During a devotional time this week, the Lord dropped a theme in my heart for 2023. This theme is from Romans 10:8

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);” (Romans 10:8 ESV)

The Word is Near You

Scripture says the Word is near you. Please think about this. The Word of God is near to us, implying that God’s Word can be near or far. For example, consider the imagery of the Word as the sword of the Spirit. What would a soldier do if they are attacked but their sword is far from reach? 

What would Jesus have done if Satan attacked Him, but the Word was not near but far? Would He have told Satan, the enemy, to hang on and wait for Him to fetch His weapon? Certainly not! We need our swords or weapons to be near; we need to be spiritually prepared at all times.

In Your Heart and Mouth 

The scripture proceeded to describe how the near Word operates: “in your mouth and in your heart”. God’s Word is near in our hearts and in our mouths. It dwells in our hearts as knowledge in our minds. And it dwells in our mouths as confessions or proclamations. 

So the one whose heart is rich with the knowledge of the Word and whose mouth confesses the Word in faith is near the Word, and the Word is near to them.

For What Purpose? 

What good is it to have the word in our hearts and mouths? Paul gives us the answer in verse 9: “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 ESV).

When the Word is near, operating in the heart and mouth, it produces salvation. The near Word produces results—spiritual, financial, health, family, etc. Romans 10:9 is the heavenly formula for salvation, but the principle extends beyond salvation. Mark recorded Jesus saying:

“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:23 ESV)

Just in case there are questions if this principle applies to the believer in Christ, Paul reminded the Corinthians of the words of the Psalmist, saying:

“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,” (2 Corinthians 4:13, ESV)

So this is the formula for unleashing the supernatural to remove mountains and frame our world: God’s Word in our hearts and mouths.

The Theme for the Year

2023 is our year of the Word in our hearts and in our mouths. As noted above, there is a purpose for the Word in our hearts and mouths. Far from fulfilling some Christian obligation, the Word produces salvation—results.

So if you have never experienced results in the Word, prepare yourself for this in 2023. For example, as some of you devote time to fill your heart with the Word and meditate (mutter and confess it again and again), you will experience power surges in your body, healing, deliverance, infilling of the Holy Spirit, spiritual visions, etc. 

This is what the Lord wants me to tell you: 

He wants you to see that His Word works—if planted in good ground. As a minister, I do not have to be there to pray with you or lay hands on you. I have prayed that as you engage God’s Word in 2023, the Lord will do what He told me He would do: bring you to experience the power and presence of the Spirit through His Word!

Have a blessed and glorious 2023!

Patrick 

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