“… I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.” Psalm 73:28
When members of a family are aware that God is a spirit and that they are spirits, then they learn that they can live spiritually. With the Holy Spirit as their guide, they learn to pray, to worship, and to study and apply the truth of God’s Word. With the Holy Spirit as their empowerment, they learn to minister and to live spiritually. With the conviction of the Holy Spirit they stay solid in what is of God and they stay on track with God regarding with spiritual matters.
Another spiritual function of a believer is to declare the promises of God with the anticipation of receiving the promises of God. When you declare who God is, you are making Him known. When you declare what God does, you are manifesting or reveal His power and ability. When you declare or speak out His promises, you are taking it as yours. For example, when God said, “I am the Lord your healer,” you can boldly proclaim, “God is my healer!” When you proclaim or declare something, you acknowledge what you believe and affirm that you receive it.
The Bible is filled with examples of men and women of God that declared not only what God had done; but also what God would do:
The psalmist sang, “I shall not die, but live (Psalm 118:17).”
The three Hebrew young men said, “…He (God) will deliver us from your hand, O king (Daniel 3:17).”
Abraham said, “…the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you (Genesis 22:5).”
Jesus said to Martha, “… Your brother will rise again (John 11:23).”
Joshua said to the people, “… Shout, for the Lord has given you the city (Joshua 6:16)!”
Jesus told us in Mark 11:23 that if we speak to a mountain and tell it to move, it would move. Once we know the will of God, we can declare it for our lives. As the originator of the family unit, God has purpose for families, and He has promises for families. As families, we can make declarations of God’s promises for our family. We can pray over our spouse, our parents, our children, and our family, believing God’s promises and speaking what we believe.
Application: Part of the function of a family is to raise children to know the Lord. Include them in prayer and teach them to speak God’s promises over their lives.