The Wisdom of God, Proverbs 22:17-18

By Betty Miller, Bible.com Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. (Proverbs 22:17-18 KJV)

These verses in Proverbs tell us that when we submit to, and confess the Word of God in our lives that it will be pleasant for us. Verse 17 speaks of bowing our hear to hear the wisdom of the wise and then applying it to our hearts and lives. This simply means we are, not only to listen to God's Word, but we are to submissively obey it as well. However, according to verse 18, the way we keep God's Words in our mind, and believe them is to begin "confessing" them. This is because sometimes we will encounter a battle to be able to hold on to the promises of God, and this is when we must continue to "confess" in faith what the Bible says about our problems.

As Christians, our confession should be what we term a "Bible confession" instead of just a "positive confession." We are not talking about confessing our sins here, but rather confessing or acknowledging with our mouth the truths from God's Word. Certainly the Bible tells us to confess our sins, but that is not the only confession we need to make. We are also told to confess or speak out loud the promises of God, in faith, so we can receive them.

We need to clarify the difference between the so-called "positive confession" taught by the success propagators in the world and a "Bible confession." Many times, their confessions are directed toward "self," not toward God's Word. They build their "castles in the sky," but they are not founded on the Word of God; instead they are based on what they desire for themselves. For example, you will probably never hear them confessing the following portion of God's Word, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12). We must begin confessing what the Word of God has to say about our lives and circumstances instead of what those in the world may speak about the situation.

In confessing God's Word, we must not pick out only the Scriptures we desire, but also the ones the Lord desires for us. He certainly desires to bless us, but He also desires to cleanse us. We must be as enthusiastic in our confessions to be cleansed from all that would offend the Lord, as we are in confessing the physical blessings He has promised us. We must learn to set a guard on our mouths, as it is very important to control our conversation. We will ultimately receive the things that we speak. If we speak evil long enough, it will come to pass; likewise, if we speak good.

Psalm 50:23: "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God."

Proverbs 18:20-21: "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

We must not only claim God's Word, but also learn to speak or "confess" His Word. We must confess our faith in God's Word. We must not confess lack, as the Heavenly Father has given us everything we need. We must not confess defeat, as God has made us more than conquerors. We must not confess doubt, as God has given us His faith. We are to speak the things that the Word of God declares as truth.

We easily quote what men have to say on a subject, and many times we believe them, despite what the Word of God has to say about it. Yet, we are often hesitant to quote what God says because the devil tells us we would be lying. He causes us to look at our circumstances, rather than the Word. Circumstances are subject to change, and one of the things that can cause them to do so, is the confession of God's Word over a particular situation. In fact, the Word of God tells us to confess or talk about the things we are believing God to do in our lives, and He will bring them to pass.

Romans 4:20-22: "He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."

Romans 4:17: "(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were".

We should confess the Word of God over our problems, instead of just confessing the problem. There is some so-called "confession teachers" that say we are never to speak anything negative or anything that is wrong with us, or any problem, but this is not what the Bible teaches. We can speak out when we are sick or have a problem; but, we should always immediately speak the Word of God over that problem. This allows the Holy Spirit to bring the answer to the problem and that answer will be according to what we speak and what we believe. If I am under an attack of sickness, it is alright to tell people I am sick and need prayer, but in sharing, it would also be wise to phrase it like this: "The doctor says I have a disease, but I am believing that according to God's promise of healing for His children, that I am healed. Would you pray and agree with me in prayer for that healing?" If we do not know what God has to say about our problem, we need to get our Bibles and study that subject and find out what He has promised us. There are thousands of promises of blessing to God's children in the Bible, we just need to read it and find out what God has promised to do for us.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord, for Your many promises of blessing to us, Your children. I want to receive everything that Jesus died for, when He went to the cross to save me. Salvation and healing are just the beginning of why You died on that cross for me, and I do not want Your death to be in vain. I want to receive all the covenant promises that You suffered for in my behalf. Lord, deliver me of doubt and unbelief and help me to guard the things I say. May I always confess what Your Word says, and not allow the devil to rob me of the blessings that are mine. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.