“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” So goes Proverbs 18:21. But what does this mean? Do I have the power to speak things into existence? Do the declarations of Christians possess divine power? In my early Christian years, before I had any theological training, I understood Proverbs 18:21 to mean we have the power to speak things into being. I would routinely speak blessings over myself and the lives of others, confident that they would materialise. This is what I was taught as a young believer; and what my church practiced week-to-week.
We declared ourselves blessed, prosperous, healthy, and wealthy.
This thinking lay behind all night prayers, when we would spend hours decreeing and claiming things in the power of the Spirit. We declared ourselves blessed, prosperous, healthy, and wealthy, among other things. In fact, on one occasion my then pastor brought a book containing short statements we could say to declare those blessings on ourselves, along with curses for our enemies.
This theology also permeated my prayer life. It wasn’t limited to events and gatherings. Whenever I prayed, I would include lines like:
- “I declare that I am healed”
- “I will prosper and not fail”
- “I will get that job and become a millionaire”
- “I will pass my examinations.”
I boldly declared all these things and more because I believed the tongue holds the power of life and death. But in this article, I want to examine that theology. In fact, I want to probe such prayers, asking if this is how God calls us to pray.
Why Does So Much Evil Exist?
At face value, we might understand Proverbs 18:21 to mean that believers can bring the dead to life, simply by saying “live”; or that we can put someone to death just by saying the word. But do our tongues possess the power of death and life? Or—perhaps a better question is—what does that even mean?
If Christians need only speak things into existence, hospitals would be empty.
What you and I know for certain is that we can’t raise the dead or say a curse that leaves someone dead. Furthermore, if this proverb meant what it’s often claimed to mean, there would be no more death, poverty or sickness. If all we have to do is speak things into existence, Jesus wouldn’t have taught his disciples to pray (Matthew 6:5-6). Why bother praying when you can declare and claim things? Why were the early church exhorted to pray for healing (James 5:13) when all they needed to do was declare the sick healthy?
If Christians need only speak things into existence, hospitals would be empty and doctors out of work; funeral homes would shut down; and no one would be in debt. Yet all of those things persist. Thus, this verse doesn’t mean what we’re often taught it does.
Reading the Wisdom Literature
The misuse of this proverb is also backed up by a failure to reckon with the nature of Proverbs (specifically) and wisdom (broadly).
Consider Proverbs 26:4-5. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” Do we have a contradiction here? No, we don’t. Because taken together, those verses exhort believers to exercise discernment when speaking to a fool. There will be times when we should answer, and those when we shouldn’t. What is needed is wisdom (Proverbs 4:5-6).
Clearly, we can’t just isolate one proverb from the rest of Proverbs. “From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him” (Proverbs 12:14). Practically, how should we understand this? Should I stay at home and speak things into existence? Or should I work hard?
The misuse of this proverb is also backed up by a failure to reckon with the nature of Proverbs.
Elsewhere we read that, “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn, he will seek at harvest and have nothing” (Proverbs 20:4; 27:23-27). In fact, Proverbs insists on the value of working hard. How do we square this with the idea that we need only speak whatever we need into existence? “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied, and he is satisfied by the yield of his lips” (Proverbs 18:20).
If we’re to understand any single proverb, we must locate it within the larger purpose of Proverbs. The repeated exhortations to be diligent and work hard profoundly overturn the notion of speaking things into existence.
It’s About Wise Speech, Not Creative Power
Now, let’s return to Proverbs 18:21. A good place to start is with its immediate surroundings, the remainder of Proverbs 18. Unsurprisingly, these verses are all thematically related; for the most part, the chapter is a sustained caution against how we use our tongues.
Consider some of the other verses. “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his own opinion…A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating…A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul….If one gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:2, 6, 7, 13). The power of speech and words demands wisdom, discernment (Luke 6:45; James 3:6).
Careless speech can destroy relationships, damage reputations, and sow disunity.
With this immediate context in mind, it becomes clear that Proverbs 18:21 is also concerned with the power of the tongue or speech. References to life and death are hyperbolic, exaggerations that make the warning vivid. Careless speech can destroy relationships, damage reputations, and sow disunity. Our speech has tremendous power. But none of this means we can speak something into existence.
As we read in another place, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3); “He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend” (Proverbs 22:11). The power of life and death are in the tongue because through it you can build or destroy, accomplish good or issue forth evil.
Watch Both How You Speak and Pray
Only God can speak things into existence. Proverbs 18:21 doesn’t teach the contrary. Rather, when understood as wisdom literature and within its immediate context, we see that it’s a warning against the dangers of an unbridled tongue (James 3:5-6).
Only God can speak things into existence.
Coming back to where we started, then, this proverb isn’t about prayer. The only attitude with which we should approach prayer is humility and dependence. For that is what Jesus exemplified for us, when he prayed: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
