That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 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. - Romans 4: 16-17 (ESV)
Beloved this is no small point. Who is it here that calls things that are not as if they were? God! Not us! He called Abraham the father of many nations before it had actually happened. Why could God do that? Because He is God! He knew already that what He said was going to come to pass. When Osteen mangles the Romans verses what he is essentially saying is that we are God. That we can ascend to the heavens and be like the Most High. This problem is prevalent throughout word faith preaching. If you just listen it sounds pious enough but when you dig a little into Scripture you will find they are more often than not mangling the Word of God to suit their theology. Using the story of the Tower of Babel to prop up you pre conceived notion that God wants us to have bigger imaginations is beyond deceptive. Claiming the Bible says that we can call things that are not as if they were when it is clear that power belongs to God is even worse. This name it and claim it, blab it and grab it heresy has grown so prevalent it has become mainstream in many churches that otherwise may not even realize they are ascribing to it. One way this occurs is through the altering of prayer into an arrogant and petulant self empowerment instead of the humble and contrite petition it should be. Welcome to the world of declare and decree. We see and hear it in churches every week. I declare and decree financial breakthrough in your life. I declare and decree healing in your body. I declare and decree victory for every area of your life. Let us take a look and contrast that with how Jesus outlines prayer:
"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matthew 6: 7-13 (ESV)
While many repeat this prayer verbatim it is also meant to be a structure for how we approach God in prayer. We are warned to not heap up empty phrases such as "I declare and decree." These "I" statements make the prayer about us and not Him. It makes us believe that we have His power. That we can ascend to the heaven and be like the Most High. The first thing in the outline is to remember who it is that we are praying to. Jesus could have used one of the many regal titles for God but instead He chose Father. It is important to remember that we are His children and He is the Father. Can you imagine walking into the living room as a child and saying to your father - "I declare and decree that you will increase my allowance!." Children do not declare and decree things to their parents unless they want a whooping declared and decreed upon them. The next step in the outline is to revere who God is! Hallowed is Your name! the idea here is by remembering the holiness of God in prayer we should be less likely to be arrogant and presumptuous. Your kingdom come reminds us what the inevitability is for this world. It provides us with hope for what is to come. Our blessed assurance. Every tear wiped away. No more pain, war, and death. Your will be done destroys the entire notion of name it and claim it. It eviscerates the declare and decree heretical prayer format. When Jesus was in Gethsemane and facing the cross He did not say, "I declare and decree that I am the head and not the tail therefore be gone Roman soldiers - I do not claim you!" No beloved. He asked and petitioned the Lord to take the cup from Him but also said, not my will but Yours be done. Ultimately we have to have faith that God always operates in our best interest, even when we do not see it. Therefore praying for His will alone should be easy for one who truly believes. We are also supposed to petition the Lord in prayer. Give us this day our daily bread. God wants to give us His blessings!
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! - Matthew 7: 9-11 (ESV)
Those who ASK Him. Not those who tell Him. Not those who demand of Him. Not those who declare and decree to Him what He will and will not do. Next in the Lord's Prayer is the reciprocal relationship of forgiveness. We forgive and are forgiven. This is a place of humility. One of the things the Lord requires of us is to walk humbly before our God. There is no humility in declaring and decreeing beloved. It is arrogant, presumptuous, and tires to ascend to the heavens and be like the Most High. The Lord's Prayer concludes with a petition for the Lord to keep us from evil. Either from the temptation to succumb to it or the need for deliverance from it. Once again reinforcing proper roles here. We are helpless before our sovereign God. We come to Him as our Father knowing that He can do anything and always acts on our best interest. We do not come to him as bratty children, demanding this or that. Decreeing to the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is not prayer to speak at God. To demand from God. To think we have the power of decree when only He does. What that is unfortunately is trying to ascend to the heavens and be like God.
We are not God beloved. We are not little gods either. We are the created - not the Creator. Let us close today by looking at these two words closely. We declare things every time we open our mouths. Declaration is merely stating something although most definitions carry with it a certain level of gravitas. Declaring is more definitive and louder than merely saying something. By the way, there are perfectly appropriate ways to declare in prayer.
"I declare that none are higher than You Lord!"
"I declare that You are sovereign Lord - have Your way in my life!"
Notice what these declarations are about? They are about God. This is demonstrably different than declaring that I am going to receive a financial breakthrough or a miracle healing. In these examples, God is still God. The word decree however reveals even deeper problems with this heretical teaching. Here is the bible dictionary definition for decree as being used in prayer format today:
In general, an order, edict or law made by a superior as a rule to govern inferiors.
When you say you decree something in prayer you are in fact dictating to God. You are doing so as if you have ascended to the heavens and are now above the Lord. As if you are now His superior and He better get moving on your prayer. Let's face it however - it is not a prayer. A prayer is a supplication. It is a petition. It cannot be a demand. When you petulantly demand things you automatically place the person you are demanding from beneath you. The harsh reality we need to realize right now is we cannot decree anything from God. We cannot claim anything. I know people who will steadily go blind before caving in and getting glasses. "I'm not claiming it!" Yeah well it is claiming you sister, time to go get some glasses!
It is all an outshoot from the infection of word faith doctrine into mainstream Christianity. This notion that we are more powerful than we really are. That we are in fact little gods. That God Almighty needs our permission to do anything here on the earth He created! That our words have the power of creation in them. That we can go to God in faux prayer and demand/declare/decree to the Creator of the entire universe. How dare we. Of course it is nothing new for God. There truly is nothing new under the sun. this is the same foolishness that Eve fell for in the Garden. You too will be like God! It is the same foolishness that led Lucifer to fall from the heavens, cast down by the Creator. I will be like the Most High. No you won't. You will be just like all the petulant and arrogant ones that came before you. Declaring and decreeing, naming and claiming, blabbing and grabbing. At the end of the day however He will still be the only God. He will be the only one who can declare and decree and thank Him for that because we make lousy gods.
Reverend Anthony Wade - December 6, 2014
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