You have a calling and a destiny! The promises of God throughout the Bible didn’t stop being yours when you went through a divorce, despite what church leadership or well-meaning Christians may have said. Your destiny does not stop because you are divorced!
After my divorce, I asked myself, “Who am I without my husband? Who am I without being in ministry with my spouse?” I spent over two decades as a partner in marriage and ministry. Who I thought I was and who I was married to was intricately knitted with what I did in ministry. So, when I no longer had that marital relation‐ ship, I felt lost.
Ministry leaders told me divorce would end my days in ministry. This felt like a death sentence and my divorce certificate were grave clothes. I knew at an early age that I was called to ministry; so, I couldn’t understand how this one terrible experience in my faith- journey could end it all. But I refused to accept that spoken curse. Instead, I learned to “ght back with the Word of God, praying over myself and declaring the truth of my identity and destiny. This, and a good Christian therapist, were the only way I could rise above the words and judgements of other Christians.
I had some experience “praying the Word” over myself and my family. In the church circles I traveled in, it was commonplace to pray out loud and even pray the Bible out loud. So when I started praying specific scriptures about my identity in Christ OVER myself, out loud, it took on abundant life. I actually, spiritually and emotion‐ ally, took ownership of God’s love letters to me. It was as if He was speaking these scriptures directly over me. They became a personal love letter from God to me as I declared them aloud over myself.
There is power in praying the Word of God! The Bible is full of promises and truth about our destiny and identity. We have the right to claim each one as His children. When we pray and declare aloud the Word of God, we are speaking His Truth into and over our lives and situations. By doing this, we replace whining and complaining by proclaiming God-breathed Truth over our circumstances. This changes us from the inside out. As we pray the Word, we are wielding a powerful weapon against the enemy. And sometimes that enemy is the lie we believe about ourselves or what others say about us. When we declare God’s Word, we declare His truth and power over circumstances. These prayers and declarations literally push back the darkness. It is written…
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)
This scripture is one of my favorites! The Bible isn’t a bunch of encouraging words. It is the nature of God in written form. This is power! It is a living and powerful weapon, and until you lean into it and live it, you don’t know how powerful a weapon it is. I have seen this scripture lived out in my life and countless others’ lives! When you pray or declare the Word of God—partnered with faith—it is unstoppable. But the key here is “with faith.”
God’s Word will heal you, transform you, deliver you, and ignite you. But you need to wield this sword with faith in the One who wrote it for you. In my free ebook “Who Am I After Divorce” there are many scriptures and encouragement to jump-start this transformative journey. It is my prayer that as you pray these scriptures over your life, you will find the strength to climb out of the pit of despair, shed those grave clothes and live again!
If you have never prayed or declared the Word over yourself or your loved ones, there are several ways to do this. For inspiration or instruction, you can:
- Download my free ebook, Who Am I After Divorce. This is packed with scriptures to pray over yourself with short lessons and encouragement on how to do that.
- Listen to Podcast #34, The Power of Praying Scripture. You can listen on Apple Podcasts here, or on my website here.