going to be hanging out with God. He wants us to be holy so he can get a little bit closer to us. So we covered on day two about walking in silence.

2:16 And we covered like Joshua 6.10. It told us. That Joshua told the children of Israel, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout, and then I want you to shout. And so God is checking our mouths. He's sanctifying our mouths. He's telling us, I want you to watch over your mouth. And so he went straight to the root, our tongue, watch over our tongue. The Bible has a lot to say about our tongue. Why the tongue? because it's both a mirror and a weapon. It mirrors what's hidden in the heart and it wills power that can shape destinies, build or destroy relationships, release blessings, or lose curses.

3:02 The same mouth that prays to God must be sanctified from gossip, bitterness, complaining, and careless speech. Do you hear that? God is not just looking for silence. He's looking for surrendered speech, purified lips, and mouths that echo the sound of heaven. To place our tongue on the altar is to say, Lord, I give you control over what I say, how I say it, and when I say it. This day is not about perfection. It's about a posture. A tongue that is sanctified begins with a heart that is yielded. Through scripture, commentary, and spirit-led decrees, this section, This devotional will guide you in laying your words on the altar so that what comes from your mouth will be holy.

3:54 Healing, and aligned with God's will. Let the coals from heaven touch your lips today. Let your voice become an instrument of righteousness. And let day two set the tone for a fast that would change your life and purify your words, purify your purpose, set you on the right course. So that God can move in your life. We talked about having his supernatural, his super on our natural, so we can see some supernatural things of God in our lives. So let's get started. Words on the altar, Proverbs 18, 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. The scripture reveals a profound truth.

4:41 Your tongue holds spiritual power. Words are not just sounds, they are seeds. What you speak today become the fruit you'll eat tomorrow. Your words can set the tone for healing or destruction, fear or faith, unity or division. Whether spoken aloud or muttered in private. Your words shape your life and influence others. Loving the power of the tongue means learning to respect, guard, and harness it wisely because your tongue steers the direction of your destiny. So let's decree. I decree that my tongue speaks life.

5:21 I will not curse my purpose or my day. I will speak only what aligns with the will of God. Let's go to second scripture, James chapter 3 verses 5 through 6. It reads, even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest of fire, little fire kindles, and the tongue is a fire. James likened the tongue to a spark that can ignite an entire forest. Though small in size, it can destroy relationships, reputations, and even destinies. Left unchecked, it can become a world of iniquity, spreading discord, lies, and pride.

6:04 The tongue reflects what's hidden in the heart. That's why sanctification of the tongue begins with the cleansing of the inner man. The fire of the tongue must be replaced with the fire of the spirit. I decree that my tongue will not be used as a weapon of destruction. I yield my words to the spirit of truth. Proverbs 15, 4. A gentle tongue is a tree of life. Perverseness is. And it breaks the spirit. Words can either be a healing balm or bitter poison. A gentle spirit-led tongue revives others.

6:45 It nourishes like a tree of life. But when our words are harsh, sarcastic, manipulative, or perverse, they can crush the human spirit. This scripture reminds us that speech is not just communication, it's ministry. Gentleness in speech is not weakness, it's spiritual strength under control. Let's, oh, I didn't do the other decree. Let's decree, I decree that my tongue will not be used as a weapon of destruction. I yield my words to the spirit of truth. Another decree, I decree that my tongue will be gentle and healing, and I speak words that restore, not words that wound.

7:27 Let's go to Proverbs 13, 3. Even if you're just listening to this, let this be a ministering to your heart. He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he opens wide his lips to have destruction. It's like a big mouth, right? Guarding your mouth is a form of spiritual defense. It's not just about avoiding gossip or profanity. It's about preserving your peace, your witness, and your destiny. Many people destroy relationships, ministries, or opportunities because they fail to bridle their tongue. Sometimes silence is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom. That's decree. I decree that I will guard my mouth.

8:11 I choose silence over foolish chatter and wisdom over rash words. Go to Psalms 141.3. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. David's prayer reveals a deep understanding of human weakness. He didn't try to guard his mouth alone. He asked God to do it. Our lips need divine security. This prayer invites the Holy Spirit to act as a filter for your words so that what comes out reflects the heart of Christ. It's not just self-control. is spirit-led restraint. Decree. I decree that the Lord is the gatekeeper of my lips.

8:55 I submit my speech to his guidance. Ecclesiastics 5.2 Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. When speaking to God or about his people, we must do so with humility and intentionality. Rash speaks shows a lack of reverence. God weighs our words, not just our actions. Careless promises, complaints, or assumptions grieve the spirit. Spiritual maturity is reflected in the ability to pause, pray, and speak with purpose. Let's decree.

9:35 I decree that I will not speak hastily. My words will honor the presence of God. So even when we're speaking about someone, remember God is everywhere. The Spirit of God is everywhere. So just when you think that you might be getting away with talking about someone or whispering about someone behind their back, God is saying, do not be rash with your mouth. Let's go to Colossians 4, 6. I know, like a spank upside the head here, right? Boom, boom. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt. Paul calls believers to season their words like a skilled cook seasons a meal. With grace and discernment.

10:17 Grace is speech, build bridges, not wall. Salt purifies, preserves, and enhances. So should your words. Preserves peace, purify conversations, and add value. Every conversation, let every correction carry the fragrance of heaven. Speak as though God is in the room. How about that? Decree. I decree that grace flows from my lips. My speech brings light and truth everywhere I go. Proverbs 16, 24, pleasant words are like honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones. The Bible reveals that the impact of words extend beyond the mind.

10:58 They affect both the soul and the body. Words filled with encouragement, affirmation, and godly truth have a therapeutic effect. If bitterness can rot the bones, pleasant words can heal them. Your tongue can be a healing ministry, not just for others, but for yourself as well. Decree. I decree that my speech will be sweet and life-giving. I speak healing and not harm. Proverbs 10, 19. In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. Talkativeness often leads to error. When we speak too much, we risk boasting, exaggeration, gossip, or pride.

11:41 A wise person doesn't need to say anything they think. They wait for the right moment, the right words, and the right spirit. This is not about silence. It's about strategic speech. Decree. I decree that I will speak with restraint and wisdom. My words will be few but filled with purpose. I have two more, and the scripture is Isaiah 6, 5 through 7. It says, Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips. Then one of the seraphim flew and touched my mouth. Isaiah's prophetic commission didn't begin until his mouth was cleansed.

12:22 The fire from the altar didn't go to his hands or feet. It went straight to his lips. Why? Because God sanctified the mouth before he sends the message. If your calling requires you to speak, preach, or declare, purification must come first. I decree that God has touched and cleansed my lips. I speak as one called, consecrated, and sent. Psalms 19.14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. True sanctification of the tongue starts in the heart. What you think, you eventually speak. David is asking for his inner life to match his outer language.

13:06 This prayer asks for alignment, that every word and every thought will be holy. Acceptable, and pleasing before God. I decree that my words, my thoughts are acceptable to God. I walk in integrity of heart and tongue. And the last scripture, Ephesians 4, 29. It reads, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification. Paul teaches that every believer's mouth should be a construction site, building others up, never tearing them down. Corrupt words are not just profane, they are unprofitable, destruction, or flesh-driven.

13:47 Speak what strengthens others and align with truth. Let your mouth be a sanctuary, not a landfill. Decree, I decree that my mouth is a vessel of edification. No corrupt or idle words should proceed from it. How powerful, how God wants us to have dedication and consecration. And the more I meditate on those two words, the more I'm getting an understanding of how he wants us to be set apart. He doesn't want us to be able to blend into society. And as you know, many Christians just blend in. They don't want to stand out.

14:28 God wants us to stand out. We are supposed to be different. Our language, the way we speak, is supposed to be different. The way we act, the way we respond, is supposed to be different. As I read these scriptures, I don't know about you, but you can see that our response to life is totally different than how the world will respond. We understand in Proverbs that what we say today, we're going to eat it tomorrow, whether it's good fruit or bad fruit. So you think you're getting away with some things. Don't forget, you just planted negative seeds or positive seeds, and that is going to be your fruit for tomorrow.

15:12 We see here also in James that the tongue is a little member of both great things, but it can start fires. And remember, if you watch any crime shows or anything that happened on your social media account, people die because of words. Words can actually kill you or get you killed, right? And so we understand here that the tongue reflects what's hidden in the heart. So you can't separate your tongue from your whole body, right? Because it's sharing what's really in your heart. You ever had somebody who really, maybe they are a powerful prayer. They sing worship songs, but every now and then they can slip out a curse word.

15:55 I mean, a good one. And you'd be like, wow, how do you get that one out? That just shows what's hidden in their heart. We also learn in Proverbs 15, 4, that a gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. We understand here that speech is communication and it's ministry, that we can minister with our words. People's lives can change by what we say. We can speak healing. Wholeness, and people's lives will change. We have to understand that God created our mouths to be holy so that we can do holy things, not to be cursing and gossiping and venting and all that stuff. What a waste, right?

16:37 We see here in Proverbs 13, 3, he who guards his tongue preserves his life, but he who opens his wide, his lips, should have destruction. It reminds me of him that has a big mouth. You ever have someone that have a big mouth? They're always staring up stuff. I call them drama keepers. They're always staring up something. They don't have to be loud. They could be quiet drama keepers, but they're always something going, right? But we see here that God wants us to guard our mouth and that it's best to choose silence over foolish chatter. Sometimes just sitting there quietly is so much better than just running your mouth over nonsense. We also see here in Psalms 141.3, we see here that David asked God to set a guard over my mouth.

17:26 Keep a watch over the door of my lips because he knows the power of his tongue. And I wrote down divine security. And he asked God to just be security over his lips, be the gatekeeper over his lips when he's not able to have self-control so that he doesn't get to be running off at the mouth and get in trouble and cause some fruit to grow up that you don't want to deal with. Amen. And then we want to continue. Ecclesiastes 5.2 talks about, do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. So we see here that what comes out of your mouth is already in your heart, right?

18:07 And so that God actually weighs our words, not just our actions. So we have to pay attention that we don't speak carelessly. We have to, and also understand, I think I mentioned here, that God's presence is everywhere. So speak as though God is in the room, that he's close by, that he can hear you. Colossians 4, 6 says, let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt. So make sure it's seasoned like good cook, seasoned it. Let it just be like, people say, wow, she, I never heard her say a bad word. She's always nice. Her words are very graceful. That's what you want to be. You want to set yourself apart for what the world expects and let your speech bring light and truth everywhere you go.

18:53 And in Proverbs 16, 24, it says, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to your bones. That you know that as you're saying curse words out of your mouth, that you're cursing your body first, right? And so you're going to be sick first. So why don't you reverse that and then receive your healing? Let your speech be sweet and life-giving. Speak healing and not harm. And Proverbs 10, 19 says, In the multitude of... Of words. Sin is not lacking. He who restrains his lips is wise. You know how it is when you get to, you get around a bunch of people and we're just talking, talking about everything.

19:35 And some of the stuff you don't know nothing about. Sometimes it's best just to have a restraint on your speech. Let your words be true for you. So if you're like, dang, you're quiet today. I said, well, I don't know about those things, right? I don't want to speak on those things. We have a gatekeeper, let the Holy Ghost be the gatekeeper over your lips. And Isaiah 6, 5 through 7 says, woe is me, I'm a man of unclean lips. And this was Isaiah. But we see here, Isaiah, that God put seraph and touch his mouth with hot charcoal, right? So before God can minister to you through speech or preaching or declaration.

20:16 He needs to clear in your mouth. So if you got what they call a potty mouth, ask God to clean your mouth, clean your lips, so you can speak only words that's edifying and exhortation that lift people up to bring healing to their body and healing to their mind. Let's go to Psalms 19.14. And this one says, let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. You see how they go together, the words of your mouth and meditation in your heart? because what's in your heart, your mouth will speak. So getting them both on the same level, what's in my heart is going to come out of my mouth, right?

20:56 And so you want every word and every thought to be holy and acceptable and pleasing before God. Letting your inner language match your outer language. And then the final one, Ephesians 4, 29, it says, let no corrupt word. Some translation says no corrupt communication, proceed out of your mouth, but what is necessary for edification. So that's pretty much saying don't let any corrupt, corrupt mean negative words, curse words come out of your mouth. Corrupt words are not just profane, they're unprofitable, destructive, or flesh driven. Speak with strength, others align with truth.

21:38 So when you begin to speak these negative words out of your mouth, you're not watching over them. When it comes time to, time to use your authority, your words are starting to lack in a lot of power. You heard people that cry wolf a lot. You can get that at our mouth. You can get that in a way we don't use our words powerfully. We use them so much that when we get ready to speak in authority and power, there isn't any, right? So God wants us to always know our authority, know the power of our mouth. They speak life, they speak health, they speak wealth. And when we use and abuse in a negative way, then we won't believe it for ourselves. We can speak healing into our own body or curses that's coming out of our own mouth.

22:25 And so I think that's going to add that to day two. And just kind of meditate on the words on the altar. And if you do have a problem with your words, begin to ask the Holy Ghost to put a guard over your mouth and be aware of what's coming out. And then watch over a period of time what happens to your body. If there's sickness or disease in your body, watch how healing comes, right? Watch how youth comes back to your face. You know, you're not looking all scrunchy up. People have all these creams and stuff they use, But you forget that you're adding that aging to your face by using those negative words as death.

23:07 You're adding it to your life. So I want to encourage you to speak life. Speak life or don't say anything at all. Walk in silence. This is Connie Morris from Diary of a Black Woman podcast. Stay connected, stay covered and keep healing out loud. loud. Amen. Till next time. See ya. Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

23:51 So today we received that truth. You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray. You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small. Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Music.