The centurion knew that all Jesus had to do was "'just say the word'" (Mt 8:8). "He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick" (:16). Faith is released by words. "By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (12:37). "The tongue has the power of life and death" (Pr 18:21). "The tongue of the wise brings healing" (12:18). Jesus taught "'out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks'" (Mt 12:34). The faith you have is expressed in speech. "What he says will happen" (Mk 11:23). It works because of the characteristics of the communication. Jesus said "the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (Jn 6:63). He also reveals "'I am in the Father . . . [and] the words I say to you are not just my own'" (14:10).