There is a popular saying incorporating a well-known Bible verse: I can do all things through Scripture out of context. Though this is comical, there is a seriousness to the issue of misusing Scripture for personal purposes and for creating aberrant doctrine. One of the things I can personally relate to is my former way of decreeing and declaring in prayer. Have you ever heard any of these phrases: Call those things that aren’t as though they were? Decree a thing, and it shall be established for you? it could be related to the practice of declarative prayer, which is the belief that your words are powerful enough to bring things from heaven into earthly reality.

I was a proverbial card carrying, Satan binding, tongue talking, declaring prayer warrior. It is without a shadow of a doubt that I annoyed others with my former ways, but it did not matter because I was walking in my power and authority. I did not allow negative things to cross my lips, and when I prayed, the decrees and declarations roared out of me. I decreed and things were to be established. I called those things that were not as though they were. I could do all things through Scripture because I was “working the Word.” I had no idea how Biblically illiterate I was. I had no clue that declarative or decreeing prayer is not Biblical or modeled in Scripture. The wakeup call regarding prayer would come after leaving the hyper charismatic movement and in a time of suffering and difficulty. It is a good place to be when God humbles you and brings you low to where you understand your need and dependency upon Him.

In case you’re wondering, those two phrases I continue to reference are from Scripture. The first one is found in Romans 4:17, “As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” Notice how the entire text is never quoted; it is only the latter portion that is declared. I remember looking up this very verse shortly after exiting this movement, reading the verses preceding and proceeding verse 17. Truthfully, I became frustrated because I realized how wrong my understanding had been for so many years. It is God who gives life to the dead and who calls into existence the things that do not exist. Nowhere did this passage say that I could do such things. If anything, the verse was being contorted to say something it did not say, and ultimately, I had made myself to be God.

The second verse mentioned is found in Job 22:28. It is one of the go-to passages in order to validate the practice of declarative prayer. However, this passage was said by Job’s friend who wrongly assessed Job and the reason for his suffering. God did not approve of Job’s friends and the things they said to him, and in the end, he called them to repent to Job. There are other verses misappropriated in order to fit this type of teaching, and I say this not to condemn others but to expose my own past sin and error, in hopes that it will help others who hold to such erroneous teaching.

Declarative prayer is not a new concept, and there are others who are putting a new spin on the practice. Recently, I came across a spiritual coach who was teaching other women how to make a “prayer square”, which is a paper square divided into four sections. Each section was devoted to a specific area: self, family, the nation, and church. Women were encouraged to write down key words and symbols and to look up Scriptures applicable to what they were believing God to do in these areas. Scriptures that made their “spirit stand up” were to be the ones written in the prayer square. Once the prayer square was created, they were then instructed to pray for five minutes on each side of the square, declaring and pulling things down from heaven to earth. The women were even encouraged to have prayer square parties and to focus on using their authority to build in the spirit and to change the world through prayer.

This is a prime example of declarative prayer, which is a fundamental belief within what is known as the New Apostolic Reformation, and it is rooted in Word of Faith teaching. One minister and opponent to this way of prayer has noted that this is in fact not prayer, stating, “If it is agreed that God causes these things to happen and yet is also believed that the “decree” is the tool that makes these things happen, then the human “decree” causes God to work in power according to what the person has decreed. Thus, the power of God is subjected to human action and control. This is, in principle, the same as witchcraft.”

If I can provide any encouragement, it is in understanding our need for God every moment of every day, and it is the comfort in knowing that God allows us to bring our petitions before Him and to trust Him along the way. Prayer is communicating with God in asking and making our requests known, and this does not mean that we get what we want when we pray. Prayer is not commanding, but it is humbling. We cannot force things to happen. God is sovereign, and the power does not rest in us or in our prayer. Rather, the power rests in the Lord. The power of prayer is not measured or determined by us getting our way. God is glorified by His ways, and that may be a “no” in prayer. When that happens, we trust Him, and we can ask Him to use these situations for our sanctification and for His glory.

We do not need a new way to pray. We simply need to go back to the way it is modeled in God’s Word. Jesus Christ told His disciples in Matthew 6:7-15 how to pray. Vain repetition is not needed. We can come before the throne of grace in our time of need because of our Lord and Savior, and we can ask the Father, who has made His name holy and who causes His will to be done. He provides, and He forgives. He leads us, and He delivers us. He sustains us, and He upholds us. Take comfort in Him.

Listen to this episode discussing declarative prayer and the Prayer Square: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: A Crafty Angle on Declarative Prayer on Apple Podcasts