Words Were Made to be Heard

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Words were made to be heard. Yes, I know, and you are correct. You are indeed reading these words, seeing on the page (or the monitor) what I have written down. But in the process of reading, there is a little voice inside you that is decoding and speaking these words to you, even as your eyes are scanning them. You can hear that voice inside as you read along. Often, people even move their lips when they read. Why? Because they are giving utterance to that little voice. In fact, it is difficult, if not impossible, to shut the little guy up. So even when you are reading, you are actually hearing.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” It does not come by seeing. In another place, Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7). No, faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of God. It is when the Word becomes internalized by the Holy Spirit that it comes alive inside you and brings forth faith.

When that happens, it is actually the voice of the Holy Spirit you have been hearing. The Bible says that “no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Words were made to be heard, and we were created to be spirits who speak with the very breath of God. God puffed the breath of life from His lips into Adam’s nostrils, and Adam became a living being (Genesis 2:7). An ancient Aramaic translation/commentary on this passage says that Adam became a “speaking spirit.”

The Word of God was made to be spoken, and we were made to speak it. Not only that, but all of heaven and earth are tuned to the Word of God. That is how everything was created in the first place. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). God spoke, and it all came into existence. God said … and there was (see Genesis 1).

The Bible says that all creation is eagerly waiting for the Sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8:19). How will they be revealed? By their words. We were created to have dominion on the earth, and we exercise that dominion by speaking the Word of God to it. Creation is tuned to the Word of God and eagerly waits to hear it come forth from our lips. It will respond to the voice of His Word. That is why Moses could speak the Word of God to the rock in the wilderness and cause it to bring forth water. That is why Jesus could stand in the boat and speak to the wind and waves, “Peace, be still,” and the obeyed. And that is why, when He spoke to the fig tree, He used it as an opportunity to teach His disciples about speaking to mountains.

You were created both to hear the Word of God and to speak it to the world.