I am, nevertheless, concerned that many Christians who claim to declare “what the Bible promises” aren’t really declaring things that the Bible promises for them as individuals.

The Bible is not a List of Declarations

The Bible is not a God-given list of verses to declare over yourself. If it were, then why not declare over yourself

Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.” (Obadiah 1:2)?

Or why not declare over yourself,

You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths” (Psalm 88:6)?

Of course we wouldn’t declare such things over ourselves because they aren’t God’s promises to us. But all the good things written in the Bible aren’t always God’s promises to us either.

Context, Context, Context

We have to consider the meaning of each Bible verse in context to determine if it is a general promise, or if it is something that God intended for a particular person or group of people.

Consider, for example, the often quoted text from Jeremiah 29:11.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This verse is not a promise for each individual person. Instead, it was God’s promise specifically to Israel in the midst of their exile in Babylon. The Bible makes this clear just a few sentences earlier in verse 4. Moreover, it wasn’t even God’s promise for Israel for that very day, but for the future,  after “seventy years” of exile (verse 10). Yikes! Similarly, when it comes to our lives today, it is possible that God might actually be against a person for a time.

Like the above verse, we should not assume when God said, “I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children” (Leviticus 26:22), that this was God’s intent for every individual. Instead, the verses surrounding this one make clear that this was a warning for ancient Israel, should they choose to disobey God’s commandments.

We should not just decide to claim one verse and not the other simply because one makes us feel good. But we actually shouldn’t claim either of these verses, because God didn’t mean for us to claim either of them.

“ We should not just decide to claim one verse and not another simply because one makes us feel good.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we can’t apply Jeremiah 29:11 to our lives. BOTH Jeremiah 29:11 AND Leviticus 26:22 (and the rest of Scripture) are applicable to people today in some way. But we can’t just “claim” those verses without adequately considering what they meant in their original context.

Biblical Declarations

There actually isn’t a lot in the Bible about declaring things about ourselves. Instead we read of people declaring the praises of God: “I will declare that your love stands firm forever” (Psalm 89:2).

And yet, I do think there is some value in claiming or declaring over ourselves some of the general truths of Scripture, when they are properly understood as actually applying to us. We need to realize, though, that these declarations don’t make God act or do anything. By contrast, my concern is that many people who practice “declaring” things are actually trying to “decree” things—the former simply affirms what is already true, whereas the latter is a futile attempt to try to shape the future with one’s words.

“ There is value in declaring the truths of Scripture, when they are properly understood as actually applying to us.

Rather than changing our circumstances, legitimately biblical declarations are for our own benefit. They are a means of replacing falsehood with truth, they are a way we can encourage ourselves, and they can serve as of a means of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

10 Scriptures You Can Legitimately Declare Over Yourself

All this being said, here are 10 Scriptures you can justifiably declare over yourself if you are a Christian:

1. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
2. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
3. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
4. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)
5. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
6. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
7. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
8. “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
9. “But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (James 4:6)
10. “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)

One thing strikes me as I read these verses. If these realities and promises are true, then I really don’t even need to declare them (even though there is nothing wrong with that). And I certainly don’t need to decree them (not that I could). Instead, I could just thank God for these things. And thankful, we should be.

Give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Is God For You…Not Against You?
• Should Christians Declare or Decree Things over Their Lives?
• How to Break Generational Curses

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

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