"I Think I Can. I Think I Can."

There is power in what we speak. Proverbs 18:21 tells us “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” In other words, what we speak brings life or death. I want my words to bring life to my spirit and life to those around me.

In the book The Little Engine That Could, the little engine has a mountain to climb in order to get his cargo to the city on the other side. He tells himself all the way up mountain, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” What is the little engine doing? He is speaking life to his goal. He is making an affirmation. According to my Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, to affirm is “to state or assert positively; maintain as true.” The engine accomplished his task because he affirmed he could. We can, in much the same manner, grow our faith through affirmations. Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

Since we are talking about growing our faith, we’ll want to base our affirmations on specific Bible verses. Sometimes the verse is already stated in an affirming way. For example, Philippians 4:8, NLT says, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Sometimes we have to rework the verse to state it in an “I” manner. In John 15:15, Jesus says, “Now you are my friends.” To make an affirmation of that verse is to state, “I am Jesus’ friend;” or “I am a friend of God.”

The key to growing through affirmations is speaking them out loud on a regular basis. To learn more, read “Improve Your Life through Effective Affirmations,” by Laurie A. Gray.

Here is an affirmation prayer I created based on Ephesians 2:10, 3:16, 20, NLT. You might want to adopt as your own. “Father, I am your masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus so I can do the good things you planned for me long ago. From your glorious unlimited resources, I am empowered with inner strength through your Spirit to accomplish what you have planned for me. I give you glory, O God, for you are able through your mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or think.”
Debra L. Butterfield © 2010