You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.
Proverbs 6:2
A life-changing and faith-building practice that you can adopt during your Daniel Fast is using positive affirmations. However, you want to make sure you’re using them in the right way that will bring the results you desire.
If you do a one-minute search on Google for positive affirmations about any subject you can think of, thousands of results will appear in less than a second. That’s because so many people have tried to reach their goals. Some seek to heal their ills and change their lives by repeating positive statements to themselves over and over again.
Scientific studies report that making positive affirmations, in the correct way, can have a positive effect on your life. Probably one of the most famous people who used positive affirmations was Mohammed Ali. Over and over and over again The Champ said, “I am the greatest.” And at first, people laughed at Him. Then Cassius Clay (he later changed His name to Mohammed Ali) started winning. And He won more. And in not too long He was the greatest boxer in history.
Is This a Biblical Practice?
The Scripture calls “positive affirmations” confessions. The Bible tells us to watch our words (Matthew 15:11). Jesus teaches us to speak to the mountains so we can receive the results we desire (Matthew 17:20). The Apostle Paul tells us to think on these things, which are only positive thoughts (Philippians 4:8).
So why are so many people disappointed when they use confessions or affirmations, but don’t experience success? It’s because God created our minds to search for truth rather than lies or deceit. So unless you believe what you’re saying, your mind reads it as a lie. And lying to yourself doesn’t work!
“Money comes to me easily and effortlessly.” No, it doesn’t! I work hard for my money.
“I am beautiful and everyone loves me.” No, I hate my curly hair and big nose and there are people who don’t even like me!
“I weigh 125 pounds and I’m fit and strong.” No, I stepped on the scale this morning and I weigh 153 pounds and sometimes I can’t even open a jar of pickles!
Every time you make a statement that isn’t true, your internal truth meter goes into the negative zone. Your mind pushes back. Your mind resists. When we make statements to ourselves, but we don’t believe them in our heart, they are read as lies and they’ll be rejected.
Speak God’s Truth
A lot of Christians shun the possibility of using positive affirmations because they link them to secular thought and secular teaching. However all we need to do is study the Scriptures and see that telling ourselves the truth, and then aligning ourselves, our behavior, and our beliefs with the truth will affect our lives.
In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul teaches us to change our mind. He says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
In Romans 10:17 Paul teaches us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
When Jesus came to earth and started His ministry He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The word “repent,” when used this way, is first translated as “change the way you’re thinking.”
Using positive affirmations in the right way can indeed help you change the way you think. You can open your mind to receive the truth of the Bible. And what does that truth do? It sets you free.
You Were Created to Recognize Truth
God created you to resonate with truth. And that’s why we’re called to speak only truth. We’re instructed to guard our minds against those things that are not the truth. We’re taught to renew our minds so we can be transformed by the truth.
The way you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, can use the tool of positive affirmations is to make sure that all of your statements are grounded in the truth of God’s Word. For example, you can say:
“I am a child of God and He gives me direction as I turn to Him.”
“By His stripes, I am healed. Healing is taking place in my body now.”
“God’s promise to me is that He is able to make all grace abound toward me so that I will have all sufficiency in all things and an abundance for every good work. Everything I need my Lord provides for me and I thank You, my Provider.”
“God is the Creator and Designer of my body. He also is the Creator and Designer of the foods to nourish my body so that I am in good health. I choose to eat healthy foods that nourish this body that God has called me to care for.”
All of these statements are positive statements. They agree with the Word of God. As you say them aloud, or as the Scripture says, declare them, then the words enter into your mind as seeds and begin to grow.
You May Bump Into Your Own Words
When you start behaving in a way that is inconsistent with the truth of God, and the statements that you’re hearing from yourself, it triggers a desire to change. This is how positive affirmations, when done in the way that agrees with the truth, truly can change your life.
What are the needs that you have today? Go to the Scriptures and find the promises of God. Then create an affirmation for yourself that you can repeat. See it as a seed that you’re sowing into your heart. Trust in the Lord that He will fulfill the promise that He has made to you in His Word. Declare His truth over your life and over your circumstances.
Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24
Make your use positive affirmations a part of your receiving of the promises that God has already provided for you. Make the declarations a step in your prayer life. Ask. Believe you receive. And if you have a gap between your ask and your position of believing (with no doubt), then use your positive affirmation as part of your faithful meditation. Use your own words, rooted in God”s truth, to change your heart. Repent. Change the way you’re thinking.
Do you want to learn more?
Click on the link below if you’d like to see a list of positive affirmations that are all based on God’s Word. Use these affirmations for yourself, or as a model for the affirmations that you’ll declare over your life. Consider these declarations, grounded in the Word, to be seeds that are sown into your heart, and allow them to take root so that you will bear fruit.
I love hearing from folks about your faith experiences. Please leave your questions or comment below.
“Other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Mark 4:8