The Importance of Spiritual Conditioning: What You Need to Do

I was sitting in a church service and the pastor was teaching on Proverb 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” >
Right in the middle of the sermon, a warning rose up inside of me: You need to stop saying that you do not want to have any boys.

At the time, I had two daughters and worked full time. I thought my time and responsibilities were stretched as far as possible. No offense to boys, but I had two girls, and from what I had observed, boys were a bit too rambunctious for me. I had truly determined in my heart and spoken out loud that I didn’t want to have boys. But in that moment, I changed my heart and repented.

What I didn’t realize was that I had been putting laws into effect—laws of death.

God can’t go against His laws. What I had been speaking may very well have prevented me from having any more children.

I realized that when I desired more children, I likely would’ve had disappointed faith; and my heart would have been crying, “Why is God not hearing me? Why am I having miscarriages and not having another baby?”

I am convinced that learning the power of the tongue saved me from miscarriages and emotional hurts.

Psalm 37:23 says that God directs the steps of a righteous man or woman. The next step God planned for me was learning to put His promises inside of me. I wrote Scriptures and placed them on a door where I would see and speak them daily. I learned how good God is, and I wanted to be submitted to Him.

I created a poster with several Scriptures, including Psalm 127:1, which says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”

I love that Scripture! I didn’t want my strength and knowledge to build my house (my life); I wanted God to build it! I kept writing the rest of Psalm 127:3-5:

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

I wrote those Scriptures and then stared at the words, “quiver full.” I honestly remember thinking how strange it was that I wrote that Scripture, but I didn’t want to rewrite the entire poster I had made! Ha!

So, the promise of children being a reward and having a quiver full of them became a part of my mindset, even before I wanted a third child.

Sure enough, my quiver is now full, with three girls and FIVE boys! (God has a sense of humor.)
—Patty

That’s just a portion of my friend Patty’s story.

What I really want you to get from her story is the importance of spiritual conditioning. In every area of your life.

Spiritual conditioning is critical.

You MUST condition yourself to what God’s Word says about you.
• Put poster boards with Scriptures around your house and read them each day.
• Put Scriptures and the promises of God on note cards around your house, or on doors like Patty did, and read them each day.
• Write positive confessions based on the Word and read it out loud each day.
• Stand on the Word.
• Guard your heart. Pay attention to the words you’re speaking, what you listen to others say, what goes into your ears, and what goes into your heart at all times.

When you’ve planted God’s Word in your heart, it takes root. If you continue to water it and focus on it, that seed will grow into a mighty tree (or a full quiver.)