We are increasingly being asked questions on 'Positive
Confession,' the 'prosperity gospel' and
'Word-faith.'
Prayers were
requested for certain people to be healed on a website. Some very
warm and encouraging e mails were received, but one was a little
unusual. Why? Because the sender upheld the 'Positive Confession'
teaching of certain within the so-called 'Word of Faith'
movement.
This particular e mail rebuked those who called for
prayers. Here is a quotation from it:
" I think you should go now and take the authority the LORD
has given you and rebuke that cancer. Who's report do you
believe, anyway? You/We have to believe the report of the LORD
and he is still in the miracle working business and he is still
the same yesterday, today and forever. GOD/JESUS raised the dead
then and he shall and will do it again he is still working today.
Now you fast if you have to be specific and ask the LORD to heal
her. He did not say it is your Aunt's last days, the doctors did
and the final word comes from the LORD - trust him. Now I agree
with you in the name of the LORD and savior JESUS CHRIST that
both your Aunts are healed. Now take the power and authority the
LORD has given you use it he loves us to have faith so there you
go get violent and take both your Aunts back by force. He will
never disappoint you never. He is love and you are love. So let
go and let GOD now."
This aggressive response to calls for prayers for the
sick to be healed is full of the influence of 'Word-faith' and
the 'Positive Confession' teaching.
According to this teaching, WE OURSELVES HAVE TREMENDOUS POWER
TOFORCE GOD TO ACT, JUST AS LONG AS WE ARE UTTERLY
POSITIVE, DOGMATIC, AND ONE MIGHT SAY, DICTATORIAL AND DEMANDING
TOWARDS GOD!
But do we find that the men and women of faith whose lives are
recorded in the Scriptures, prayed in this sort of manner?
Has God ever given cast-iron promises that the sick will
ALWAYS be healed?? If He has, why did people like the
apostle Paul apparently not understand this? For Paul states
quite clearly that the Lord did not heal his 'thorn in the
flesh', even though he petitioned the Lord three times to do so
(More on that later).
Indeed, if this teaching is correct, one might well ask how
ANY righteous people of God EVER died ??!!
We will now consider some examples from the Bible to see whether
the Bible records 'positive confession' (which is really faith
in the dynamic power of our own words) as the best vehicle
for prayer, or whether the biblical record upholds faith in the
perfect will of God (even when it does not concur with our will)
as the best approach to prayer.
I am going to take a few examples of the prayers of God's people
to see whether we find 'positive confession' employed.
1. David's Prayer For His Baby.
Reading 2 Samuel 12:15-23, we find David petitioning the Lord to
heal the stricken baby who was born as a result of his adulterous
affair with Bathsheba.
David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David
fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground'
(Verse 16)
David was grief-stricken as all of us would be; in great sorrow,
he pleaded with the Lord for the small child. But did he use
'positive confession'? Did he say, 'I rebuke this illness in the
name of the Lord. God is a miracle-working God and I claim
the healing miracle right here and now!'?? No! There is no
indication of that, rather a recognition that while he should
fast and pray for the child, God's will in the matter would be
just.
'Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have
done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but
when the child died, you arose and ate food."
So he said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept;
for I said, Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me,
that the child may live? But now he is dead; why should I fast?
Can I bring him back again?..."'
(Verses 21-23)
Please notice that David had wept for the little child while
petitioning the Lord. But today's 'positive confession' people
would say, weeping is negative - just claim the sick back! David
recognised God's sovereignty in the matter, so when the child
died, he accepted God's will. David had not utilised a demanding,
dictatorial, 'I claim healing' approach toward God.
Conclusion?
David did not employ 'positive confession'!
2. The Widow's Son.
1 Kings 17:17-24 records the incident of the widow's son:
'Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman
who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious
that there was no breath left in him'
(Verse 17)
The woman was obviously deeply grieved about this, but what was
Elijah's reaction? Did he employ 'positive confession' for the
boy? Did he 'claim' him back? Or did he simply plead with God for
healing?
'The he cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, have
You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by
killing her son?"
And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried
out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, I pray, let this
child's soul come back to him."'
(Verses 20-21)
Well, as we know, God heard and the child was healed. Why did
Elijah 'stretch himself out upon the child' three times? We can't
be sure. Maybe it was an attempt at resucitation, maybe it was
because the child was so cold, but Elijah urgently
petitioned the Lord for healing!! Did he 'claim him' back
in a demanding and dictatorial fashion? Did he say, 'It is just a
lack of faith to consider this illness, I am just boldly claiming
him back'? There is absolutely no evidence of that. Elijah knew
that his own words had no power of themselves, except that they
might reach to heaven and petition the sovereign God for
healing!
Conclusion?
Elijah did not employ 'positive confession'!
3. Paul's 'Thorn in the Flesh'
Now, of course, Paul never exactly spelled out precisely what his
'thorn in the flesh' was; but there seems little doubt that it
was some kind of recurring illness. Lets consider the relevant
Scripture:
'And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance
of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure.
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it
might depart from me.
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I
will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong'
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Now we should notice that the 'health, wealth and prosperity'
teaching is completely absent here! Here we have the New
Testament teaching of steadfastness and patience in adversity,
and of being prepared to 'bear one's cross with Christ'. In
complete contrast to this the 'positive confession' people tell
us that we don't need to have trials and difficulties, but if we
do, it must mean that we lack faith!
So, regarding Paul's recurring illness, or 'infirmity', did he
rebuke the illness in the name of the miracle-working God? Or did
he petition and plead with the Lord to allow the healing which
only He could?
The answer should already be very clear to us - Paul did not
see any inherent 'power' in any words which he might have uttered
(however positively!), rather Paul says,
'Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times
that it might depart from me'
Paul knew that he had to fully rely on God alone! He knew that
ONLY GOD could heal!
So is it being suggested that this great servant of God was
unaware of so-called 'positive confession'??
Conclusion?
Paul did not employ 'positive confession'!
What About Exodus 32?
One Word-faith teacher claimed that Moses employed 'positive
confession' when the Lord threatened to blot out Israel and start
a new nation through Moses after the Golden Calf incident in
Exodus 32. But does this chapter really depict 'positive
confession'??
The account can be located in Exodus 32:8-14. Turn there.
Did Moses really 'claim' Israel when God threatened to blot them
out? Did he employ dynamic and positive words which
(according to the 'positive confession' people), required
God to act for Moses? Or did Moses frankly PLEAD for God
not to destroy Israel in full recognition of God's complete
jurisdiction and sovereignty of choice in the matter?
We don't have to go too far into the text to find the
answer:
'Then Moses PLEADED with the Lord his God, and said:
"Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You
have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a
mighty hand?"
(Exodus 32:11, my emphasis)
So we see that, as in all the examples which we have considered,
the heroes of faith within the Word of God did not use 'positive
confession' when they found an urgent need for prayer. Rather,
they threw themselves upon the Lord's mercy and pleaded for His
compassion. They recognised God as supremely sovereign and
all-powerful and held absolutely no concept of the 'Word-faith'
scenario of the positive, demanding words and actions of human
beings placing God in a position in which He is required
to act to conform to any such expressed "claimed
confessions"!!
The concept that we can manipulate God to give us the 'good
things' of life originates in concepts which are occultic. The
root idea is that we too are 'gods' and so our words too have
great power - this went from the occult into New Age, and from
New Age straight into the 'Word of faith' movement.
So an occultic concept has now infected large areas of
Christianity through this route.
But - for our part - let us separate ourselves from the works of
the flesh and Satan and hold on to the vital purity of the gospel
of Jesus Christ!
Robin A. Brace
2003
© This article is Copyright Robin A.
Brace 2003. If you want it on your own website please do the
honourable thing and come to us for permission first. It is
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