Positive Christian Affirmations to Build Self-Confidence

Do you ever wish you had a tool to use to “take your thoughts captive” and deepen your faith walk each day? Daily affirmations are that.

Affirmations are exercises for the mind. And even more than that, they are a Biblical instruction and spiritual discipline that will affirm our thoughts to be fixed on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable and worthy of praise, as Philippians 4:8 tells us.

I avoided the practice of affirmations for years, thinking they didn’t work, they were too woo-woo, and that I didn’t have the time to do them in my busy schedule. Thankfully God moved in my heart to reveal just how wrong I was, and in His goodness, showed me how to use affirmations to bring life to my relationship with Him and my work in this world.

Affirmations are as important to the mind as physical exercise is to the body. Just as you wouldn’t neglect your body it is so important to not neglect your mind. Even more specifically, biblically based affirmations are exercise for the soul and the activation of faith.

Let’s look at what God’s word says about affirmations:

Isaiah 23:6 reads: “You will keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” What a beautiful gift we have of being able to train our minds to remain steadfast in the Lord. Before I started meditating with affirmations, my mind was the furthest thing from “steadfast.”

I used to struggle all the time with anxiety, overthinking, and thoughts that felt out of control. Now that I’ve learned how to use the tool of affirmations to meditate on God’s Word and to deepen it into my mind, my mind is completely different. It is powerful. It is precise. It is filled with peace. In short, it is, as Isaiah 23:6 said, “steadfast.”

Here are some additional scriptures I find encouraging for building a steadfast mind. I use these verses to reaffirm in my soul the need for meditation, affirmations and the personal responsibility we have to guarding and guiding our thoughts:

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8)
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)
My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. (Psalm 49:3)
I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. (Psalm 77:12)
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. (Ephesians 3:17)

The repetition of affirmations programs the unconscious part of our heart and mind to be powerful and positive. Every time you repeat a verse, you are creating that as a thought groove for your brain. It has been estimated that 80% of our daily thoughts are automated, or default thoughts, based on neuropathways, or thought grooves, we have established through repetition in our mind. We think on average between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day. Therefore, anywhere between 40,000 and 60,000 of those thoughts are default thoughts. The default thought patterns that we create are of the utmost importance!

So, how can you ensure that the default grooves in your brain are good grooves? Well, that’s where affirmations come in. Remember, affirmations are simply a proactive way to meditate on God’s truth in your mind.

We can use scripture to really get these affirmations set into motion. Affirmations, when practiced as a daily part of life and as a spiritual discipline, are proclamations that confidence and certainty will always win over fear and doubt.

This might sound complicated but let’s go through how easy it is to create powerful, dynamic, and engaging faith-based affirmations for yourself and begin putting this into practice today!

First, it’s important to call ourselves out on our own flawed thinking. Part of writing effective affirmations is first assessing what affirmation you might need to actually let go of.

You might not realize it, but you are always speaking affirmations to yourself. These are repeated thoughts, that eventually become repeated so often that they turn into subconscious beliefs. These might include phrases or beliefs like, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” “When it rains, it pours.” “I’m always behind and there’s so much to do.” “I’ll never lose weight.” “I’ll never catch a break.” “That’s just my luck.” Any of these sound familiar? That’s okay! It’s not too late to call yourself out on this flawed thinking and use your own biblical confidence affirmations to reframe your mindset.

Once you’ve taken the time to call yourself out on this flawed thinking then it’s time to begin the fun stuff! Start with power phrases like “I am”, or “God is” or “I” and keep the affirmations in present tense. Make each statement positive, brief and specific, with juuuust enough detail for you to see it activated in your mind. You should be able to mentally visualize this in your day. Believe it. See it.

Here’s a little helpful list for how you can go about creating these transformational affirmations:

Make the affirmation for yourself.
Use powerful emotional descriptions
Adopt a positive tone of voice
Make them believable
Ensure they accurately reflect your priorities
Really feel them
Add embellishments for better visualization
Write it out, record your voice, listen to the recording, speak it out loud.

Expanding on #3 from the list above, it’s so important to watch out for negative affirmations that you might not even realize are happening in your tone of voice or in what you are leaving out. For instance, if you are a life coach building your business, saying something like “I’m a great coach that no one knows about,” is a deeply negative, disempowering statement. The phrase: “that no one knows about” needs taken out. Instead, you could rephrase it as: “I am a great coach who will serve and inspire many people in my work – I can’t wait to see who I get to encourage today.”

Affirmations are simply statements repeated over and over until they are believed.
— Trish Blackwell

Remember affirmations are simply statements that we say over and over again. And affirmations need to be positive, brief and specific, with just enough detail for you to see it activated in your mind. These are so positive and specific with such great detail that you truly see this happening. The more you repeat your affirmations, the more you will see yourself living out them out. Over time, as they become default believes, you’ll easily be able to use them to reframe your thoughts, give yourself a pep talk and give you that big brave dog feeling deep in your soul.

Here are a few great examples to get you started:

I am confident, capable and called. God has created me with purpose and is growing me and transforming me day by day.
I am an action taker. Taking massive action creates power, and power creates change. My actions today will lead to my future results tomorrow.
I am a new creation; I give thanks that God is using my past to refine me and prune me to prepare me for what He has next for me.
I am loved with an everlasting love and drawn in with unfailing kindness. Today I overflow with love from the rivers of life that run within me, God’s love will never run out as it streams through me.
I am free from worry for God carries every burden for me. He delights in the details of my day.
I am present and grateful, for the Lord directs my steps: today I am where I need to be.

I’d love to hear which of the above starter affirmations stands out most to you! These will truly change how you approach your daily life, how you persevere through the hard moments, and how you grow into your greatest self that God intends for you to be! Be sure to check out my full list here 47 Christian Affirmations for Positive Thinking.

If you’re interested in diving deeper, we did a super fun workshop over in my College of Confidence about writing our own affective affirmations I’d LOVE for you to check it out! Get instant access to my full workshop on coaching AND my snazzy affirmation workbook by enrolling in the College of Confidence today. We’d love to have you! (Click here to find out more about joining us and deepening your daily walk). We went even deeper in these affirmations.

Check out these sample affirmations that are category specific to help give you some ideas on how to customize your own affirmations for your current life situation needs:

Sample for Not Caring What People Think:

I embrace the discomfort that not everyone will like me and I am okay with being fully myself all the time.
I love being brave and putting myself out there for others to potentially judge because I am no longer attached to what people think.
I easily forgive myself when I mess up and I love the feeling of getting to grow and learn something from my mistakes.

Sample for Self-Criticism:

I extend excessive kindness towards myself because I am not in a rush, I do not need to prove myself and I am worthy of being treated with respect.
I love how much I get to grow from making mistakes and from the challenge of daily mindset management and I feel myself becoming more alive every day.
I advocate for my future self proactively by encouraging my current self with patience and words that give life.

Sample for Stress:

I walk in peace, not overwhelmed and I will always get done what needs to get done. I release the rest and I live in a place of spaciousness.
I live in a state of rejoicing, no matter my circumstances, and therefore I am allergic to negativity and stress – it hits me but bounces right off.
I release all stress from my life because I am free from rushing, striving, hustling and trying to take on too much. I am chill, composed and confident because I walk in worthiness.

I hope you’re getting a feel for how transformational these truly are. Remember to use these to uplift and encourage yourself daily with the truth about who God says you are. Show yourself grace as you work through creating these. God wants you speaking the love to yourself that He feels for you and gives you the tools to do just this. His voice will give you such beautiful guidance into what truths to speak to yourself daily. Don’t be afraid to try this out. You will be AMAZED at how powerful and loved you feel (exactly as God intends for you dear one)!

Cheering you on,

For additional affirmations and helpful resources check out below: