The Discerner: Creating A Culture Of Wisdom And FaithSample

Powerful Proclamations

Let us look at one other essential component of a culture of wisdom and faith: the power of proclamation. From prayerful proclamation to prophetic proclamation, our faith culture expands and grows deeper roots as God’s truth is announced to listening ears. Most fundamentally, we proclaim God’s greatness:

For I proclaim the name of the Lord: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:3–4 NKJV)

Always remember, we are not praying and proclaiming toward victory—we are praying and proclaiming from a place of victory. There is authentic power in prophetic revelations when we proclaim them within the church community and to the world. As God’s people, we know the Lord, and we know our Shepherd’s voice. The God who created communication in all its forms is perfectly capable of making Himself understood; He speaks to each of us in ways that we not only can pick up on, but also comprehend. He knows how to speak the language of your soul, and He will give you a song to sing to the world.

You and I, who carry God’s Spirit, can proclaim the good news of salvation wherever we go. In a culture of wise faith, after addressing proclamations to God Himself, extolling His greatness, we rise up and declare freedom for the people who walk in darkness—freedom from the spiritual powers of wickedness. Let’s look again at this passage from Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1–3 NASB)

Our bold and faith-filled proclamations change the spiritual atmosphere, suffusing it with God’s light and presence. We’re not people who just bide our time, staying out of trouble and waiting to escape this troubled world. Instead, we bring God’s presence right into the world around us, proclaiming His lordship and supremacy and love. We reach out and we intercede. We break bondages and deliver people from captivity.

The whole time, we who dwell in God’s safe place rejoice in His greatness, goodness, and love. We can say that we have seen the Lord with our own eyes because we have discerned Him at work in so many places, not the least of which is our own hearts.