Decree & Declare

We hear these two terms often in prayer, where one starts to decree and declare. Whether you have heard it before, the question remains, what do decree and declaration mean? Is this in line with the word of God, or do we pray a miss.? A decree is an official order issued by a legal authority. This means the person making the decree must have the power or right to pronounce the order. Without the command, the pronouncement is worthless. To declare means to make something known formally, officially, or explicitly. A declaration is simply an acknowledgment of something that is. However, a statement alone does not have the power to cause what you declare to happen. So when people decree and claim in prayer, they often do so under the belief that what they pronounce will come to pass because they have the power to cause it to happen in their words.
Where did the idea of a decree and declaration originate from? And is it in the Bible? Here are some verses that are often associated with this position.

You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28

So Jesus said to them to ‘have faith in God.’ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘be moved and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:22-24

Just by reading Job, one would think that all we must do is declare and decree it, and it will happen. To look at Mark, however, it is all about faith. Jesus begin by saying to have faith in God which is the catalyst for any answered prayer. Too often, in our decreeing and declaring we put power in our words. We should be careful because it is not the words that have the authority; it is Christ and our faith in Him. Our words should express our faith in Him to do what he has said he will do and nothing else. The key to prayer is not just decreeing and declaring it, is asking and believing.
How do we then effectively decree and declare things over our lives? We have already seen that we need faith. We also need to know and trust in God’s words. As Christians, we do not pronounce our words but God’s word. We believe that what He says in his word is his confirmation of who we are therefore, we can confidently proclaim it. When we decree and declare, we must do in humility, setting our desires aside and putting God’s will for us as the priority. We must understand that without God our decrees and declarations are just words without meaning. God is the one to supply our needs, and we should never underestimate his authority.