Prayer or Presumption? The Orthodox Doctrine of Prayer Versus Modern ‘Decreeing and Declaring'
By: Bishop Stephen
Prayer, in the Orthodox tradition, is not a technique of influence but a participation in divine communion. It is the ascent of the heart to God, the joining of our will to His, and the sanctification of the soul through continual remembrance of His presence. To pray, in the Orthodox understanding, is to enter into relationship—not transaction; to be transformed—not to transform God.
Yet in many modern Evangelical circles, one increasingly encounters teachings about “decreeing and declaring” as a form of prayer—asserting spiritual authority over circumstances, pronouncing outcomes into being, or “speaking things into existence.” These movements, often influenced by the “Word of Faith” or “New Apostolic Reformation” theology, are founded upon a radically different understanding of God, man, and prayer itself. The Orthodox Church, in contrast, insists upon the humility of prayer: that we approach God as servants and children, not as co-creators or lawgivers of spiritual reality.
This difference, though seemingly semantic, marks a chasm between two fundamentally distinct worldviews: one rooted in theosis (union with God through grace), and the other in self-empowerment (asserting one’s will as divine).
I. The Orthodox Understanding of Prayer
The Fathers of the Church describe prayer as both the highest work of man and the surest proof of his dependence upon God. St. John Climacus writes, “Prayer is communion and union with God. Its effect is to hold the world together and bring reconciliation to God.” To pray is to participate in the divine energies—the uncreated grace by which God is known and shared—but never to command them.
In Orthodoxy, prayer is first adoration before it is petition. The Lord’s Prayer begins not with demands, but with reverence: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.” Only when God is glorified as Father, King, and Holy One, can man rightly bring his needs before Him. This posture defines Orthodox prayer—the humble recognition that “we do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). It is the Holy Spirit Himself who “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
The Orthodox Christian does not seek to impose his will upon heaven, but to have his will purified until it aligns with God’s. St. Isaac the Syrian teaches that “the aim of prayer is not that God’s will may be changed, but that we may be changed to be made ready to receive.” Prayer is the furnace in which the iron of human self-will is softened, shaped, and made malleable in the hands of the Divine Craftsman.
This is why Orthodox prayer—whether in the Liturgy, in private devotion, or in the simple repetition of the Jesus Prayer—always assumes a posture of repentance and surrender. Even when we make supplication, we end with Christ’s own words: “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.” In this simple phrase lies the entire theology of Orthodox prayer: not command, but communion; not decree, but discipleship.
II. The Modern Doctrine of “Decreeing and Declaring”
The popular Evangelical concept of “decreeing and declaring” arises from an entirely different theological soil. Its roots can be traced to 20th-century Pentecostalism and, more particularly, to the “Word of Faith” movement of figures like Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and more recently, various leaders within the New Apostolic Reformation. Their teaching often hinges on a hyper-literal reading of passages like Proverbs 18:21—“Death and life are in the power of the tongue”—and Mark 11:23—“Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart… it will be done for him.”
In this view, faith operates as a kind of spiritual law—akin to gravity or magnetism—that can be activated through verbal declaration. To “decree” or “declare” is thus seen as releasing divine power through the spoken word, with man functioning almost as a partner in creation. This idea borrows terminology from biblical monarchy (“decrees” of kings) but applies it to believers as if each were a royal authority in their own right.
Yet such theology subtly replaces the Creator-creature relationship with something alarmingly anthropocentric. God becomes a participant in man’s speech rather than man a participant in God’s grace. In the Word of Faith framework, prayer often functions as a spiritual technology—a method to harness divine power—rather than a personal encounter of love and worship.
This is not merely a difference in vocabulary but in metaphysics. The Orthodox Church confesses that only God creates ex nihilo (“out of nothing”). Man, though made in God’s image, participates in His creativity through cooperation—never autonomy. The notion that one can “speak realities into existence” collapses the distinction between the Uncreated and the created, blurring the ontological divide upon which Christian worship stands.
III. The Scriptural and Patristic Witness
Holy Scripture offers no precedent for mortals issuing decrees to God. The saints of both Testaments petition, weep, wrestle, and wait—but they do not declare outcomes into being. Abraham intercedes for Sodom but never commands; Moses pleads for Israel but never decrees; Christ Himself prays, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” yet submits entirely to His Father’s will. To “decree” or “declare” in the modern sense would have been, for the apostles and martyrs, unthinkable presumption.
St. John Chrysostom exhorts: “When we pray, we do not instruct God, but we ask of Him what we need.” St. Basil the Great warns against any notion that human speech can compel divine action, for “God’s will is not moved by words, but by the purity of the heart.” And St. Gregory Palamas, the great defender of hesychastic prayer, reminds us that “the light of prayer comes not from the mouth but from the heart that has been illumined.”
In the Orthodox Church, the true “power of the tongue” is the confession of Christ, not the command of circumstance. The believer’s lips are sanctified not by what they can conjure, but by what they proclaim: “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This confession, not self-assertion, is the speech of faith.
IV. Prayer as Theosis, Not Technique
The difference between Orthodox prayer and the modern evangelical “declaration” theology is the difference between theosis and theurgy—between participation in divine life and the manipulation of divine power. The Orthodox pray to be changed; the modern “declarer” prays to change reality by their word. The first seeks communion; the second seeks control.
The danger of “decreeing” lies not merely in its theological novelty but in its spiritual consequence: it breeds pride under the guise of piety. It encourages believers to measure faith by visible results, rather than by obedience and perseverance. It replaces the Cross—where the will of God was embraced in suffering—with the crown of self-will disguised as authority. It promises immediacy where Christ promises endurance. It substitutes “my will be done” for “Thy will be done.”
In Orthodox spirituality, the highest form of prayer is not command but silence. The hesychast tradition teaches that when the heart is purified and the mind stilled, the soul simply abides in the presence of God. St. Theophan the Recluse wrote: “True prayer is standing before God with the mind in the heart, and constantly, unceasingly, bowing before Him in love and humility.” This inner stillness—the hesychia—is the opposite of the noisy assertiveness found in “decree and declare” practices.
The great paradox of Orthodox prayer is that its power lies in surrender. The saint who says “Lord, have mercy” moves heaven more than the self-assured who says “I declare victory.” For mercy flows from the humble heart; grace resists the proud. God cannot be decreed into compliance; He can only be adored into communion.
V. The Church’s Voice and the Authority of True Prayer
It must be noted that the Church herself does possess a unique authority in prayer—the authority of the Body of Christ united with her Head. When the priest pronounces absolution, when the Church blesses, when she prays in Liturgy for the peace of the world—these are not “decrees” of man but the continuation of Christ’s own intercession. The Church does not “declare” reality into being by independent word, but participates in the eternal Word already spoken by God in His Son.
Thus, when Orthodox Christians pray, “Peace be to all,” or “Let us pray to the Lord,” we are not issuing royal edicts into the cosmos. We are echoing the voice of the One who already reigns. The true authority of prayer is derivative, not self-originating; sacramental, not self-empowered.
VI. Conclusion: The Posture of True Prayer
In the end, the Orthodox doctrine of prayer restores man to his proper place: creature before Creator, child before Father, lover before Beloved. We are invited into the mystery of divine love, not into the illusion of divine control. The Church does not teach us to decree but to kneel; not to command but to commune.
The Orthodox believer prays because he must—because to live without prayer is to live without breath. But he prays knowing that the purpose of prayer is not to move God’s hand but to place our hearts in His.
As the elder St. Silouan said, “Keep thy mind in hell and despair not.” Such words strike the modern ear as defeatist, yet they contain the very secret of victorious prayer: humility that conquers pride, surrender that wins grace, silence that speaks more powerfully than decrees.
For prayer is not man’s speech into the void—it is the echo of the Incarnate Word speaking back to His Father through our lips. The Orthodox Christian does not “declare” his future; he entrusts it. He does not “decree” his victory; he receives it from the pierced hands of the Crucified.
Thus, to pray rightly is to live rightly. For every prayer that begins with “Thy will be done” ends in resurrection.
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