Proclaim

Exodus 9:16 NIV But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Our words matter. That is not some ‘name it and claim it’ theology but the truth of Scripture. How we speak, when we speak, and what words we choose to use affect our own physical and spiritual lives—and the lives of those around us.

Words have a profound impact, either for good or for harm. When we choose to speak words that align with the Word of God, life is produced. Paul stated this declaration as the foundation of salvation and a life of faith: “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” We are commanded to declare with our mouths.

But to proclaim or declare the promises and purposes of God is more than just speaking, repeating, or reciting them. It is defined as speaking emphatically, with determination and conviction; it is a formal announcement of undeniable truth. It comes from a Latin word that means to shout forth. How was Jericho defeated? With a shout, declaring Israel’s total obedience and reliance on the Lord. How did Gideon defeat the Midianites? With a shout, proclaiming God as victorious.

When Jesus announced his earthly mission, he stood and read what Isaiah had prophesied 700 years earlier. He declared as truth, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Isaiah 61:1-2). He proclaimed three things: good news, freedom for prisoners, and God’s favor as the new reality.

Jesus was demonstrating that the greatest evidence of a spirit-filled life is not what you do but what you say. He later said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, whatever you are filled with will eventually come out of your mouth. Words are the most powerful force held by each of us. Our words possess the “power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21), and “rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Proverbs 16:24 states, “Nothing is more appealing than speaking beautiful, life-giving words. For they release sweetness to our soul and inner healing to our spirit.”

The primary way God releases His power and authority is by speaking. He commands, declares, and decrees, and when He does, His words release power, life, blessings, judgments, and of course, they create. With His words, God created all that exists (Genesis 1; John 1), and with the power of His words, He holds the universe together—working as He intended (Hebrews 1:3). Declaring the truth of God’s word is also the primary way we can release God’s power and authority in our own lives.

As we pray, we are to proclaim who God is: our provider, our healer, faithful, merciful, forgiving, full of compassion, and the lover of your soul. We are to proclaim who we are in Christ: united with Him through Jesus, His child and friend, redeemed, forgiven, and seated with Him in heavenly places. We are to proclaim His promises: providing everything we need for life and godliness, withholding no good thing from us, providing forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him, peace, joy, and more. Psalm 71:16 tells us, “I will come and proclaim your mighty acts; I will proclaim your righteous deeds.” Proclaiming the truth of God’s Word will empower your prayers and bring forth heaven’s answer.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

1 Chronicles 16:24 NIV Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

1 John 1:5 NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Psalms 19:1-2 NIV The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

Romans 10:9-10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

1 Peter 2:9 NIV But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Isaiah 12:4 NIV In that day you will say: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.

Psalms 2:7 NIV I will declare the Lord’s decree: He said to me, You are my son; today I have become your father.

Psalms 22:22 NLT I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.

Psalms 40:5 NIV Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Psalms 73:28 NKJV But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works.

Psalms 75:1 NKJV We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

Acts 15:4 ESV When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

Acts 20:27 ESV I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Psalm 118:17 AMP I shall not die but live, and shall declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.

Jeremiah 51:10 ESV The Lord has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

Joel 1:14 NIV Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

1 John 1:1-3 NIV That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.