“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (I Timothy 6:12)
INTRODUCTION
One of the most powerful tools to receive victory from God’s Word is the tool of declarations--turning something you read in the Bible about God or you into a prophetic word of faith and praise over your life. The above verse points out how a key component to fighting the good fight of faith is choosing to make good confessions. There is power in our words. James tells us that if we can direct our tongue in the right direction our whole life will follow suit.
Tomorrow February 26, is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I’m encouraging you to consider, along with the 21 days in the Word to go on a 40 day “negativity fast/positivity feast.” If you look up INITING HOPE MINISTRIES on your internet you can find out about receiving emails that will help you with a negativity fast. To receive these you will need to do that today.
EXPLANATION
There are many examples of declarations in the Psalms and other places. These declarations take promises that God has made in His Word and help you personalize them and “claim” them for your life. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires.”
In other words, as we believe and activate agreement with God’s promises we come in line with who we really are in the spirit. Positive declarations help rewire our brain (renew our minds) to think in line and agreement with the Holy Spirit. They help break the strongholds in our mind that keep us captive to things like fear and unbelief. One of the meanings of the word “meditate” is “to mutter to ourselves.” When the Bible teaches us that success comes from meditating in God’s Word day and night. (Joshua 1:9) it is challenging us to tell ourselves the truth over and over in our heart. In the positivity feast we are challenged to practice 100 declarations a day. My daughter Heidi Kohn, said this practice was the key thing God used to unleash faith for the calling they had to go to Africa.
APPLICATION
A great way to practice this is to journal and write down any promise you see as you are reading the Scripture that would be a good declaration. I like to encourage you to look at two things. First is start with declarations about God. I have a practice that many people have said really helped them immensely. When I wake up in the middle of the night, instead of counting sheep, I make declarations. The method I use is to go through the ABC’s and declare an attribute of God connected to that letter. For example I will say
-A-My God is awesome, available, able to do more than I could ask or think
-B-My God is Bigger than my problems the Bringer of Hope to every area of my life
-C-My God is the conqueror, the champion who always leads me to victory
-And so forth
The other kinds of declarations I especially focus on are identity pronouncements. The Bible says we are to see the Bible as a mirror. (James 1:25)
I believe that one of the most important things I can do every day is to bring the way I see myself into line with the way God sees me. I think one of the most powerful things to do is to add to the declaration some decision. For example I love Hebrews 13:6, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” I might add something like… “Therefore today I will live a fearless life, and handle any scary situation with calmness, peace, and wisdom.”
Identity Examples:
There are 5 areas where I especially like to concentrate with declarations. They are Scriptures that tell me:
1. I will be successful and victorious in what I try to do
2. That I will always know what to do
3. That I can handle attacks and hard things
4. That I can be at peace with myself and get along with other people
5. That God is absolutely in control in every situation in my life
Here Are Some I Often Use:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I am more than I able to meet the challenges that I will face in life today and be successful in handling them.
“No weapon formed against me will prosper, all things are working together for my good because I love God and am called according to His purposes.” I’m not going to be discouraged or defeated by negative people, circumstances, failures, or setbacks. God is absolutely in control of the outcomes of my life and I know that the end of the story will be victory for me.
“Christ has been made unto me wisdom and if I lack wisdom all I have to do is ask and it is mine.” I will make whatever next decisions I need to make in full confidence that God is giving me the wisdom to make it. Even if it seems like I got it wrong, God will still make sure it turns out right.
“The love of God is being poured out in my heart for everyone I meet today.” I will love people today with a love that is not my own. I have patience for the most difficult people. God’s Spirit is controlling my responses so that I treat people like Jesus would treat them.