I was one of those people. You know the ones telling you to watch what you say because death and life are in the power of the tongue. It is with certainty and irony I can say my actions drove family members nuts at times. Decreeing and declaring were integral in what was considered prayer time. When faced with a possible negative outcome in life, it was not uncommon to say, “I do not receive that”, because receiving the negative would make it a reality. This was seen as a lack of faith. Rather, we were to declare a thing and see it come to pass.

It was not uncommon to bind Satan or the negative situation itself, and it was also routine to misappropriate Scripture. Romans 10:17 was a common verse emphasizing faith coming by hearing the spoken Word of God in life. Sadly, I had not taken time to read this verse and others in their proper context. Words were containers, and they had the power to create or to kill because Jesus had returned authority to those who would believe. It was as simple as calling those things that are not as though they were, much like God in Romans 4:17. At least, this is what I once believed.

This is called Word of Faith teaching, the belief that words have power to create by the force of faith. Sitting under teachings from Kenneth Hagin’s material brought the belief that God’s hands were essentially tied and that He was subject to the laws of faith. God could legally move in the earth, the earth He created, only through a believer exhibiting faith and proper belief and confession of faith. It was not enough to hope. In fact, hope was looked down upon. Belief and confession by the power of words were emphasized. Action was necessary in order for God to act. Doubt was poison, and failure to answered declarations brought assumptions of a lack of faith or hidden sin. The sovereignty of God was simply not acknowledged nor accepted.

Looking back, I was never familiar with teachings from this movement centered on Jesus Christ dying spiritually in hell and taking on Satan’s nature, and yes, this is part of the teaching from Word of Faith regardless of the fact one is aware of it or not. I was not familiar with the little god teaching, though how we spoke, prayed, and conducted ourselves agreed with this belief.

The Word of Faith is neither dormant nor dead. It is very much alive, and that is said factually, not by faith. It changes packaging and presentation. The verbiage may be a little more nuanced depending on who you hear discuss the power of spoken words. The same Bible verses are used to validate the teaching, whisking it away from the context and assigning it a new meaning, a faith force meaning.

If I could issue a suggestion and word of caution: anytime you hear a Bible verse read and referenced, you should open your Bible and read it in its context. The verses before and after the verse will help you in understanding. God’s Word properly taught and applied glorifies God. God’s Word improperly taught and applied glorifies self and echoes Satan’s sentiments, “You shall be like God.” The Word of Faith may get a facelift over time to sustain appeal, but it has never aged well due to its unbiblical approach in deifying man and diminishing God and His holy attributes.

Enter the Declarations Clicker

Perhaps you are wondering why a tally counter is featured in the blog. Would you believe me if I told you a ministry sells a declarations clicker? Over a year ago, I stumbled across this item on Bethel’s online ministry store while doing some research. To say I was both shocked, troubled, and not surprised simultaneously does not fully describe the personal thoughts I had in seeing this item along with the description, “As you augment what you speak with the declarations clicker, you will transform what you believe, which will ultimately change what you experience in life (Romans 12:2). Start renewing your mind with your words of hope today and watch your life be transformed!” Truthfully, it sounds like an infomercial for faith.

There was more to it, such as a declarations list by Steve Backlund, the founder of Igniting Hope Ministries and the supplier of the declarations clicker. People are also encouraged to conduct a 30-day experiment with their clicker in making declarations and seeing their lives transformed, and they are told to focus on specific lies while exchanging the lies for God’s truth. While doing so, the individual is encouraged to give a click to the tally counter.

Perhaps you are wondering what is wrong with this. Why is this a problem? Should we not encourage ourselves in the Lord by His Word and what is the harm in using a tally counter? We can most certainly be encouraged by the Word of God in reminding us of His love, faithfulness, grace, mercy, and many other attributes. We can be reminded of our need for the Savior and the Holy Spirit. However, when you think about who the focus of the declarations is, you soon find yourself at the center of it all. Herein lies the issue, we are not at the center; God is at the center. He is the focus, even in His written Word. His Word is testifying of the plan of redemption and of His ways. He has all authority and power. We are under authority, God’s authority. Even when listening to a recent teaching mentioning this clicker, the declarations mentioned nothing of Scripture and focused on personal power while clicking the tally counter. This seems to minimize God and to negate His sovereignty while maximizing self and perceived power and authority. This is Word of Faith with a shiny gadget. This is filler to the facelift.

Along with the teachings of this movement, there is the concern of a perpetuated meritorious relationship with God if we simply do enough in the area of declaring and giving God perceived permission. It makes me uncomfortable even now writing the last part of that sentence because God does not need our permission. He permits us to take our next breath. We exist for Him, to worship Him and to enjoy Him forever.

We must understand our words do not create our reality or existence. God is the only One who can create and speak things into existence. God did not need faith to speak the world into being. He is the object of our faith. He is the center of Hebrews 11. The faith of those mentioned in this chapter is directed toward God in saving them and giving them the promise of eternal life and a city, He prepared for them. This chapter and the proceeding one encourage us to do the same.

We do not need a declarations clicker. We need to get back to being a student of the Word of God, understanding His ways and finding contentment in every season of life while trusting the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, and we recognize the Word of Faith for what it is, even if it comes with the click of a button.

Listen to the latest episode of The Lovesick Scribe podcast for an in-depth discussion about this topic. The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: Declaring and Clicking in the Word of Faith on Apple Podcasts