Fireside Chat Ministries

Demons are legalists. That means they can only go only where they are permitted and can stay only where they are allowed. Scripture tells us that a curse cannot alight without a cause (Prov. 26:2). I sure wish I’d learned this much, much earlier in my Christian life! 

Little did I know that many of the ailments and pains I’d suffered early on – although initially not my “fault” – were allowed to hang around because the demons had legal right to inflict torment on me! 

Whattt?? 

If you haven’t been around deliverance ministry for very long, this might be news to you. But we more, ahem…mature…saints are well versed in this principle. 

In fact, I’ll go far as to say that most of the sufferings we go through are needless tormenting from the enemy. I realize that’s quite a bold claim, so I’ll defend my thesis further. We’ll start with a case study to see how the principle works in action.  

We’ll call the person in this case study Lee.  

Lee sees his parents fighting when he is small. His little ears aren’t meant to handle word curses, but he happens to hear one parent call the other an “idiot.” Now I know that word is not considered a “bad word” in itself. That is, “idiot” isn’t one of the four-letter curse words that are listed as profanity in the minds of most people. 

No, this is much, much worse. 

Lee likes the idea of feeling like a grown-up and starts using the word “idiot” to describe everyone he disagrees with when adults aren’t around. He soon learns that he, too, makes mistakes, and starts using the word “idiot” to describe himself. Soon, it’s second nature for Lee to associate every decision he makes as the “idiot” that he is. Even his friends join in on the teasing of their favorite “stupid” friend. 

Now what do you think happens to Lee? 

He grows up and reinforces that narrative. Every time he gets a bad grade in school, or breaks a dish at his first job at the local diner, or embarrasses himself in front of peers in the locker room, he calls himself…you guessed it. 

Now, the problem with word curses is that they can be soooo sneaky to catch. We can’t hear anyone’s thoughts, so we can’t really coach a person who has negative self-speak, but it’s much more common than we might think. In fact, research shows that about 90% of folks talk unkindly to themselves. So it’s not too far-fetched to imagine that now Lee has completely identified himself as an “idiot,” and he starts living accordingly. 

Lee has become so good at negative self-talk that he starts to live an external life that matches his inner voice. Soon, he’s not able to keep a job because as soon as he makes a mistake, his old word-curse kicks in and he remembers who he is…or the old lie about his identity, anyway. It’s not long before Lee starts to make poor life decisions. Because he had started to believe the script that got and kept him in trouble. He’d fallen for the enemy’s plan – hook, line, and sinker. 

Now it’s years later and Lee has made a series of bad decisions that all come down to one rather simple truth. 

Lee has cursed himself. 

Let that sink in for a minute.  

A curse is a negative judgment spoken over someone – for Lee, it was over himself. Not only did he start to believe that he was an “idiot,” but the curse grew and produced fruit in Lee’s life. Every decision Lee made for the rest of his life was built on a false identity he’d built on a curse.  

Still think words are innocent enough? 

Consider this. As Lee grows up and starts to make adult-sized decisions, that curse will go looking for “friends,” or people to agree with it. Misery loves company. And nature abhors a vacuum. So that gives plenty of opportunity for the enemy to come in and link arms with the broken identity that Lee has assigned himself.  

You can imagine the playground of chaos that a word curse might bring on a person. Once the curse has reached full maturity, it could actually cost Lee his very life.  

Our family knew a beautiful young person who was so convinced that he was a loser, that he jumped off a high-rise building in an attempt to escape the misery of living so far under his true identity. Thankfully, the Lord spared his life and now he teaches others about living in their godly identity. 

The Bible warns us in Prov. 18:21 that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Our words have meaning and power. They will produce fruit in our lives: good or bad is up to us! 

Our words can bless someone or curse them. To call someone a name that is not their identity is cursing them. And it’s a dangerous thing to do (see Matt. 5:22).  

Adding our verbal agreement with a curse is the equivalent to agreeing with the demonic assignment sent to destroy someone’s Christ identity! Now that’s a serious charge! 

But the good news in all of this is two-fold. The rest of Prov. 18:21 says “…and they that love it shall eat its fruit.” That means that speaking good things will bring us good fruit. 

And the Lord is so merciful, it gets even better! Once a person recognizes that they’ve been speaking word curses, he or she can repent, cut off the curses by the atoning power of Jesus’ cross, and turn his words into a blessing by agreeing with Jesus’ words…of life!! 

It’s no wonder the enemy doesn’t want you to know this truth! Once you realize the life you are living is the result of the words you speak, you will surely speak the truth of God’s Word! And His Word speaks a better truth, that will produce in our lives every time. 

If you need to speak with someone about deliverance from word curses, we would be happy to point you in that direction. I’d like to pray a blessing over you as you seek the Lord for truth and wisdom about your true identity in Him. 

“Father God, please bless my reader friends today to know You. We want to know what You say about us, and we know that You have good for us (see Jer. 29:11). Help us to see Your truth in every circumstance, and give us the wisdom to speak Your Word at every chance. Help our words become like sweet honey to our bones (Prov. 16:24) and a blessing to everyone around us. Amen.” 

Once you realize how easy it is to produce life-giving blessings for yourself and others by speaking kind words, your whole life will change! Give it a try, and drop me a line to let me know what you discover! 

Love in Christ, 

Mandie ❤