So, Many of you have probably heard of a book called, “The secret.” It was released by Rhonda Byrne in 2006 and subsequently blew into popularity. The secret was backed by highly influential people such as Oprah Winfrey. The huge idea of this book is the law of attraction and manifestation.
As of late, many people have been giving testimonies as to how they have manifested things into their lives based on different principles in this book and others written on the topic. With so much hype, the idea of manifestation has made its way into many circles, including Christianity. We have seen results and heard stories, but the question becomes, is it biblical?
For those of you who don’t know, manifestation is “bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief, i.e. if you think it, it will come. … via your thoughts, actions, beliefs, and emotions.”
Many Christians have used scriptures such as the Romans 4:17 and Proverbs 23:7 to prove the validity of manifestation. Today, I want to show you the dangers of manifestation and how this new age principal is not Biblical.
Romans 4:17 states “As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”
The thing about scripture is that you can’t just pick up one and make a conclusion about what it is saying. Often times, scripture can be taken out of context.
At first glance, it may seem like this scripture is saying because we have God living on the inside of us, we have the ability to speak any desire over our lives and it will happen. When you go back and read within context, you will realize that Romans 4:17 is not about the power of merely words, but the power of God’s promises and his faithfulness to keep those promises. Isaac was not born because Abraham declared it himself. Abraham did not manifest Isaac. Isaac was born and manifested into the earth because God promised him to be.
To misuse this verse would be to say that we can declare health wealth and prosperity in our lives if we are in a situation that we don’t like. God didn’t want us to live in a world with death, crying and pain, but sometimes we will face hardships and we can’t just speak our way out of them. Yes, we can speak God’s promises, by faith, that things will change, but there are some battles you just have to face.
Everything that we desire, isn’t what God desires for us, even when our intentions are good.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. When God promises us something, we may not see it in the natural, but we can speak His promises over us until God chooses to manifest it.
Let’s talk about Adam and Eve again. When Adam was in the garden, God told him that he could eat from every tree in the garden except for the one of knowledge of good and evil. God said if he ate from that tree, he would surely die. When the serpent approached Eve, it appealed to her desire to be more like God. This doesn’t sound so bad right? Eve’s intentions may not have been bad and the fruit itself probably wasn’t bad. It was her and Adam’s disobedience that would ultimately separate them from God.
Look closer at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The word good in this sentence is the same form of the word good used when God created the world and said it was good. If you look closely, you can see, there is a type of good that can lead to separation from God. There is a reason God says that obedience is greater than sacrifice. Your intentions may be good, but It may not be what God said. Eve saw the tree good for food, but choosing it was in direct disobedience to what God said.
So, if you go around trying to manifest things or bring things into your life, no matter how good your intentions, you can unknowingly be separating yourself from God.
Manifestation takes the focus off God and onto self. Don’t get me wrong, manifestation is a thing that has been twisted by Satan. Jesus was manifested into the earth as a man. But when we focus more on our plans than the ones God has for us, we take a serious risk. We are essentially choosing to eat from the tree of knowledge. What if Jesus just wanted to live and not die because it wasn’t what he wanted??
So, why does manifestation work?
Do you remember in the wilderness how Satan tempted Jesus? He told him that if he was hungry he could just turn the stone into bread.
Jesus was able to combat Satan’s manipulation and half truths with the word. Satan was taking God’s word out of context. Although Jesus could have very well turned the stone into bread, he chose not to out of obedience to the Father.
It later says that Satan tempted Jesus with other half truths and even promised him all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down to him. You see, when you listen and eat up Satan’s half truths, he can promise you earthly possessions, but you gain nothing spiritually.
In conclusion, this new age idea of manifestation may work, but it is a dangerous and unbiblical concept …especially if you are a Child of the Living God.
Instead of constantly seeking what you want, take some time to be obedient in what God wants and watch Him manifest his promises!
Chasing Real 