If you practice daily affirmations that are not rooted in truth and spoken by Truth Himself, you're either wasting your breath or, worse, damaging your heart with a lie.
In my last posts, I've talked about different kinds of spiritual declarations and our part in them. (You can access a full list of them, here.) I created this participation scale to show where each type of declaration fits and our part in them:
Intercessory Declarations
These require the most participation from us. I call them "intercessory" because I use them during intercession but they could be called "detailed" or responsive or something along those lines. They are meant to be used to progress in prayer from simply asking God to do something, to hearing Him say yes/no, and then declaring what He said to declare. Intercessory Declarations make prayer more effective than simply shooting a list of "wants" at God's heart, hoping one of them is what He wants as well. (Link here.)
Truth Declarations
Truth Declarations (link here) powerfully cancel lies spoken to us or over us. For women who struggle with their inner vocabulary toward themselves and the outside world or have had lies root in their minds, creating destructive fruit, the practice of Truth Declarations arms them to counter the lies as they pop-up and then re-wire their brains to the truth of what God says of them.
Sovereign Declarations
I've also talked about Sovereign Declarations (link here), which are by far my favorite because they simply depend on God's faithfulness, which I know I can count on. (It appeals to my efficient nature.) If He says it, He will do it. Regardless of the people and circumstances involved—it will happen. They just sometimes take a long time from the time they are declared on earth to actual fruition. Then again, sometimes they don't.
In this post, I'm talking about Mindful Declarations, which are similar to Truth Declarations. They are similar in the sense that mindful declarations are based on the truths found in God's Word. They also transform our DNA, just as Truth Declarations. They both are usually destiny-related and identity-related. Both are 100% rooted in the Bible.
They are different in that Mindful Declarations are proactive, not reactive. Truth Declarations are more reactive—said in response to a lie that pops up in our minds or spoken in real-time to/over us.
Mindful Declarations are proactive because we feed our minds with the truth of them, letting them transform us, all day, every day.
I want to make it clear that these are NOT affirmations, as the world sees or practices affirmations. Affirmations are sayings or declarations that come from anyone or anything and are not usually based on truth. Some affirmations may have a nugget of truth in them, but they are not the full truth. First, they are not the truth because they are not spoken by the God Who Created Us, and second, they do not lead us to our rightful place of humility as a creation to the Creator.
For example, there is a popular saying, "I am enough." Before Instagram and Pinterest (and yes, I remember life before then), this was a saying that brought freedom to women who struggled with 1) being "woman enough" for their husbands, 2) being "mother enough" for their children, and 3) being "enough" for the God of the Universe to see them and care about them.
For me, the saying is a cherished one. It freed me from my greatest fear: that I would get up on the altar to offer myself in absolute surrender but God would NOT NOTICE because my offering was not ENOUGH.
It has been hijacked, of course. Typical. I've noticed that anything that truly sets people free and allows women to slay their fears—and most women I've met have a huge fear of not being enough so these words are life-changing to them—gets hijacked by Satan and the world. Now, through the world's voice, it means "I am enough...on my own, without anyone or anything or any god/God helping me." Which, obviously, is a heresy and a lie from the Spirit of the Anti-Christ who pushes lies that would have us believe we do not need a Savior, Christ.
So, instead of saying half-truths and empty affirmations, we should declare with authority the Word of God to our minds, hearts, and souls, just as David did.
Instead of "I am enough" maybe we should say, "In the eyes of God, I am enough." Or, "Through Jesus, I am 100% justified, loved, and made worthy to receive all of God's blessings." (Colossians 1:12-14) Or, "With God, all things He has called me to will be possible." (Matthew 19:26) Or, "I am my Beloved's and He is mine. His banner over me is Love." (Song of Solomon 6:3) Or, "God will be faithful finish what He has begun in me and in my family." (Philippians 1:6) Or, "Since I am in Christ, I am a new creation. The old 'me' has passed away, the new 'me' has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
These are the truths that if we allow to transform our minds, will set us and our family free and fight our battles before we come to them.
I have created a growing list of Mindful Declarations, here, along with definitions, how to use them, and examples of each. Feel free to print and share. If you have any to suggest, email me.
Grace teaches our minds and hearts to war by transforming them.