Paul reminds the Galatians that Jesus became a curse for us so that blessing might flow to us. He wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'[Deuteronomy 21:23] He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit”(Galatians 3:13).
I used to not understand that blessings and curses are real things. I would read the Old Testament passages that seemed to indicate that the blessing of a patriarch would help shape the future of the child who received it (Genesis 27). I would read about how a prophet was hired to put a curse on Israel (Numbers 22). Yet, I just thought words simply encouraged or discouraged. I didn’t think they had any real effect in this world. But I was wrong!
Scripture tries to warn us again and again that our words impact things in the spirit realm and in the natural world. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
James 3:8-10 says, “…no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
So how do blessings and curses work?
Some curses are intentional but most are unintentional. An intentional curse is an evil appeal for harm to come to someone, especially in voodoo, witchcraft/Wicca and occult practices, and it is usually spoken aloud. An unintentional curse usually comes in the form of harsh and condemning words spoken about a person or words of hopelessness and despair spoken over a person’s life (usually from someone in authority over them like a parent, coach, doctor or teacher).
An unintentional curse could be a father, in a moment of anger, saying to his child, “You’ll never amount to anything!” Those words sink in and are believed. Later that child struggles to be successful and wonders why. Or it could be a doctor saying, “You’ll never have children,” or “You’ll never recover.” These words kill hope and help to bring about what they proclaimed.
The key to these harsh or hopeless words becoming curses is how they are received. If these words are accepted by the person, and there is an agreement made in their hearts, these words then give the demonic world access to the person’s life to bring about that word of cursing. They become self-fulfilling prophecies because the enemy takes advantage of them as access points.
Harsh and hopeless words are like an email sent with an attachment that has malware or a virus. The email may contain harsh words, but the real damage comes when there is an agreement with those words in the person receiving them. It’s like clicking on the attachment that allows a virus on your computer. But if the attachment is never opened, no matter how many emails are sent, the person will not be harmed. This is why we must be vigilant about the words that come against us. We must reject any word the enemy may try to use against us.
The best news of all is that Jesus became a curse for us! He took all of that cursing upon Himself so that we don’t have to deal with it. In the place of cursing, Jesus offers us blessing. He offers us His words over our lives that bring His blessing. And just as curses can have real effect in our lives if we agree with them, blessings can have even more effect if we agree with them.
So not only do we need to speak words of blessing over the people around us, allowing the Holy Spirit to ignite those powerful words in that person’s life, but we also need to stand in agreement with the words that Jesus says about us. Standing in agreement with the words of Christ over our life will help us immediately detect and reject any unintentional words of cursing that may come our way.
If you feel that you’ve agreed with too many harsh or hopeless words that have come your way, make the declaration below to break those curses off of your life in Jesus’s name. Just be sure to say it out loud when you take your stand!
“In the name of Jesus, I break every curse of words against me. I take every word captive that’s been spoken over me, that I spoke over myself. I break the power of those curses from hell. I cancel every assignment of darkness. I cast them to the ground. I call a blessing to follow me in their place. I take back every curse that I’ve spoken against another. I cast those words down to the ground and I return a blessing on those with whom I have cursed. Jesus took my cursing so I could live in blessing!”
From Rodney Hogue’s teaching in Empowered
Fire and Light 