We’ve all experienced the frustration and disappointment of something in our lives taking a turn for the worse. The only guarantee in life is that it will never be trouble-free; when things are going great, a painful situation can develop. The world tells us that “into every life, a little rain must fall.” Platitudes aside, these rainy times give God the opportunity to intervene and turn the bad into good.

The time when we’re stuck in something is the perfect time to open up our mouths and speak to the situation. God’s Word holds great power, and we put that power to work for us through our confessions. He’s waiting to step into the situation and work on our behalf; our confessions give Him permission to do so. During His ministry, Jesus emphasized the link between faith and using our words to put things in motion. “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:22, 23).

We take authority over issues in our lives through our confessions. This kind of power is something the world doesn’t have and is completely unaware of, but is one of the things that has been made available to the believer. “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain…” (Zechariah 4:7). The “great mountain” represents our problems and issues that appear to be insurmountable obstacles standing in our way. God’s favor enables us to verbally order them to move aside, and they have no choice but to obey.

There’s no reason we should be stopped by anything the world throws at us when we have the authority that our speech brings forth. Instead of telling God how big our problems are, we can tell our problems how big our God is. Speaking grace to them turns those mountains into plateaus, because we’re agreeing with what has already been established in heaven. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Saying what God has already said gives our words limitless power.

One sign of a spiritually mature Christian is someone who knows the potential of what their confessions can do and who isn’t afraid to declare them to accomplish God’s will. By contrast, new Christians may not be aware of the tremendous creative power they unleash with their mouth. Speaking the enemy’s words puts us in bondage; we therefore must be careful of the commitments we make. “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth” (Proverbs 6:1, 2). Words are the most powerful thing in the universe; we’ve been given the authority to use them.

God never does anything without speaking it, first. When He created the heavens and the earth, He spoke them into existence. His Word caused everything to come to pass; He then saw everything He had said and deemed it good (Genesis 1:3-31). We have the same ability.

We must never underestimate the power of our confessions. They can move things we need from the spiritual realm to the natural realm. Boldly using them as a tool to overcome adversity gives us a tremendous advantage.