“I decree and declare …” These are four words we hear prayer warriors cry out in the heat of the battle—but often without an experiential revelation of the power of a decree.
In 2019, God will demonstrate the power of a decree with rapid breakthrough following. He is pouring out revelation on Job 22:28 to believers who can believe Christ’s delegated authority positions us as more than priests who petition—but kings who decree and see an immediate response in the natural realm.
I heard the Lord say, “Far too many of My people are begging me to do what I’ve already promised I would do. Far too many are making supplication, bargaining with Me to do My revealed will, petitioning and crying out from a place of hope instead of faith. But I am calling My body to rise up and decree what I have already said, to prophesy what I’ve already said, to declare what I’ve already said and to see My will and My kingdom established in the earth.
“There is a time for every purpose under heaven. There’s a time to pray the prayer of faith. There’s a time to war with a prophetic word. There’s a time to make supplication. There’s a time to release the prayer of consecration. But in this season, I am demonstrating the power of a decree released by the leading of My Spirit through a heart of faith. Decree a thing and it shall be established.”
Job 22:28 (KJV) assures us, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” Different translations shed interesting light on this verse. For example, the New International Version tells us, “What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.” The Contemporary English Version puts it this way: “He will do whatever you ask, and life will be bright.”
The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition expounds on this truth a little more: “You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God’s favor] shall shine upon your ways.” And The Message version assures, “You’ll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light.”
What is a Decree?
We can decree the Word of God or the revealed will of God through prophecy. There is power in the Word of God. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will never pass away (see Matt. 24:35). His Word is life to all those who find it and healing to the flesh (see Prov. 4:22). His Word will add length to your life and give you peace (see Prov. 3:1). The grass withers, and the flowers fade away, but the Word of God will stand forever (see Isa. 40:8). His Word is spirit and life (John 6:63). His Word is truth (see John 17:17). His Word is pure, like silver tried in a furnace, purified seven times (see Ps. 12:6).
Hebrews 4:11-16 (MEV) explains:
Let us labor therefore to enter that rest, lest anyone fall by the same pattern of unbelief. For the word of God is alive, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. There is no creature that is not revealed in His sight, for all things are bare and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was in every sense tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
A decree is more than a positive confession. A decree is “an order usually having the force of law,” according to Merriam-Webster. God expects us to follow His decrees (see Lev. 18:4). The enemy is also bound to obey a prophetic declaration in the name of Jesus, the name at which every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (see Rom. 14:11).
In this year, God is demonstrating the power of a decree, because a decree can be the tipping point to a bowl filled with intercession.
