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There are many ‘cliche’s among believers that have become almost as revered as scripture. Some are more common in different Christian subcultures. From “LET GO AND LET GOD” to “GOD CAN DO ANYTHING BUT FAIL”, those who call themselves to be a part of the Body of Christ encourage, admonish and hold one another accountable with several spiritual cliches. For example, saying “PRAYER WORKS” can reduce prayer to a gimmick. However, we must be very careful with how we use these phrases.

Two of the most popular of these phrases among many Christians are the cliches…

“SPEAK IT INTO EXISTENCE!” or “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT!”

These are popular spiritual inferences that are drawn from several scriptures such as:

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Matthew 21:21 (NKJV)

²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

We must be very careful when we take scriptures and ‘turn them into what we want’. The fact is that when we ‘add to’ what the bible says, it can often do more harm than good.

There are no bible verses that explicitly say we can simply say things and they will happen. And, inferring that some verses mean that we can ‘name it and claim it’ is a dangerous conjecture.

Here are 2 quick reasons why we should be careful before we say, “Speak it into existence” or “Name it and claim it..

1. IT CAN CAUSE SOMEONE TO QUESTION THEIR FAITH

Yes, Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), told us that whatsoever we ask according to His will, shall be done for us, but, we all know that no matter how many times we pray for something that isn’t according to God’s will, it will not happen. And, having intimate conversation with God in prayer isn’t the spiritual equivalent to arbitrarily saying something out loud so that it will happen. The fact is that a prayer doesn’t even have to be ‘spoken’ or verbalized because God knows when we are speaking to Him in our thoughts without words. So, if someone ‘speaks it into existence’ through prayer, and God doesn’t do it…it can cause someone to question their faith in both God and prayer.

2. ‘SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE’ CAN ACTUALLY ‘SPEAK IT INTO RESISTANCE’

Remember that Satan, his fallen angels and his emissaries on earth are not omniscient nor omnipresent. They aren’t all knowing and can’t be everywhere at the same time. The devil or demons CAN’T know your thoughts unless you make them known to them.

Notice how the bible reminds us that Mary didn’t share what God had told her verbally…

Luke 2:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Notice how the angel of the Lord acknowledged the spiritual resistance and battle taking place in the ‘spirit world’…

Daniel 10:12-14 (NKJV)

¹² Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

The angel of the Lord dispatched to Daniel met resistance from a high ranking, territorial fallen angel identified as the Prince of Persia. The angel was delayed three weeks!

Notice how Hannah prayed silently when she wanted a child, so that even her husband couldn’t hear.

There are some things we can’t even let our loved ones know we are praying FOR THEM about…because they will get angry or offended.

“I DON’T NEED YOU PRAYING FOR ME!”

“DON’T PRAY FOR MY MARRIAGE!”

“DON’T PRAY FOR ME! GOD MADE ME THIS WAY!”

The truth is sometimes, we say I’M PRAYING FOR YOU as a ‘slick’ insult.

When we verbalize…

Our intentions…

Our hopes…

Our dreams…

Our frustrations…

Our anger…

…God isn’t the only one who hears it. The enemy also hears it, and just the same as a human enemy can respond to undermine, frustrate or harm you based on what you make known with your mouth…so can the devil.

Many times when we arbitrarily SPEAK INTO EXISTSANCE, we’re inviting SPIRITUAL RESISTANCE.

Some things are meant to be between only you and God, spoken in the spiritual language of your heart. One of the beautiful benefits of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the fact that His Holy Spirit, (Ruach HaKadosh), speaks for us nonverbally when we don’t know what to say.

Remember, spiritual cliches are NOT scripture.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

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God teaches us in His word that wise counsel is priceless…

Proverbs 19:20-21  (NKJV)

²⁰ Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.

²¹ There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

It’s good to get the benefit from the experience of others. But do you know anyone whose advice you really don’t want? Why? How do people feel about taking advice from you? Why?

Do people make any of these statements about you?

Is _____________ going to be there?

Is______________ going with us?

Are you inviting _________________?

Oh no! Here comes _______________?

HERE ARE 5 REASONS WHY PEOPLE MAY NOT WANT TO TAKE YOUR ADVICE…

1. YOU CAN’T HAVE A CONVERSATION WITHOUT GIVING ADVICE…

Some people don’t know how to have a conversation without giving advice. I know a young man who didn’t have his father around when he grew up. All the men in his life felt they had to mentor him. That’s fine, but not all the time.! They would never just laugh and talk. Never could just tell jokes. And, if jokes were told, it was about how the young man wasn’t doing something right. “If I were you I would…”, “When are you going to…”, “Ha, Ha, Ha, that’s not how you do that, here let me show you…” He got to the point that he dreaded when they came around. “Oh know, here comes Uncle ________” he thought. Remember this. Every moment doesn’t have to be a teaching moment. Every situation doesn’t have to be a lesson. And, people don’t learn by making fun of what they do wrong.

2. YOU AREN’T A GOOD EXAMPLE…

I had a barber once who loved to give advice about healthy eating. That was fine be he couldn’t cut my hair without his stomach rubbing against me. I also have an acquaintance who is always full of financial advice, but he is not doing very well financially himself. And, most parents get frustrated when people who have never had children try to advice them how to raise their children. I’m not saying people with children can’t give advice, or that you can’t learn from someone else’s financial mistakes, or that someone overweight can’t advice someone else on how to lose weight. But, I am saying that

3. YOU ARE ARROGANT & CONDESCENDING…

Yes, we see your level of success. Yes, we see that you’ve made great decisions. But, know we aren’t looking for advice every time you come around. Because when you give that advice you act as though everyone else is so stupid. When you give advice you belittle what they have done well. When you give advice, your tone is so mean that your advice goes unheard.

4. YOU USE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF & FEED YOUR OWN EGO…

These people really aren’t concerned about helping you, they just want an opportunity to glorify themselves. No, we are not interested in how well you planned, how smart you were, or how hard you worked. Because guess what, we planned carefully too. We made intelligent decisions too. We worked very hard too, but sometimes things just don’t work out. Ask any entrepreneur who had a strong business plan, researched their market, sacrificed for their business, put in ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ and because of factors beyond their control, things didn’t work out.

BEFORE YOU SAY YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BECAUSE YOU WORKED HARD FOR IT…

5. NO ONE ASKED YOU…

I’m not saying that unsolicited isn’t good sometimes, but most of the time, if people want your advice, they will ask you. If you notice that someone needs some help and aren’t willing to ask, find a way to BE an example of the behavior that you feel could benefit from their experience. Be creative. Pray and ask God for wisdom, or even let the know you’re available if needed, but blurting out unsolicited advice can be so insulting that it goes unheard.

Remember, advice is only good if it received, so stop, think, and pray before you speak into someone’s life.

The next time you get some unwanted advice, come back to this list to see how many reasons apply.

BE BLESSTIFIED!