Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds. It is an intentional way to bring the desired result. In the same way, we can impact our future by attaching faith through declarations now. Enjoy this excerpt from my upcoming book, Fully Convinced: The Art of Decision Making. 

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).

We believe AND confess. Belief changes our identity (unto righteousness) and our confession is what changes our experience (salvation which literally means saved, healed, and delivered). They are both necessary. When we believe we are righteous, we will increasingly make righteous choices. 

We use our words to give life to the “dead things” we are feeling and experiencing. “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17). As we speak life, we will create life. Here are some examples:

• Today is a day of victory and breakthrough. 
• My prayers for my family are working. 
• God is meeting all my needs today. 
• This is going to be a powerful and productive meeting. 
• Many will get healed in tomorrow’s church service. 
• My marriage is experiencing breakthrough. 

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). We will experience good fruit tomorrow by speaking life today.

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). If we can control our words, we can control our lives.

“Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue . . .” (James 3:3-5). The tongue is the directing agent of our lives. Whatever we talk much about, we get pulled toward. Where do you want to be in five years? One of the main things to help you get there is to call that desire that does not currently exist as though it did. We won’t have something just by saying something, but saying something is necessary to having something. 

But I Don’t Want to Get Disappointed Again

There is mental warfare when we start considering declaring things higher than what we are feeling and experiencing. It is what happened to Gideon in Judges 6 when the angel told him, “God is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). He resisted the word and spouted off reasons why he could not get his hopes up for something better for himself and his nation. Like Gideon, our internal warfare usually centers around not wanting to be disappointed, so we lower our expectations to protect ourselves from this. 

Our negative strongholds hate hope. When we ask the question, “What do I need to believe to have hope in my life, or in this area of my life?”, we are setting ourselves up to get revelations of the truths that will demolish these strongholds (overcoming the self-limiting, hope-hindering beliefs creating these fortresses in our thinking). 

Yes, there is a risk of being disappointed again when we think about getting our hopes up, but consider this, there are two ways we can live. We can live a hopeless life and never be disappointed, or we can live a hope-filled life with occasional disappointment. It is this second option that has life in it. It has been said that faith is spelled RISK. Those who succeed most also seem to fail most. Courage, by its very definition, implies there is risk involved in what we are being courageous about. And, in this chapter, as we are focusing on attaching faith to who we are and what we do, it takes courage to declare things higher than what we are feeling or experiencing.

Good Sports Teams Are Not Pessimistic Before a Game

Let me say again that when we attach faith to who we are and what we do, we will experience energy, cheerfulness, and power. 

Here’s how this practically works for me. Most mornings when I wake up, I say words like these, “This is going to be a great day. This is a day of victory and breakthrough. This will be my best day yet spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, and in seeing prayers answered.” When I say this, it usually does not feel true in any way. Some would say that I should not say such words in the morning, but I should wait until the day is over and then use my words to describe what my day was like. This may sound logical, but it is not the thinking of world-changers. We are not called to primarily use our words to describe our lives but to change our lives.

“Steve, what if you say it is going to be the best day of your life, and then it is not the best day of your life, and it is a really bad day?” This is a great question. In answering this, let’s consider what good athletes do in the locker room before an important game. They do not tolerate pessimism, passivity, and players saying things like this: “I really don’t want to be here. I hope we don’t lose too badly. Let’s just try not to get hurt. I cannot wait for this game to get over so we can go have some fun.” If they have a good coach, they have been prepared for the game by building strength and endurance, sharpening their skills, understanding their individual roles, and having a plan to address the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent. These are important ways to prepare, but there is one more needed ingredient for success. The players need to be passionate, inspired, and energized. This vital component is created primarily through motivational words spoken by the coaches and players.

We not only need a good plan and a strong skill set, but we also need a fire burning on the inside of us to do great things and make a difference. This is what I try to do in the morning. As I wake up, I imagine myself in a locker room before a game or match. I speak words of victory over myself and my day. When I speak these things, I usually don’t feel what I am saying, but the moment I start attaching faith to the day through my declarations, I start feeling cheerful and energized (even if it is a very small change at first). I am my own coach, and I am learning to inspire myself.

“But Steve, you have not answered the question yet. What if you say it is going to be a great day and it is not? Aren’t you just lying?” Well, what do athletes do when they speak victory and success before a game but still lose? Do they say, “That did not work. Let’s be more pessimistic before the next game.” No, they realize that to experience increased victory, they will go through a process - a process that includes defeating negative mindsets about themselves and about their team. They are on a journey of transforming a losing culture into a winning culture. When I speak victory but experience defeat, I realize it is a process for me as well. I will keep getting better in how I do things, how I connect with people, and how I understand my opponent, but I am going to prioritize growing in being enthusiastic and victorious internally. Truly, the pathway to success is to become successful on the inside when I don’t look successful on the outside. Losing is not a failure, but it is an opportunity to learn and grow stronger in my mind. 

Seeding the Clouds of Our Future

Just like an athlete, we can inspire ourselves through declaring victory and excellence, but we can also create a better future with our faith-filled words - seeding the clouds of our future. Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds. I like to imagine a cloud over future events and future seasons in my life. Unfortunately, in the past, I would seed these clouds with negative thinking and negative words. Then when I began learning about how my negativity was self-sabotaging my future, I began to realize I needed to seed my future positively through my thoughts and words. Declarations are a great way to do this. 

The Declaration Clicker

I have a goal to make at least 700 declarations a week (averaging 100+ a day). To help me do this, I have what I call a declaration clicker by my coffee pot in the morning. It helps me remember my locker room analogy, and I start right then, early in the morning, speaking faith-filled words to myself out loud. The clicker is a tally counter that you click for every declaration made. So I wake up in the morning and make my beginning declarations and then carry the declaration clicker with me throughout the day. It helps me attach faith to who I am and what I am doing.

Some of the most important declarations we make are concerning our commitments, assignments, and upcoming events and activities on our calendars. Here are examples of declarations that attach faith to these: 

• Tomorrow is going to be an incredible day. 
• 2023 is going to be the best year of my life spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, and in my influence. 
• My time with my family this weekend will cause a long-lasting blessing for generations to come. 
• The promises of God will manifest exponentially next month. 
• My sleep tonight will have supernatural dreams and wonderful rest. 
• The church service I will attend today will be our best one yet. 
• My 10 AM meeting with _________ will radically impact both our lives and have a 300 year impact on this city. 
• My relationship with my spouse this week will be absurdly good. 
• This week is a week of breakthrough in my emotions, relationships, finances, and influence. 
• This will be the best week for me at work ever.
• The conversations I have this month with my family will have an implausible positive influence on our relationships. 
• Every attack and every demonic assignment this month will not have any effect on me. 
• Tomorrow, my kingdom influence will be greater than it has ever been. 
• This prayer time with the Lord will be astonishing. 
• When I walk into this room, everything changes. Every hopeless situation ceases to exist. 

When we attach faith to what we are doing with declarations like these, we will find something wonderful happening in and through us. This is a major part of applying what I believe the Lord told me years ago, “Steve, instead of waiting to do something great, why don’t you attach great faith to what you are doing now and it will become great.” We don’t have to wait for IT to happen, we can make IT happen. We can positively seed the clouds of our future. Now let’s go do it. Eternity will be glad we did.