“Prophetic Decrees” | Dreaming Beneath the Spires
I went to a conference in Oxford today taught by Patricia Bootsma and encountered the idea of Prophetic Decrees.
She and her husband had received many prophecies about speaking, prophesying, pastoring, going to the nations, but he remained a bank manager in a tiny Canadian town, and she a home-maker. She was dissatisfied.
One day, she felt God say, “What are you doing about the prophecies?”
“Complaining that they aren’t fulfilled,” she said honestly.
“Start calling forth and proclaiming your prophecies,” God said. “Believe them, decree them.”
Revelation poured into her spirit. The prophecies over her life were conditional upon her response.
It was not right for her to sit idly by, merely hoping and waiting for them to happen. She had a role to play in the fulfilment of God’s words over her life.
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Two Essential Steps Towards Prophetic Fulfillment
1 Faith—Blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfilment of the things which were told her from the Lord
We enter the door of fulfilled prophecy initially by believing what the Lord says is true, even when circumstances argue the opposite. Agreement of our mind, heart and beliefs with the words from the Lord creates a womb in which those dreams are nurtured until their birthing.
2 Additionally, our words are powerful catalysts or deterrent to prophecies being fulfilled.
Patricia writes “When the Lord spoke to my spirit to decree my prophecies, I did not realise the power of declaration until I witnessed its results.”
She began marching around her home, speaking forth those prophecies.
Within six months, they had entered full-time ministry at the Toronto Airport Fellowship. “I saw first-hand how to get prophetic words off the shelf, and into reality by partnering with the Lord through declarations.”
“Prophecy is intended to encourage you to build a life pleasing to the Lord, to prosper, and to fulfil your destiny.”
The Weight of Words
Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
Our words can determine the course of our lives.
We have the power to build up or tear down our spouses by the words we say about them.
How do we overcome evil? “By the blood of the lamb, and the word of their testimony!” Rev 12:11.
Our words influence those around us to walk in greater victory or defeat. Constant belittling or pointing out faults causes discouragement, which weakens the spirit and only makes matters worse.
Our negative words not only affect the listener, but the one who speaks them. Jesus says, “It’s not what goes into the mouth which defiles but what comes out” (Matt. 15:11). James speaks of the ability of the tongue to defile and corrupt our whole being (James 3:6). We actually discourage ourselves when we speak negatively.
Prophetic decrees: Speaking in agreement with God. We do this by filling our minds with the truth of God’s word, both Scripture (logos) and the rhema words spoken to us prophetically.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
The Hebrew word translated “meditate” is hagah, “to reflect, to ponder aloud to oneself.” Regular repetition of key Scriptures and prophetic words creates a womb for birthing those words in our lives and ministries.
How did God create the world? He spoke and the emptiness shone with light.
Similarly, when we begin to declare with faith the words of God, things shift, circumstances change, and obstacles come into alignment with his will. We are “to call those things which do not exist as though they did,” and to speak to the mountain (any obstacle) to be removed (Matt. 17:20).
Bill Johnson, “Nothing happens in the Kingdom unless there is first a declaration.”
Our Children and Prophetic Decrees
She prays the Prayer of Jabez over her children, “Oh that you would bless Zoe and Irene indeed and enlarge their territories, that you hand may be upon them, that they may be free from pain.”
She speaks words like “May you be the head and not the tail. May you grow in wisdom and stature, and in favour with man and God.”
She says her children have lived up to the life-giving proclamations.
Patricia’s directions for designing decrees
1 Regularly (preferably daily) declare words of life over yourself, your family members and loved ones.
2 Be consistent
3 Be brief—summarize it in a sentence or two.
4 Ensure the decrees are consistent with Scripture and according to the nature of God.
She prays, “I live in perpetual, intimate communion with the Lord, and have peace. His presence is always with me.” (Matt. 28:20 and Phil 4:7).
