The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 CORINTHIANS 10:4–5 NIV
Josh had quite a scare a few years ago. A blocked artery to his heart almost killed him. Fortunately, he made it to the emergency room just in time. His doctors repaired the blockage with a stent and talked to him about the lifestyle changes he would have to make to cope with his coronary artery disease. For the last five years, he had been diligent. He thanked God for His faithfulness, for rescuing him from the jaws of death. He exercised, lost weight, and made all the dietary changes necessary to keep his cholesterol low. He was compliant with all of his heart medications, and his tests routinely came back within normal range. His latest symptoms were innocuous. A little shortness of breath when climbing the stairs, that subtle feeling that someone was sitting on his chest. He ignored them, until they started to increase and reached the same level of intensity as the first incident. Now, he lay in the cardiac unit waiting for an angiogram. The doctors were convinced it was another blockage. He was devastated.
In your quest for wellness, what do you do when bad news comes or an unexpected turn of events catches you off guard? When your circumstances directly conflict with scripture and what you know and believe in your spirit to be true, you can be tempted to wallow in self-pity, anxiety, confusion, or doubt. Or you can fight for what you know to be true. A powerful and practical way to fight back is through declarative prayer. In this type of prayer, instead of making requests of God, you come to Him in prayer and declare His truth. Jesus used scripture in the wilderness to rebuke Satan’s lies with the truth of God’s Word (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Paul gave similar instructions when he said, “Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” to resist the devil in times of evil (Ephesians 6:17). Declaring scripture over your situation can lift you out of the pit of doubt and change your mindset, transforming you into a new person by changing the way you think (Romans 12:1–2).
Declarative prayer starts by inviting God to access your mind. Pray that He would hold all your thoughts captive, especially those that oppose God’s truth, under the authority of Jesus. Then let your thoughts take the form of words that you speak out loud in faith. These words might come directly from scripture or they may be words that God speaks directly to your spirit. Either way, speaking out the promises of God interrupts the reality surrounding you and makes the truth of God’s Word personal to your situation. The more you declare what He says to be true, the deeper your roots grow down into Him, and the stronger your faith will grow in His truth (Colossians 2:7).
David gives us a good example of declarative prayer in Psalm 23. In the first verse alone, David doesn’t ask God to be his shepherd; he declares that God is. He doesn’t ask God to meet his needs; he declares that God will. Throughout the psalm, he declares who God says He is, what he believes God is to him, and what he believes God is doing in his life.
Josh began with scripture that directly related to his circumstances and prayed out loud, making a personal declaration. “I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” became, “You will restore me to health and heal my wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17 NIV). “No weapon turned against you will succeed” became “No weapon turned against me will succeed” (Isaiah 54:17). He countered his symptoms with “You took my infirmities and bore my diseases,” and “I am healed by your stripes” (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4–5 NKJV). Surprisingly, while his medications would need to be adjusted, tests showed no new blockages. The truth of scripture was beginning to manifest in his physical reality.
In your prayer time today, ask God what truth He wants you to know about your circumstances. Wait and listen. Usually the first word or verse that comes to your mind is from God, so don’t doubt. Do a word search on Biblegateway.com to locate the specific scriptures and declare them out loud. Let Him shower you with faithful promises and transform your thinking. You have an arsenal of divine weapons at your disposal to beat back the lies of the enemy. Use them!
Lord, forgive me when I’ve let the enemy keep me focused on my circumstances instead of the promises of Your Word. I center my thoughts on Your authority, especially those related to my illness. I praise You, Lord! You are the Lord who heals me (Exodus 15:26)! Change my thinking, Lord! Pull me out of this pit of unbelief. Transform my mind with Your truth!
Help me to declare Your truth of scripture over my situation, even when no evidence of that truth exists in my physical body. Thank You for sending forth Your Word to heal me (Psalm 107:20). According to Your Word, I believe! Nothing is impossible for You, Lord (Luke 1:37). Thank You for restoring life to my mortal body through the Spirit who dwells in me (Romans 8:11). Thank You for the promise that You will complete the good work You have begun in me (Philippians 1:6).