If the word of God is the absolute truth regarding all things (and it is), it behooves us to fervently study, to be assured, and wholeheartedly comprehend the things the Bible tells us. Because the word of God promises to fulfill itself, we are instructed to keep it “in our mouth” in order to have good success. That’s what Joshua was told in Joshua 1:8 before he went to war to get his Promised Land inheritance. But what does that really mean?

I believe it means that when God declares something to us, He desires that we agree with it. When He says we can do something, we should agree with it. When He says we are something, we agree with it, rather than how we “feel” at any given moment. Essentially, we give our consent to what He says. God is always right!

Examples of those who took God at His word

Moses argued with God about going to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, saying he couldn’t speak. Gideon who was in hiding from the Midianite warriors couldn’t believe God was calling him a “mighty man of valor” when the angel appeared to him to show him how to overcome his enemies. Others throughout Scripture never thought they could do the tasks that God assigned to them, but they acted by faith that God was right. They trusted His word. We are no different. That’s why it’s called “faith.”

Read Hebrews chapter 11, what many call the “Hall of Faith. The chapter is full of examples, stories of great feats done by those in our past who chose to believe what God said and went on to accomplish great things. How do you think the teenager David had the courage to confront Goliath when the whole Israeli army was frightened away from engaging him? Because David had been spending his time out in the hills tending his sheep and communing with God, he got a vision of who he was on the inside that was bigger than the threats from Goliath. David knew the covenant promises of God with the Jewish people and had spent time mediating and worshipping God.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind

To agree with God’s word and close the door on doubting thoughts and the voice of the one who would seek to deter us from success, it is vital that we speak His promises out loud. We must transform our thought life. We do this mostly in our quiet time with God. We affirm His word in our lives by speaking it, and at the same time it will be established in our hearts. So to get you started, I will share a list of affirmations/prayers I use to establish my heart in the truth of what God says about me. These prayers are accompanied by the scripture references they are based on. I invite you to study the scriptures and use these affirmations along with me until they become real on the inside of you. The truth of God’s word must become real to us.

All scriptures are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. The God of the Universe dwells and makes His home inside of me. I carry His Presence with me wherever I go. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.

1 Corinthians 3:16,  “Don’t you  Know you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Colossians 1:27 “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.“

Galatians 2:20 The translation from the Aramaic language (Lamsa bible) says it this way:  “I am crucified with Christ: henceforth it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which now I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Notice the change of prepositions from the NKJV as well as most other versions that say “…I live by faith IN the Son of God…” The Passion Translation also uses the term “faith of the Son of God.” I believe both to be true, however, the use of the words “faith OF the Son of God” does change the meaning. 

Because I study His word and submit my life and every decision to Him, I have wisdom and understanding from Heaven. I study to show myself approved of God. As part of my submission to God’s will, I present my body to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. I do not conform to this world, but I am transformed by the renewing of my mind to think like God thinks.

2 Timothy 2:15 says to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly  dividing the word of truth.”

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore brethren, but the merices of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Romans 12:2 “And do not be transformed 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.”

I have His mind; I have His heart. He speaks to me as I study His word. His Spirit in my heart moves and prompts me to act on His behalf. He works in me to do His will. He has a plan for my life that only I can fulfill, so I must find out what that is. Only in His plan for my life will I find true fulfillment.

1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Philippines 2:13 “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct (make smooth or straight) your paths.“

I am His friend, so He reveals His plans and intentions to me if I am listening. He wants to tell me what His plans are so that I can partner in agreement with Him. If I draw near to Him, He draws near to me. He calls me His friend. The body of believers constitutes the body of Jesus Christ in the earth and this is how He gets things done. I am a part of that Body.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts, you doubleminded.”

John 15:14-15 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.“

I submit to God in all my ways and resist the devil; because I do that, the devil flees from me.

James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

God shows me things to come. He speaks the end from the beginning and lays out his purposes to me.

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.“

Isaiah 46:10 “I declare from the beginning how it will end and foretell from the start what has not yet happened. I decree that my purpose will stand, and I will fulfill My every plan.” The Passion Translation

I can do the same works that Jesus did, because He said I can. I am seated in the heavenly places with Him.

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I  say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses , made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

All authority was given to Jesus both in heaven and on the earth. He gives believers (that’s me!) this same authority to act in the earth on behalf of His Kingdom. We are ambassadors for Christ commissioned to represent Him and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 28::18-20 “And Jesus came and spoike to them, saying “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have dommanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.“

Because I keep God’s word in my mouth,  I shall have good success and prosper, Everything I put my hands to prospers and comes to maturity.

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.“

Psalm 1:1-3 (Excerpted) “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly…But his delight is in the law of the lord and in His law he mediates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water….whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper.”

These are just a few of declarations and prayers we can speak/pray to establish our hearts in the reality and truth of all that God wants and has for us, not only for the coming age, but also in the here and now. He has things for us to accomplish while we are in the earth that will cause His kingdom to grow and to flourish. Let’s find out what they are! No slacking!

Isaiah 9:7 “Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.