Dick Leggatt, President of Derek Prince Ministries – USA and this comprises his October 10, 2014 Newsletter. Click here to receive the Derek Prince Ministries emailed E-devotional.

 

Have you discovered the power of proclamation in your life and family? Are there some specific Scriptures you regularly declare for yourself, your family, your community and your nation? Is this an area in which God is inspiring you in a greater way?

Proclamation has at least two phases. First, we practice scriptural declarations in “our own backyard” — personal issues right next to us. Then, proclamation becomes an extension of prophetic influence beyond our immediate sphere. It is meant to transform not only you and me, but the world around us as well.

Derek Prince strongly believed in the power of proclamation. Unfortunately, far too few of us actually utilize this “secret weapon” to its fullest potential. Hopefully what we cover in this letter can help to improve that situation for you and me.

A Powerful Discovery

During a recent phone conversation with a longtime supporter of Derek Prince Ministries, I rediscovered a precious truth. The caller that day had given a detailed description of a trying situation facing her family and their ministry. The list was long: opposition from their community, betrayal by former friends, criticism of their work, nasty coverage in the local media. Obviously, they were facing a firestorm of persecution.

Honestly, the description of what they were facing was so overwhelming that I found myself struggling to respond in an optimistic way. Just as discouragement was washing over me, the Lord emphatically brought to mind some words from the Beatitudes. Immediately, I broke into the conversation: “We need to proclaim this Scripture right now!” With great emphasis (the walls may have rattled a bit) I declared Matthew 5:11 on their behalf: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” It wasn’t an expression of hope for a future result; it was a declaration of a present reality. I was proclaiming the promised blessing that was theirs right at that moment because of the persecution they faced.

A Personal Discovery

This conversation was a transforming moment for me (and possibly for the person on the other end of the line, as well). By proclamation, we were immediately applying a truth from the Word of God to the here and now, rather than some abstract future moment. In a dynamic way, that experience reminded me again of the power of proclamation.

Many years prior to this conversation, I had experienced the reality of this truth—on a very practical, gut-wrenching level—during one of the most stressful times of my life. Without going into great detail, it was at a time when I had made a career change that brought immense personal pressure upon me, including nightly anxiety attacks.

Being by nature a rather positive, upbeat individual, I had never been one to battle with fear, depression or anxiety. Yet here I was — for months on end, waking every night at around 2:00 a.m. covered in cold sweat, gasping for breath due to anxiety. How was I to handle such a situation?

The answer I discovered for that crisis was the practice of proclaiming God’s Word. At every attack of night terror, I would declare Philippians 4:6-7 over and over again: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Again and again I would proclaim that Scripture — sometimes for an hour or longer — until I got tired enough to go back to sleep. This routine went on for months. But in the midst of it, I discovered something about the power of proclamation: it works! The peace of God did in fact guard my heart and mind through the power of Jesus Christ.

A Strong Word

This idea of declaring God’s Word certainly didn’t originate with me. I learned it from our dear, departed mentor, Derek Prince.

Derek modeled this practice of proclamation about as well as anyone I ever knew. His teaching on this vital principle continues to be extremely helpful, as you will see from the following excerpt from his message, “The Power of Proclamation.”

Now let me say a little bit about the word proclamation, or the verb “to proclaim.” It comes actually from a Latin word which means “to shout forth.” It’s a strong word.

There are two related words in the language of the New Testament: confession or “to confess,” and proclamation or “to proclaim.” Now confess or confession means “to say the same as.” And for us as believers in the Bible, confession means that we say the same with our mouths as God has already said in His Word. We make the words of our mouth agree with the Word of God. And in that way we line ourselves up to receive the full backing and authority of Jesus….

Now proclamation is, as it were, confession made aggressive.

Proclamation is, in a sense, a word of spiritual warfare. It is releasing the authority of God’s Word into a situation: into our own lives, into the life of the church, into a political situation, whatever it may be.

There are countless different situations that need the power of God released into them. And there is no more effective way to release the power of God into a situation — whether it’s your own life, your family, your church, your nation, whatever it may be — than proclamation.

Taking Further Steps

In that last sentence, Derek introduced a topic that can be a helpful platform for our next steps. He talked about utilizing the principle of proclamation in regard to prayer for our nation.

As you read this letter, there is a little less than one month remaining before the upcoming elections. In anticipation of that event, we are providing a specific declaration authored by Derek Prince on the topic of national elections. (All complimentary downloads are available via the link at the end of this letter.) We hope this pattern prayer is a helpful tool for you. In receiving it, would you be open to responding to a challenge as Election Day approaches?

Here is our question: will you commit yourself to proclaim this pattern prayer on a daily basis from today until Election Day? It could have a tremendous impact. Then, move beyond the political focus, using this daily practice as a springboard for additional prayers and declarations about matters of personal concern to you. Begin by praying for our nation, certainly — but then make declarations regarding your family, your work and your life in general. You may even want to select a particular promise from the Bible to proclaim and apply to your specific situation (like the passage I found to battle anxiety).

This routine could become a very powerful tool for you, establishing a pattern you can employ from this time onward. Are you willing to take this step?

Willing to Proclaim

If you desire to move more boldly into the practice of proclamation and if you are willing to accept the challenge issued above, now is the time to express that desire to the Lord. You and I can do that by joining together in the following prayer:

Lord, I want to strengthen this area of proclamation in my life. I know that spiritual victories, heretofore unclaimed, await me as I give greater attention to this matter of proclamation and prayer.

Lord Jesus, please help me move into this important area. Show me how to be bold without being presumptuous. Lead me to passages from Your Word that I can declare with Your endorsement. Strengthen me to push beyond an acceptance of the status quo into an expectation of Your supernatural intervention as I make declarations in line with Your will for me.

I am thanking You in advance for the changes and miracles I will see. I commit myself today to step more fully into this area of spiritual development. As I do so, I make this proclamation: “the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever.” I trust you completely, Lord. Amen.

A Brand New Role

The impact of what you and I have just prayed may surprise us in the days ahead. It will affect the future for you, your family and the nation. Changes will come because you and I have offered ourselves to be used more fully by the Lord in a brand new way, releasing His supernatural power — not only on a personal level, but in a corporate sense as well.

That combination of proclamation and prayer on a personal as well as national level takes a good bit of wisdom—a perfect reason for us to provide some helpful teaching for you. As an adjunct to the excerpt we used earlier, we want to offer you a free message by Derek Prince that covers the prayer side of the equation: “Good Government through Prayer.” Simply click here to download the message.

In this marvelous teaching, Derek combines a study of scriptural principles of prayer with amazing testimonies from his own experience. The teaching also ends with a call to action similar to the one in this letter, reinforcing the step you have already taken.

Proclaim and Pray!

We want to encourage you in any way possible, and one of those ways is through the materials we can make available. Please make sure to take us up on our offer. It is just one small way for us to thank you for your devoted involvement with DPM. We are so grateful for your continuing prayers, your communication with us, and your generous financial contributions. You are a tremendous blessing to us, and we want to express our thanks to you in tangible form.

Now it’s time for all of us to take up the challenge issued in this letter. Never doubt that as you proclaim and pray, the world around you will be impacted in an eternal way.

Please know that as you voice your declarations and prayers for yourself, your family and our nation, we are standing with you. May the Lord Jesus receive all the glory and honor for the answers that result from us joining together in proclamation and prayer!

All the best,

Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

 

P.S. We simply can’t thank you enough for your prayers and your support. Click here to download the proclamation “Prayer for Local and National Elections,” as well as the full version of Derek’s message, “Good Government through Prayer.” Please be sure to let us know how you have been helped by this teaching.

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Materials used by kind permission of Derek Prince Ministries.