The power of declaration has the capability to release and restore your inner life. Learn how to declare the right words over yourself and others.
Words are able to release and restore your inner life with the power of declaration.
In this article you’ll learn why words are so powerful and how to declare the right words over yourself to bring inner healing and greater freedom.
The Power Of Declaration: Freedom In Christ
Some time ago, I learned that declaration is important for prophets because it’s the fourth stage of prophetic growth.
However, I first learned the power of declaration through Freedom in Christ.
Freedom in Christ is a programme of teaching and prayer which leads you into personal freedom.
The climax of the course is what they call the “stronghold buster”.
“What’s a stronghold buster?”, I hear you say. Let me explain:
But what makes the stronghold buster so powerful?
Power Of Declaration: Stronghold Buster
The stronghold buster takes the form of speaking positive words (usually bible verses) out loud to yourself for 40 days. This has the effect of breaking the stronghold and replacing it with Biblical principles and truths.
If you've not heard of the stronghold buster before then it may sound strange, but it’s backed up by biblical reasoning which I’ll discuss in a moment. And trust me, having experienced it for myself, it really does work!
I won’t go into the specifics here because they are so personal. Suffice it to say that my original experience of Freedom in Christ (and in particular, the stronghold buster) was so revolutionary for me that:
* A couple of times a situation I was facing involved some lies I was believing which weren’t actually based in a stronghold. And occasionally, I have realised that lies from previously conquered strongholds were creeping back in. I didn’t need a “full on” stronghold buster in these situations but declaring the truth for a few days got me back on track.
Power Of Declaration: Words Have Power
Words have power and the Bible contains many examples of words being used in a declarative manner.
Jesus declared himself to be the Messiah in John 4:26. And in the beginning, God spoke the Earth and all of creation into existence.
It’s no accident that we read the words “And God said…” multiple times in Genesis chapter 1:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light."
The narrative continues:
…you get the picture.
Altogether, there are no less than 9 instances of “God said” in this opening chapter of God’s word. Importantly, God speaking is intimately linked with the act of creation.
Power Of Declaration: Faith Comes Through Hearing
So God’s voice and the words he speaks bring new things into being. Indeed, the entire universe was made by his word.
Perhaps that’s why the first statement the apostle John makes in his gospel is that Jesus himself is that word. And this helps us to understand that Jesus’ own statement of his messianic nature was no boast.
It’s no wonder that scripture reminds us that faith comes through what we hear:
“…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
(Romans 10:17, NKJV)
This hearing aspect of faith is what makes our words so powerful and that’s why these declarations should be spoken.
But there’s (still) more…
Power Of Declaration: Why Words Have Power
We have established that words - and specifically, spoken words - have power.
That’s true about God’s words, but what excites me is that the words we speak also have power.
Of course, words can have negative consequences too. The world around us is often full of negative words and that can bring us down.
I think it’s significant that many strongholds become embedded in our lives through negative words.
However, it’s also significant that in the midst of the current coronavirus crisis the media is trying to find ways to cheer us up.
This includes the heartwarming story of Captain Tom’s fundraising attempt to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. His original aim was to raise £1000 for the NHS. As of the time of writing, the total stands at £18 million and there are calls for him to be knighted!
In amongst all the bad news of the worldwide death toll, the news readers I see every day on my TV are rediscovering the power of positive words.
To bring us back to the context of the stronghold buster, biblical truths we speak over ourselves have the ability to:
Remind
First, speaking biblical truths to ourselves reminds us of God.
They remind us of who he is, what he has done and his power that is available to us today.
Thus begins a process that moves our focus from our own circumstances to God’s love, compassion and grace towards us.
Release
The power of declaration releases healing, freedom and blessing.
It puts us back on track in our own lives. As Steve Backlund has it in his post on 3 Powerful Reasons We Make Declarations, “Declarations direct our lives toward what we speak”.
“Declarations direct our lives toward what we speak”
Steve Backlund
In addition to releasing us from strongholds, when we continually speak the truth it becomes embedded in us.
Embedded truth empowers us to live our lives in freedom and opens the path to greater and deeper blessing.
Restore
The power of declaration restores our relationship with God and with others.
In Luke 8:43-48 we see a woman who had a “discharge of blood for twelve years” touch Jesus’ clothes and be healed.
Jesus knew that power had gone out from him and turned around, asking who had touched him.
When the woman came forward, trembling, and declared how she had been healed, Jesus commended her faith and said, “go in peace”.
Up until that point her condition would have made her ritually unclean and hence, excluded from worship at the temple.
By speaking these words Jesus not only affirmed and included her but also restored her relationship with God and her people.
Frequently, declaring the truth as part of a stronghold buster has led me to forgive people for past hurts and restored my relationships, as a result.
How To Use The Power Of Declaration
Given the potential complexity of strongholds, the process of busting one is surprisingly simple. Here’s how to do it.
Step by Step:
Pray about the difficulty or situation you are facing: ask God to highlight the underlying issue, which is not necessarily what you’re feeling or thinking about at the time.
Seek the Lord for the truth of the situation: find some bible verses that speak about or into that truth. You don’t need many, between 4 - 6 verses is ideal. If you’re not sure where to start ask some trusted friends for relevant bible verses.
Speak them out loud every day for 40 days:* put them where you’ll see them and set a repeating alarm or reminder on your phone.
* Freedom in Christ uses 40 days. If you’re not doing a stronghold buster and just testing out the power of declaration, it doesn’t have to be as long as that. But make sure to use a decent interval, for example, daily for at least 2 weeks.
In reality, there is a bit more to it than that and the Freedom in Christ course gives more guidance than I have. However, hopefully you can see how it works.
Bonus:
Since you’re speaking bible verses to yourself every day you’ll learn them off by heart!
This is a great way to memorise scripture as a by-product of what you’re doing.
Resources That Utilise The Power Of Declaration
In my experience, both the above programmes work through leading people into an encounter with Holy Spirit, which is always a good thing!
Your Turn
The power of declaration has the capability to release and restore your inner life.
Despite the apparent complexity of our lives (and our hidden strongholds) the process of declaring the right truths over yourself is surprisingly simple but incredibly powerful.
Speaking such truths out loud for a consistent period of time produces greater freedom within and a closer walk with the Lord.
Next time, I’m going to take the concepts we discussed here and ask what happens when we declare biblical truths over others?
Now it’s your turn to answer this question:
How have you used the power of declaration in your life and what changed as a result?
Let Us Know Your Answer In The Comments Area, Below.