Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Speaking the Word Over a Situation
Speak a firm, present-tense word of good over a specific situation — naming it as it is to be in God — to redirect one’s own consciousness from fear and lack toward faith and expectancy.
Catch the fearful word and refuse it. Speak the good in the present tense — “God is my supply,” “I am well,” “all is in divine order” — resting on God as the source within you. Repeat through the day whenever worry returns; give thanks and act accordingly. A self-talk and reframing support — never a replacement for real-world action.
What it is
Barbara King taught believers to speak a deliberate word of good over a situation rather than describe it in the language of fear and lack.
Because for her “life is consciousness” and God is the indwelling source of “everything you have,” the spoken declaration is a way of fixing one’s own consciousness on the desired good as a present spiritual fact — a brief, firm, present-tense statement spoken over a circumstance (a body, a bill, a relationship, a day).
It is the concise, repeatable companion to her fuller open-channel prayer: where the prayer is a sitting practice, “speaking the word” is the short declaration carried into the moment, turning fear into faith one statement at a time.
The Method
Faithfully described from King’s Hillside teaching and Transform Your Life (short quotes only; the structure is an attributed paraphrase):
- Name the situation honestly, then refuse the fearful word. Notice where you are about to speak lack, dread, or defeat — and stop. King’s teaching repeatedly turns “fear into faith”; the word is the hinge.
- Speak the good in the present tense. State the desired condition as already true in God: “God is my supply,” “I am well,” “all is in divine order here.” Brief, firm, affirmative, now — not “I hope” or “I will.”
- Speak from the indwelling source. Declare it not as wishful thinking but as a recognition that God, the source within you, is the substance of the good you name. The word rests on the indwelling presence, not on your willpower.
- Repeat it through the day. Return to the word whenever the old fearful talk recurs — out loud or silently — so the new consciousness, not the worry, governs your attention.
- Give thanks and act accordingly. Close each speaking with gratitude as though received, then behave consistently with the word you have spoken. (Sourcing note: example affirmations illustrate the present-tense, source-centred pattern King taught; her exact wordings vary by context and are not reproduced in full here.)
Source & Lineage
Barbara Lewis King (1930-2020), founder of Hillside International Truth Center, taught a practical, declaration-based New Thought across Transform Your Life (1989; rev.
2016) and decades of Hillside classes in prayer and prosperity. Trained under Rev. Johnnie Colemon and rooted in Unity and the Emma Curtis Hopkins lineage, her “speaking the word” belongs to the long New Thought conviction that the affirmative spoken word reorders consciousness — and, the tradition holds, experience.
The Traditions' versions
“Speak the good aloud as already true” is a New Thought commonplace; the files differ in framing:
- Speaking the Word (Genevieve Behrend) — the classic Troward-lineage spoken declaration; King’s form centres it on the indwelling source and “fear into faith.”
- The Spoken Word / Decree (Florence Scovel Shinn) — “your word is your wand”; the declaration as command.
- Speaking in the Affirmative Present (C. L. Stevens) — the present-tense rule King’s wording follows.
- Johnnie Colemon’s declaration — King’s direct teacher in Black New Thought (being added in parallel).
Common refinements
Reciting words you don’t accept. A declaration you inwardly reject just rehearses the conflict; pair it with the open-channel prayer until it rings true.
- Future-tense or wishful phrasing. “I will be” keeps the good away; King’s pattern is present and now.
- Speaking the word, then talking lack all day. Consistency is the point; one affirmation undone by hours of worry-talk loses force.
- Using the word to deny reality. Speaking “I am well” is an inner posture, not a reason to skip the doctor or the bill.
- Self-blame when results lag. A persisting hardship is not proof of “wrong words.” Hold the practice gently.