What does it mean when Christians say that they “decree” something? When they “declare” something, what are they doing? I witness people who claim to follow Jesus saying these things, and I’m disheartened. Why?
As Oyewole Akande points out in this article, the idea comes from the heretical false teaching of the Word of Faith movement. The unbiblical idea behind it is that words have power… not the ideas that the words express, but the words themselves. When spoken with faith, they say, anyone can do the things that God can do. Not only can they declare themselves wealthy and disease-free, they can even create their own universes!
Of course, that’s simply not true. Unfortunately, many have heard and believed these false teachers. They begin to do strange things as a result of their new beliefs. They “decree” all kinds of wonderful things for themselves, and “declare” a bright future for their loved ones.
While this might sound nice, let’s compare that idea with what we see in the New Testament. The apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh that God wouldn’t take away. Should he have decreed himself free of it? Timothy, pastor in Ephesus, had stomach problems. Should Paul have ‘declared health over him?’ No. That’s not even close to what we see in God’s Word.
After reading Akande’s article, let me know if you have questions. I’m here to help.
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check out Hank Kunneman who teaches that we can “make God keep his promises” about Trump’s election and politics. Hank believes in faking speaking in toungues and teaches his own predictions as equal to the Bible.