A few years ago, a friend of mine was facing a life-threatening illness. She began to cry out to God for a miracle. The Holy Spirit showed her the following scripture, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:17 KJV)
Faith began to rise within her that God would work a miracle healing in her life. She began to declare this verse out loud in prayer. She even wrote the scripture on paper and taped it to the inside of her shoes! Soon after, she received her miracle healing and is alive declaring the works of the Lord!
There is power in our words. There is dunamis power in proclaiming that which the Holy Spirit illuminates to our spirit. When we agree with the purposes and word of heaven, God begins to move—sometimes in dramatic fashion.
The Power of Proclamation, Part 1
Last week, in The Power of Proclamation Part 1, we looked at the story of King Joash and the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 13:14-20. In verse 17, the arrow represented a prophetic act and decree of the Lord’s deliverance:
And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”
The prophetic instruction was given by Elisha to Joash and the arrow represented the Lord’s deliverance. Joash needed to strike the enemy until breakthrough was achieved. The prophetic proclamation of the arrows being shot by Joash required zealous faith.
God-breathed words—prayers and decrees—are like arrows that strike and release God’s power against the schemes of the enemy. God uses human agency to bring about His purposes. God can, and often does, work without human cooperation. But often, like in this example, God chooses to partner with us, in spite of our human weakness and underdeveloped faith. (Eph. 3:10)
To understand what God said to the King, understand what the arrow represents:
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.” Psalm 18:14
In this verse, arrows represent warfare. Remember, “we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against demonic powers, principalities and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12. This is a spiritual battle with spiritual weapons!
The arrows of God deliver you from your enemies – they vanquish and scatter your enemies. Your enemy is the devil & his cohorts! Disease, poverty, strife, addictions etc. – they are the ones we release the arrows to.
The Power of our Words
What is the arrow of the Lord and how do we release it? There is a clue in Psalm 64:1-4:
Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
Our mouth is the bow and our words are the arrows. In this passage, bitter words are the arrows and the blameless are the victims… arrows of gossip, slander, criticism, lies, and evil speaking shot in secret at the innocent.
Prov. 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Bitter words become spiritual arrows released into the heavens, reenforced by the enemy.
In the same way that the enemy can release arrows of death at the innocent, we can release the arrow of the Lord to scatter His demonic enemies. We can release arrows of life that bring healing, prosperity, and blessing into people’s lives when we say good things about others, or when we say what God says.
Prophetic decrees & proclamations can be used for the sake of the Kingdom – destroying the works of the enemy or release life to God’s people. God wants you to speak out what He has said about you in His word or through prophetic promises.
Through prophetic decrees we can speak things into existence AS LONG AS God as already promised those things in scripture or through a prophetic word! When we get a word from God, we have the authority to lay hold of it by faith. We can release arrows of life by talking about healing, speaking words of healing over our body or others – we enforce heaven!
Dry Bones … You Shall Live!
In Ezekiel 37:1-14, we read of the story of Elijah prophesying to a valley full of very dry bones. His prophecy represents the power of God-inspired proclamation toward impossible situations.
In verse two, we read that Elijah passes by a valley full of very dry bones. Know this: God permits you to “pass by” people and situations that are dry or even appear “dead.” The Lord is inviting you to see with eyes of faith the possibility of His resurrection life toward those people and situations that seem impossible.
“Son of man, can these bones live? O Lord God, You know.” (Vs. 3) Sometimes it looks impossible, the bones are so dry and dead! Perhaps it’s a marriage or family situation that looks impossible to mend. Maybe a prolonged illness or disease that hasn’t been healed. Perhaps a financial situation that seems impossible to overcome. When we see our cities and world conditions, it may seem hopeless. No, there is DESTINY in these bones!
God tells Elijah, “Prophesy to these bones… O dry bones hear the word of the Lord! …You shall live, then you shall know that I am the Lord. SO I PROPHESIED!” (Vs. 4-7) Elijah decreed life over that which was dead and God worked a miracle—the valley of dry bones came to life as a mighty army. Our words have power, they have authority. We can release Spirit inspired words of faith that bring life to that which looks dead!
Princes will Rule with Justice
When God created the earth and all that was within, He spoke it into existence. We are His representatives here on earth, co-laboring with Him for Kingdom purposes. Christ in us, His authority and power working in and through us! Col. 1:27
When we declare God’s revealed will, it has creative power upon it. Remember, Jesus told the disciples, “If you have the same kind of faith that I have in My Father, you can SAY to the mountains BE REMOVED!” Mark 11:22-24
Isaiah states, “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princess will rule with justice.” (Isaiah 32:1) Our King Jesus reigns in righteousness and we steward and administrate in His Kingly anointing. What God declares right—salvation, healing, deliverance, poverty broken—we are to administrate from our position in Christ from heaven to earth. We have been made kings and priests, now, not later. We are commissioned by Christ to co-labor with God to establish His righteousness and justice on earth—the result is Kingdom growth and advancement.
Isaiah 32:16,18 “justice will dwell in the wilderness,” which is about justice in needy places for the poor and afflicted. The result of God’s princes stewarding His love and power, vs. 18: “My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” When we co-labor with Christ, and administrate His justice and decrees on earth, the needy and afflicted then begin to dwell in peace and security. This will require us at times to see and hear what He is doing, and then to proclaim it here on earth! God gets the glory!
You Will Declare a Thing!
In Job 22:27-30 we read, “You will declare a thing…when you say exaltation will come…” You see, God is waiting for the decrees and proclamations of your mouth. There are times we are to pray. But there are other times at God’s leading that we are to Say and Not pray! Sometimes we are petitioning the Father for what He has already asked us to declare life over. According to this passage, when we decree God’s revealed will, those who are in need are freed—including the guilty! This is the ministry of the ambassador of Christ.
Stand in the gap for them and declare “Exaltation will come!” Your year of Jubilee is here! Isaiah 61:1-2 states of the ministry of Jesus and now for us that we are, “To proclaim liberty to the captives … to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord…” We have been anointed and commissioned to proclaim Jubilee over people. Jesus is the Jubilee of Jubilees! We are His ministers of reconciliation bringing freedom to captives. (2 Cor. 5:18-20).
Lazarus, Come Forth!
Once, my wife and I were ministering in Romania. As I was getting ready to speak during a church service, I noticed a young woman sitting a couple of rows back who looked very sad and depressed. The Holy Spirit spoke to me with a word of knowledge and said, “She is bound in grave clothes like Lazarus (John 11), loose her and tell her to come forth!” The word was so strong and clear, I stopped the meeting, asked the young woman to come forward for prayer and she did. I had my wife and another woman with us begin, as a prophetic act, turn her slowly as if they were taking off the grave clothes. I then began to prophesy to her, “You are free from the pain and the oppression of the past in Jesus name!” The Holy Spirit came upon her powerfully, and she quietly lay under the Lord’s presence and power through the rest of the service.
Several months later, I was back in that Romanian church. This young woman was now leading worship! I asked the pastor what had happened. He explained that after that time of ministry and prayer over her, she was supernaturally freed from the pain of abuse and oppressive feelings from her mother. Further, God worked in her mother’s heart and the relationship was healed. This young woman experienced “justice in needy places” and the reality of “jubilee” that is found in Jesus!
We are to co-labor with God making declarations, decrees of justice for our families, churches, businesses, cities, and nations. We are to declare God’s future and destiny over them. It’s all about agreement with God, and proclaiming His justice over lives and situations.
Why do you cry to Me?
Moses is leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and slavery only to be trapped by the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaohs army fast approaching. In Exodus 14:15-16 God says to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod…divide the sea!” Moses had to move from a prayer of “O God, what do we do!” to that of proclaiming God’s victory over the situation.
Learn to pray from Victory not for Victory! Some of you stand facing the Red Sea, no way to cross, your destiny and the destiny of your family rests on what you do with the rod of your mouth! With the arrows, words, you release in faith.
It’s time to prophesy to the bones, time to move the mountains! Prophesy to your destiny, to the fullness of your calling. Prophecy and decree who you are in Christ, a royal heir, adopted, accepted and loved! Remember, when you “say to the mountain,” when you “say exaltation shall come,” those forces against you MUST submit to God’s decrees! Jesus has triumphed over all—stand firm and see God’s deliverance!
For a more in-depth look at the second part of this message, watch The Power of Prophetic Decrees from Passion Church:
