There is such thing as a positive and negative confession. When we positively confess, we are believing that God has the power to make something happen. However, when we negatively confess, we are believing that something bad will come to pass. This is what the twelve spies sent to survey the promised land did in the Old Testament. One representative from each of the twelve tribes of Israel was sent to the survey (spy) out the land and most of them returned with a negative confession that the land was inhabited by giants and they were fearful of possessing the land.

This land was the land of Canaan where the Canaanites and the Amalekites lived.  God promised them a land where they would live once they were fully delivered from Egypt. However, when the spies returned from the mission, they began to tell the tribes what they saw or perceived to be impossible. From this time, the tribes became fearful and angry at God for “bringing them out to Egypt to be destroyed.”

This angered God because of two actions that were taking place. First, the action of speaking negatively from ten of the twelve spies caused fear and doubt among the people, and second, there were the fearful thoughts and acceptance of failure from the rest of the tribes from what they heard.  God began to chastise them in a way that revealed to them that they were not ready to enter the promised land because of their failure to believe solely in Him for all things. It may have been ok for them to be fearful, but they were terrified and started to forget God’s plan and His power in their lives up to this point. How many times can we say that we were like the twelve tribes and fully doubted God’s plan for us? Even when we’ve known how much greater God was in our circumstances? Were we willing to turn our backs on God or did we do another thing? Did we try to manifest our own will in the situation by declaring and decreeing a positive outcome, did we speak over a situation and look for the manifestation to happen?

These things are all ungodly and should not be something to play with. We must be like the remaining two spies that returned back to the tribes and believed that with God all things are possible. They believed fully without hesitation or feelings of speaking or declaring victory over their circumstances; they believed that the God whom they have trusted and relied on all this time will be with them as they enter and subdue the land.

As believers in Christ, it is important that our hearts and minds are always trusting and believing in God’s plan and will for us. However, this does not mean taking on an occultist mentality about a situation; we must believe that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Finally, it is up to us to discontinue teaching people to speak over something and declare and decree something. Only God has the power to grant us victory over all things seen or unseen.

DEFINITIONS:

Manifest- readily perceived by the senses and especially by the sense of sight

Manifestation- an occult phenomenon specifically: MATERIALIZATION

Speak- to express thoughts, opinions, or feelings orally

Think- to exercise the powers of judgment, conception, or inference

  Numbers 14 | Proverbs 16:3 |Proverbs 18:21 | Proverbs 30:32 | James 1:19 | Ephesians 4:29 | Colossians 1:15-18