"Declarative prayer simply means that once we know God's heart on an issue, we boldly pray that it will be so, and then walk in faith that it is already so - even if the answer is not yet visible."
Jonathan Graf
The scene was absolutely breathtaking. Situated on the side of a mountain in an apartment, we didn't initially realize where we were living. That is until we took an elevator down several stories, walked down a long series of steps, and out the gate into a curved street that is so typical in Spain. As we walked, I looked up with a gasp at the very place where we were living. High up was the balcony of our apartment protruding out the side of a mountain. It looked so small and vulnerable seated among a number of mountain cliffs. For a few days we actually were living on a cliff!
Now I don't personally like cliffs but I do love high places because I love to pray high up where I can see a great distance of landscape and trees. And this place was perfect for that! The view was out of this world. The sky was blue and the sea was the richest color of blue-green that you had ever seen. On one side were the Sierra Nevada Mountains painting half the scenery and on the other side was the Mediterranean Sea. We were sandwiched directly in the middle.
This was last year in Spain. My husband and I would have prayer times in this apartment. One time when we were praying we decided to go out on the balcony, and he began to declare and pray over the land. Suddenly we began to declare God's Word in prayer as we looked at the beautiful landscape before us. We knew there was a lot of hidden darkness underneath, but we knew we had power in prayer. He pointed directly to the mountains and said as an act of faith,
"This is a place of faith. It's time to say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea!'"
We had been going through a particularly difficult time regarding our future. Not knowing which way to go and feeling bombarded by attacks from the enemy at every turn, it was an important declaration when our faith seemed at low ebb.
But as we declared God's Word directed by His Spirit, all of a sudden our faith began to rise! We began to believe God for greater things in prayer. Hope began to fill our hearts and our prayers became more forceful. We realized afresh the importance of declaring God's truth out loud for spiritual breakthrough.
Declarative prayer is a dynamic way to pray strategically. We must be willing to learn to wait to hear the Lord's voice if we want to pray declarative prayers. We must know the Lord's timing and voice. It can't be our personal desire. It's not a name it, claim it prayer. It must be God, because He always has a plan. As His ambassadors and representatives on earth, we are to stand in the gap in prayer for others (Ezekiel 22:30). As we obey and pray His Word, God wants to use us to bring healing on the earth.
Barbara Wentroble in her book Prophetic Intercession says:
"Intercessors should be able to hear God speak. As He speaks, He will reveal areas that need prayer, strategies to overcome the enemy, actions or declarations to break the power of hindrance, and even reveal the sources of warfare. Victory can be obtained through obedience to the Word of the Lord."
Declarative prayer claims supernatural intervention from God on God's terms, not ours. Our faith for declarative prayer comes from God and not our own efforts - God works through our faith - He is the object and source of it. It's not about our faith, our own effort and abilities or anything else. It's all about God. He calls forth what doesn't exist in the natural realm (Romans 4:17).
Matthew 16:19 says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." God does the binding in heaven, and then we carry it out on earth. We receive the "rhema" word from the Bible. As we listen to God, our faith grows.
God wants us to use His word to release His will on the earth. In Genesis 1, the Spirit moved at God's Word. There is anointing on God's Word. Jesus resisted Satan by speaking God's Word in the desert (Matthew 4:4-10). Let's realize what God has made available to us if we will believe. He has given us the keys to His Kingdom.
• There is power in our words - "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63).
• Our words release life and death - "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21).
• We must speak and declare God's Word - "It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak" (2 Corinthians 4:13).
When our hearts and our words agree with God's will, they release His power in a dramatic way. But if our words agree with Satan, we release his power. Declarative prayer affects the spirit and heavenly realm by binding demonic activity and loosing angelic activity. Jesus fights when we speak His Word in intercession and when we declare decrees according to His leading. He fights with the sword of His mouth (Revelation 2:16). We are to proclaim the decrees of the Lord. If we ask, He will give us the nations as our inheritance! (Psalm 2:7-8).
Listening to what God is saying is key. The Bible promises us in John 10:27 that God's sheep hear His voice. There are many examples of declarative prayer in the Bible. Jesus cursed the fig tree in Matthew 21:19, Ezekiel spoke to the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:4-9, and God told Moses to speak to the rock in Numbers 20:7-8. Jesus even taught us to speak to the mountains in our lives in Mark 11:23. This is what my husband did in that apartment in Spain.
But how can we be sure that we are hearing God's voice in order to declare His will? Here are a few questions you can ask yourself as you learn declarative prayer:
• Am I giving glory to God or is this for my personal gain and desires? Faith declaring prayer is for the glory of God alone.
• Does my prayer expand God's Kingdom? Declarative prayers expand the Kingdom of God.
• What does God want to do in this situation? Declarative prayers pray God's will and His desires with faith.
• Are my motives pure and am I surrendered? Declarative prayers have pure motives (James 4:3).
• What are the promises of God in Scripture? Declarative prayers pray God's promises in His Word.
Do we realize the responsibility we have to determine what we do on earth for the Kingdom of God by our words? We read in Psalm 115:16 "The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man." We can pray and declare what God wants to release on earth and what is on His heart for the future. We can pray His promises onto the earth where we live and work. Job was instructed to pray and declare before God and it would be established (Job 22:22-28). That's powerful.
Are you living on a cliff in your life experience? Are you going through a difficult time where you don't know which way to go? Do you need a breakthrough? Perhaps it's time to speak to the mountains in your life through declarative prayer. Let's learn to ask God for greater faith to listen and pray His will on earth for His glory in our daily life experiences. And let's learn to walk in faith as we hold onto the promises that we have boldly prayed.
"When God puts a specific verse in my heart showing me how to pray for a particular situation, my faith is naturally heightened. To engage in listening prayer, receiving a precise Bible verse for a specific situation enables me to pray His will with His wisdom. ‘so faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the (rhema) of Christ' (Romans 10:17). Hearing a specific word - a rhema - from God produces faith! Now that's worth waiting for."
Mel Winger
Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
deb@intercessorsarise.org
Original Publication Date: October 21, 2009