God's Word on That

  • Praying Without Doubt

    Many of us are used to relating to God in personal ways — as Father, Comforter, Friend… These familiar approaches are appropriate because God has invited us into an intimate personal relationship with Him. We can talk with Him whenever we want and about whatever we need. However, God is also the One who is high and lifted up, and His name is Holy (Isaiah 57:15). An encounter with Him in all His glory reduces us to speechless trembling (Daniel 10:7-9; Revelation 1:17). This is also appropriate because God is awesome in the truest sense of the word. His unveiled presence inspires awe, wonder, and a good dose of holy fear.

    Bring doubts to God. He’s looking forward to talking to you about them, and He will enlighten you.

    This is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

    Look at Abraham’s prayer in Genesis 18, the first prayer recorded in Scripture. As J. Vernon McGee states the exchange: Abraham opens his prayer with a dark question, but Abraham didn’t know anything about Sodom. All he knew was one day God told him He was going to destroy the city. And Abraham questioned God (Genesis 18:23). If God had not answered that question for Abraham, we today may as well bow down before a totem pole as worship a living God in spirit and in truth. Because the answer to this question is very important for Abraham and those coming after him. In fact, God said Himself that it was important for Him to clarify this issue (Genesis 18:17-19).

    God enjoyed this interview with Abraham. God got great satisfaction out of His man coming to Him and pleading for others. God wants to save! He rejoices over one sinner that comes to Him (Romans 10:13).

    Popular opinion today says that if you expect God to answer prayer, then you must have faith. “Just believe” as if faith were an Open Sesame that opens the door to anything you desire. There is no power in faith! Faith can be misplaced, put in the wrong place or in the wrong person. Just to believe is not enough. It’s where your faith is placed and whom you believe in that becomes all-important.

    Abraham did not go to God in complete faith. He believed God heard and answered prayer, but he had some doubts about some matters. So he went to God with it in prayer. It’s no sin to have doubts, but do not hide them in the closet of your mind. Be honest about them and take them to the Father directly. Bring your doubts and questions into the sunshine of His presence. If you are honest about your doubts and go to God, you will come to a firmer faith the likes of which you’ve never experienced before.

    But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6-8).

    Because of these verses many believe that to doubt is wrong. But James isn’t saying that. The verses only point out that the one who prays to ask for something and doubts his prayer or the One he is praying to is the double-minded one. How can you pray in spirit and truth to someone you don’t trust? Verse 5 before that points this out.

    If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously and to all/everyone without finding fault, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

    So even God respects the doubter. We humans doubt, that’s been programmed into our nature. So we are to be merciful to those who doubt (Jude 1:20), especially ourselves. We have all been there at one time or another. But always remember: Feed your faith, and doubt will starve to death!

  • Praying When Trouble Comes

    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3); my God; my Father!

    In the day of trouble, let us seek Him in His dwelling place.

    Blessed am I because I trust in You, O Lord; my confidence is in You. I am like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes. My leaves will be green and I will not be anxious, even in the year of drought, nor will I cease from yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8). All because You love me!

    I did not receive a spirit that makes me a slave to fear, but received the Spirit of son-ship. And by that Spirit I cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with my spirit that I am a child of God (Romans 8:15-16). Therefore, since I am of a kingdom that nothing can destroy, I will serve God with thankfulness and holy fear and awe, for my God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28).

    I have no fear of the One who loves me perfectly. His perfect love for me eliminates all dread. If I were to fear, it would show I am not fully convinced He really loves me. There is no fear in love; His perfect love drives out all fear (1 John 4:18). And when I love others, His love within me grows ever stronger (1 John 4:12).

    Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus, acknowledging You as my refuge and high tower.  You are a refuge and a stronghold in these times of trouble (Psalm 9:9). In the day of trouble You keep me safe in Your dwelling; You hide me in the shelter of Your tabernacle and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5). Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident (Psalm 27:3). Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me (Psalm 27:7).

    When I cry for help, O Lord, hear and deliver me out of my troubles.  You are close to the brokenhearted and You save those who are crushed in spirit — crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.  Lord, many are the evils that confront me, but You deliver the righteous from them all (Psalm 34:17-19). Thank You so much for making me righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).

    My help comes from You, O loving Lord.  You are my all-powerful Father who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2).  I am glad as I rejoice in Your mercy.  I know You are aware of the troubles I face (Psalm 31:7), and because You are, I am able to come boldly before Your throne of grace, realizing I will receive Your mercy and grace to help me in my time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  I cast all my cares upon You because I know You care for me (1 Peter 5:7).  I know no weapon formed against me will ever prosper, for this is my heritage as Your servant, O Lord (Isaiah 54:17). 

    Though I walk in the midst of trouble, I know You will revive me, O Lord.  I believe You will stretch forth Your right hand and save me from my troubles (Psalm 138:7).  Father, I believe Your promise that all things work together for good to those who love You.  Thank You for calling me according to Your purposes (Romans 8:28).  I bless You, Father, for I know You are the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.  Please comfort me in this time of trouble and tribulation. Help me to comfort others in the same way (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

    Thank You so very much, my gracious and loving Father. Thank You for being merciful and gracious to me, O my God.  I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until storms are passed (Psalm 57:1).  At Your tabernacle I will sacrifice with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to Your name, O Lord my God (Psalm 27:6).

  • Diving into Matthew 13

    Here we find seven parables of the kingdom meant for the crowd, not just for Jesus’ disciples. A parable is a figure of speech in which a moral or spiritual truth is illustrated by an analogy drawn from everyday experiences. It takes from one familiar aspect of life whose truth can be applied to another aspect. They present truths about the kingdom in this present day. Parables make a single point vs. an allegory where every detail has a symbolic meaning.

    Finding the light in Matthew – the old and the new.

    They are called “mysteries” because they were not revealed in the O.T., and they are revealed by Christ Jesus only to those who are properly related to the kingdom. “Mystery” is used because Jesus presents the direction the kingdom is going to take in the interval between the rejection of the King and when He, the King, comes to set up His kingdom. This segment of history was never revealed in O.T. times.

    The nature of the parable is to involve the listener in the story so they discern the meaning for themselves (2 Samuel 12:1-7). Jesus explained these two parables probably to give His disciples encouragement when their teachings were not listened to, and to know that the harvest would still be great if they but persevered.

    The first is a parable about the soils. Note the soils over the sower: the sower doesn’t’ change. The soil cannot till itself, but can allow itself to be changed. The soil that has no room for root depicts those who fall away the moment that belonging to God costs them something. But note, that even the good soil still needs watering and tilling and weeding and rotating. We all have to pay some price, just so we can allow God to change the soil we turn out to be. We don’t get to choose the seed, only the soil we can be. The good-soil people meditate on God’s Word until it brings understanding, showing them their shortcomings and weaknesses. So they cultivate the good fruit that shows they are growing (Luke 8:15).

    The parable of the tares shows us that evil mixes into the good even in our churches. Jesus doesn’t want us to prematurely uproot all the weeds we see, lest we damage the tender roots of good seed. This tells me to not try to rid my mind of bad thoughts before I can act on good thoughts. I should step out and act on the good as soon as I can, and leave the bad to Jesus and His angles. Over time the weeds will get choked out, and we will bear more fruit.

    The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast in the dough tells me the gospel starts from a small amount and builds — I may not even know how, but it builds. The Spirit is already at work in the world. The unseen power of God will work and can be trusted to produce a crop. I just have to do my part to water and till.

    The hidden treasure and the pearl of great value shows the discipline I must submit to, but the supreme value of the find! The hidden treasure is like those who stumble on kingdom knowledge by accident. The pearl is like those who actually seek something of value and find the kingdom in their searching. No price is too great to pay. The net of tremendous catch informs me that no matter how it is found, only those worthy of the Great Catch are those who are gathered into the kingdom. Also of note is that I cannot separate good from bad while I preach and teach. God will do that part later.

    We all live with demands for patience and zeal. We are tempted to rush in and pull up evil by the roots wherever we see it, but this may destroy fragile goodness trying to grow. Not only that, but we miss the plank if we go after specks (Matthew 7:3). Let us be lenient with ourselves and those around us.

    Jesus’ final words of Matthew 13 state: “Every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” The Amplified Bible adds the phrase “the fresh as well as the familiar”. This statement has always plagued me; my understanding cannot grasp it.

    Matthew Henry’s commentary states it displays a good householder with fruits of last year’s growth and this year’s gathering, abundance and variety, for the entertainment of his friends. I tend to like that explanation. But J. Vernon McGee says this is a personal verse, especially for those of us who teach and preach the Word of God. “But it is my business to bring forth old things; but I do hope to bring forth a few new things also.” This is my stumbling block. Do I trust myself in bringing forth new things? If I can bring forth “fresh” things along with the familiar, I consider myself lucky indeed.

  • Prayer and the Promises

    The chief thing in prayer is the assurance that prayer will be heard and answered. The law of the Kingdom: he who asks, receives… Therefore, we must confidently expect answer to prayer. The Lord wants us to count on it that asking, seeking, knocking cannot be in vain. That Jesus thought it needful in so many forms to repeat this truth (Matthew 6:11-13; 7:7-8; 9:38; 18:19; 21:22) is a lesson of deep import! (Andrew Murray)

    The vital connection between prayer and the promises: A promise should always be the basis of all our prayers, since the promises are our warrant for asking and our security for receiving what we ask for.  We have no authority to ask beyond what God has promised.  

    Let us train ourselves to speak God’s Word.  The Word tells us to be imitators of God as dear children (Ephesians 5:1).  We are to imitate God as a child does his father.  If a child imitates his father, he will walk like his father, talk like his father, and pattern his every move after his father.  We should do no less after our Father God. (Charles Capps)

    “Our Heavenly Father, faithful to His Word.” Therefore to know the Father is to know His Word. Let us trust Jesus. If we take His words in simplicity and trust Him by His Spirit to make them within us life and power, they will so enter into our inner being as life and power. He will teach us in due time how to understand them fully; meanwhile, let us begin by implicitly believing them. (Andrew Murray)

    Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or even imagine, according to His power that is at work within me, I give glory and honor and praise forever. AMEN. (Ephesians 3:20).

    A daily confession to renew your thought life: I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5). I am not conformed to this world, but am transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I may know the will of God (Romans 12:2). I lay aside the old self and I put on the new self which is being renewed in the likeness of God (Ephesians 4:22-24). I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

    The Lord will perfect that which concerns me (Psalm 138:8). I will accomplish what God has called me to do today. I fix my eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). I won’t be hijacked by lesser things but I will lay aside every encumbrance and sin that entangles, and I will run with endurance the race Christ Jesus has marked out for me (Hebrews 12:1).

    Jesus is the Lord of my life. God is not weak toward me, but mighty in me (2 Corinthians 13:3). He is pushing me past any oppression or barrier that tries to hold me back. I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). And God has blessed me with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of my God (Colossians 1:10).

    God has made available spiritual weapons to every believer – like the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, and the Word of God. The Lord has given us the authority of His Word – and in the Name of Jesus, things must change!

    O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of distress (Isaiah 33:2).

  • Praying To Be Led

    Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not all of what prayer can do (Charles Spurgeon).

    As we are led by the Spirit, things will become clear.

    God wants us to see that ordinary people – you and me – can accomplish extraordinary things through prayer.

    Jesus taught us to see God as “Father.” Jesus wants us to quiet down and really think about who we are addressing – the One who is above all, knows all, can see all; who wants us as His children, coming to Him and asking Him and depending on Him. “Our Father in heaven” not some remote, indifferent Sovereign, but a Father who taught earthly fathers how to love and care and listen and help their children.

    There is no acceptable prayer until we can say “I will arise and go unto my Father” (Luke 15:18). This childlike spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the “Father in heaven.” The child lisping “Abba, Father” grows into the cherub crying “Holy, holy, holy!”

    It is in a personal relationship to the loving God that prayer depends. It is in the knowledge of God’s “fatherliness” that the power of prayer will be found. Consecration to God, and His Will, gives liberty in prayer for temporal things, once the whole earthly life is given to the Father’s loving care.

    The Father is longing to give the Spirit to us, if we will but ask in the childlike dependence on what He tells us. We need to ask for His special gifts and operations as we require them. As well as for Him to take entire possession of us, for His unceasing guidance. I must say in faith: I have what I ask, the fullness of the Spirit is mine! For what we have received and taken and now hold as ours, let us give thanks and continue steadfast in believing prayer that the blessing may breakthrough and fill our being. If there is one thing on earth we can be sure of, it is that the Father desires to have us filled with His Spirit, it is that He delights to give us His Spirit (Andrew Murray).

    O Lord, to be honest, I am overwhelmed. I really wonder if I will ever be able to pray like Elijah (James 5:17-18). But, Lord, I truly want to learn. Please teach me how to pray fervently. Teach me the effective prayer of a righteous man that avails much (James 5:16). I’m going to ask and ask until it is mine (Luke 11:5-8). I know it is Your will. Thank You, therefore for hearing this prayer (1 John 5:14) that I ask in the name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus.

    Your Word says the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6). You also tell me that we are controlled by the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in us (Romans 8:9).  Your Word tells me to pray in the Spirit on all occasions (Ephesians 6:18), and to build myself up in my faith (Jude 20). My spirit is the candle of the Lord (Proverbs 20:27), and my spirit in me testifies that I am a child of God (Romans 8:16), born of the Spirit of God (John 3:5), filled with the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18), and led by the Spirit of God (Isaiah 48:17). 

    Therefore, I will listen to my heart as I look to my spirit inside me.  I am trusting the Holy Spirit to give direction to my spirit and illuminate my mind. As His love is perfected in me (1 John 4:12), I will have my anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20). 

    What a blessing it is to realize the same Spirit that raised my Lord Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in me (Romans 8:11).  Because Your Spirit dwells within me, Lord God, I am able to be led by Him (Romans 8:14).  Thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit, God Father. May I bring You a smile today as I learn to live by Your Spirit.

  • Praying Then…

    How do we pray then? And what do we pray for? Just what we need? Just our wants and our desires?

    Fr. Peter John Calmeron, in his book Lord, Teach Us to Pray, calls us “to embrace a fundamental truth about prayer: In prayer, God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response.  As God gradually reveals Himself, and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call.  Our chief responsibility in prayer is to become able and eager to respond to God’s offer of self-giving, image-perfecting love.”

    Prayer then is a pleading of the promises God has placed in His Word for us to use in other people’s behalf. God knows I need to have my needs met. And I can point out to Him a huge credit card debt that is facing me, and I can plead His promise to take care of it and then trust Him for it. But it’s not so I can run up another big debt on a paid off card. If I can use that knowledge of God to help me pray for others, to further His kingdom influence, then I am “seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness”. I have to trust Him that “all things will be added to me” after seeking His blessings.

    Andrew Murray assures us in his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, that as we get a deeper insight into what prayer really is, this truth that “He knows the things we need before we ask” will help much to strengthen our faith. We do not need to compel an unwilling God to listen to us. When once we have been led by the Spirit to the certainty that our request is indeed something that, according to the Word, we do need for God’s glory, it will give us wonderful confidence to say, “My Father knows I need it and must have it.” And if there be any delay in the answer, it will teach us in quiet perseverance to hold on to that promise.

    Therefore, dwell much in the inner chamber, with the door shut. To be alone in secret with The Father is our highest joy. To be assured that the Father will openly reward the secret prayer is our strength day by day. And to know that the Father knows that we need what we ask; this is our liberty to bring every need in the assurance that our God will supply it according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus.

    The way to begin to pray, then, is to turn all these troublesome things right over to God with the humility, dependence and confidence of the tax collector in the temple who prayed “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”  That is the indispensable foundation for all authentic prayer, as the famous Christian of The Way of the Pilgrim discovered.  This nameless 19th century peasant walked across Russia and entered into a state of great holiness simply by reciting the Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Christ Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  In learning to pray, it is crucial for us to follow in his footsteps of humbly giving our heart to God.

    In short, praying is as easy as breathing.  As the peasant of this book reminds us, “to pray means to direct our hearts and minds to constant remembrance of God, to walk in His divine presence, to arouse in oneself the love of God by means of meditation, and to say the Name of Jesus in harmony with one’s breathing and beating of one’s heart.”

    May the Blessed Spirit give each of us grace to think and to say the right thing, and to do what shall be pleasing in the Father’s sight! (Andrew Murray)

  • God’s Creative Force – Part 3

    Your spirit is programmed by words: Faith comes by hearing the Word of God; fear comes by hearing what the enemy says.  No person in his right mind would go around confessing the same thing his enemy says – you have enough sense to know your enemy’s words are designed to work against you.  The devil wants you to create a distorted, unworthy, self-destructive image on the inside of you, with words authored by the enemy of your soul.

    Jesus didn’t say God would bring forth good things.  Man brings forth good things (Matthew 12:35).  Not out of his head or intellect, but out of his heart (Matthew 15:11, 18-19).  The last thing the devil ever wants you to see is the facts of the recreated spirit.  Here are some of those facts:

    1. You were created for GOD; you are His workmanship, not your own. (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:12)  You have become a son of God so you can be a partaker of His divine nature, very capable of fellowshipping with deity.  Satan can’t do that.  He is a dead spirit, he cannot function in the realm of the God-life as man can.  The reborn human spirit is a higher creation!  Man was created to have fellowship with deity.
    2. You were created by spirit. The spirit of man is not of this world. The creative ability of man comes through his spirit.  When man has God’s Word abundantly abiding in his heart and speaks it forth in faith, he speaks spirit words that work in the world of the spirit.  These spirit words dominate the natural world.
    3. Your spirit can change the world. The words Jesus spoke (John 6:63) were of the Word of God. He released faith through the words He spoke.  His words penetrated the spirits of men.  Their spirits heard Him and they acted from their spirit on His spirit words.  (John 5:8; Mark 3:5; Mark 5:41; Luke 7:14; John 11:43) Spirit words spoken by Jesus ignited the faith that was already residing in these people.  It caused an explosion of God’s ability on their behalf.  It was all set in motion by words spoken in faith.

    Today many are born again and hear the Word, but hearing is not the foundation (Matthew 7:24-27).  Doing the Word is the foundation that made the one man successful in life.  God’s Word is the only true knowledge (Hosea 4:6), and it will make you stable even in the storms of life (Psalm 112:7).  Speaking God’s Word will bring God on the scene (Jeremiah 1:12), for He is watching.  To disagree with the Word opens the door to the devil. 

    The thief comes to steal (John 10:10).  Jesus came to undo the work of the devil (1 John 3:8).  Jesus purchased our freedom from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13-14).  We find in DEUT 28-30 the curse of the law. The Word says you are free.  Be smart enough to agree with God! 

    Now whether I ever get it or not, that’s up to God.  As long as I say what He said and do what He said to do, I am doing my part, and you can rest assured God will do His part.

    Learn to put the Word of God into confession form.  Then agree with the Word.  Look at Proverbs 14:3.  It tells us that the lips of the wise WILL preserve him.  They WILL preserve him through financial crisis.  They WILL preserve him when other’s say there is a recession or a depression.  His lips WILL preserve him if he confesses what the Word says, if he acts on the Word.  The knowledge we have, we are to use aright. 

    If you don’t act on God’s Word, you won’t be experiencing God’s best (James 1:22-25).  You have to speak the words to change the world around you.  Don’t be just listeners, but doers and so get the blessings of God.  Note also: A lot of folks seem religious, but the Word said if he doesn’t control his tongue, it will destroy all that he said he believed (James 1:26).  You need to KNOW what the Word of God says about you.  Determine now to know what the New Covenant (contract) says about you.

  • God’s Creative Force – Part 2

    Those who say they can and those who say they can’t are both right.  We must learn to use our words more effectively.  Today many Christians have been taken captive by their own words.  By the prayer of their own mouth they have been put in a position where they cannot receive from God (Hosea 4:6).  We have all done it at one time or another.  We have used our tongue to form the very words that defeat us.  We have prayed defeat and received defeat.  We have prayed the problem and it became a greater problem.

    God’s Word is spiritual law.  It functions just as sure as any natural law.  We have learned how to work with natural laws, like electricity and gravity.  If we work with the law of electricity, electrical force will work for us.  As long as we enforce the law that controls electrical force, it will produce energy… and yet it will produce no harm to us. However, this same force can destroy if the law that governs it is not enforced.

    So it is with words that come forth out of your mouth.  They will work for you IF you control those words and bring them into obedience to spiritual law; which is God’s Word [see yesterday’s bullet points]. This is not Christian Science; it’s Christian Sense!  We don’t deny the existence of the mountain.  We deny the right of the mountain to exist in our way. 

    It won’t happen overnight.  It won’t happen just because you say it once or twice.  It is going to happen though, if you continually affirm what God’s Word says – until it gets into your spirit and becomes a part of you.  The Word of God, engrafted in your spirit will deliver you from every circumstance of life (James 1:21).  If you find God’s Word for it, get it into your spirit.  If you will continually believe and affirm that Word, I don’t care how big the mountain appears to be, you should not be moved by what you see.  You should only be motivated by what you believe.  The Word of God is the final authority on it all. We are to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

    There was a time I was very low mentally and physically.  Negative thoughts in my mind did not agree with the Word of God.  Then the enemy tried to convince me I had failed God and that was the reason I had lost everything and God was mad at me.  (I know this story sounds familiar to many because it is one of the devil’s favorite lies he uses to bring condemnation and confusion to God’s people.)

    I remember one morning I was praying and I said, “Father, I have prayed and it is not working out.”  He spoke inside my spirit so plain: “What are you doing?”  I said, “I’m praying.”  He said: “No, you’re complaining.”  Then He asked: “Who told you it is not working out?”  Now that shook me!  I thought for a minute then said, “I guess the devil said that.”  Then He spoke into my spirit some things that totally transformed my life.  He said: “I would appreciate it if you would quit telling Me what the devil said.  You have been praying for me to prosper you and get the devil off your back.  I am not the one causing your problems.  You are under an attack of the evil one and I can’t do anything about it.  You have bound Me by the words of your own mouth.  And it is not going to get any better until you change your confession and begin to agree with My Word.  You are operating in fear and unbelief.  You have established the words of the evil one in your behalf.  By your own mouth you have released the ability of the enemy and if I did anything about it, I would have to violate My Word.  And I can’t do that.”

    You see, I had just gotten enough of His Word in me to where He could talk to me intelligently about the problem.  Until then He had no basis on which to talk to me for I had cast out His Word and quoted the enemy.  Over a period of the next few months He spoke many things into my spirit that totally upended my way of thinking.  God said, “I am for you.  I want you to prosper, but I want you to do it in a way that will work an eternal value in you, by using your faith and acting on the Word.  The power of binding and loosing is not in heaven; it is on earth.  And if you don’t do it, it won’t be done.  Study and search My Word for promises that pertain to you as a believer.  Make a list of these and confess them aloud daily.  They will build with your spirit over a period of time.  Then when these truths are established in your spirit they will become true in you.”

    This is the secret of faith: continually saying what God said.  So for two and a half years I studied the Word of God and made my confession list.  Many people want to know why it won’t work for them when they have not meditated on the Word and would not dare say anything contrary to their sense knowledge.  Sense knowledge says “all my needs have been met” is telling a lie.  But how can you be telling a lie when you are speaking truth (John 17:17)?

    Prayer became a challenging experience of forgetting circumstances.  It was exciting to confess I have abundance and there is no lack when the lack was very apparent.  One morning as I was confessing the Word, I stopped and said, “Lord, You know I don’t believe all this I’m saying is true in me” – it was that old sense tradition coming through, making me feel like I was lying.  The Lord answered, “That’s all right, son, just keep saying what the Word says until it becomes a part of you, then it will be true in you.”  So I kept confessing.  When it became formed in me, I realized I had broken into a realm of faith I never knew existed! I could now make those statements with full assurance that God would honor His Word.

    Confess the Word of God instead of negative things.  You may say “How long do I confess it?”  All of your life!  In every situation, for every reason under the sun. Just agree with the Word of God.  Don’t worry about having faith. Faith will result from reading God’s Word (Romans 10:17).

    As you act on these principles, you may not be without battles.  But you WILL NEVER LOSE THE WAR!  These are simple steps in living a victorious Christian life.  Begin today to apply these principles in every area of your life and as you do you will experience God’s power and provision at work for you.

    Above all remember: Don’t put your faith in faith – put your faith in your God who handles your faith.  Jesus is the Author of your faith, He gave to you that first measure of faith.  Jesus is also the Finisher of your faith.  He will direct you how to use it, what to have faith for, and how to build your faith. Just ask and trust Him.

  • God’s Creative Force

    Lately, during this Lenten season, I have prayed for God’s guidance on what to include in this blog, what He wants His children to read. And I keep coming back to the sermon on “The Tongue – A Creative Force” by Charles Capps. I started this blog because of the idea Jesus put in my mind that His children need to see God’s Word in practice; to learn how to plead the promises of God using the Word of God to booster their faith. Charles Capps was the pioneer of such things as these, and said them very succinctly. So I will present his thoughts in hopes that this blog will accomplish what Jesus and I had set out to do.

    Andrew Hemstrought Ministries https://www.mhgs.org/Text/Charles_Capps/The-Tongue-A_Creative_Force-Capps.pdf

    Where do the good things in life come from?  Jesus said they come out of your heart (Matthew 12:35).  He didn’t say they came from staying up late hours and working your fingers to the bone.  He said the good things of life come out of your heart, whatever you store there, the information you program your spirit with will produce for you.  It always produces after its kind.  Faith produces faith.  Fearful words produce fear.  The way you program your spirit with the Word of God is by saying the things God said about you in His Word.  Imitate God! 

    Truth is the stabilizing force of life.  Jesus spoke God’s Word continually.  He was established in His Father’s Word.  He overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil by the spoken Word. The only thing Jesus used against the devil was the spoken Word of God.  Jesus spoke God’s written Word.  “It is written…”  Oh, Thank God, it is still written today!  However, in book form, the Word of God has no power until it is read or spoken by someone of faith.

    God’s Word, which is conceived in your heart, then formed by the tongue and spoken out of your mouth, becomes a spiritual force releasing the ability of God within you. 

    In August 1973, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, “If men would believe Me, long prayers are not necessary.  Just speaking the Word will bring what you desire.  My creative power is given to man in word form.  I have ceased for a time from My work, and have given man the balk of My creative power.  That power is still in My Word.  Yet for it to be effective, man must speak it in faith.  Jesus spoke it when He was on earth and as it worked then so shall it work now.  But it must be spoken aloud.  Man must rise up and have dominion over the power of evil by My Words.  It is My greatest desire that My people create a better life by the spoken Word.  For My Word has not lost its power just because it has been spoken once.  It is still equally as powerful today as when I said ‘Let there be light.’  But for My Word to be effective, man must speak it, and creative power will come forth performing that which is spoken in faith.“

    Spiritual Law is for your good.  It is to produce the things you need and desire.  Words are therefore very important.  Begin now to become Word Conscious.  Words are little seeds that produce after their kind. 

    Prayer is your legal right, it is your vehicle for you to use faith filled words to bring God on the scene on your behalf, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24) (John 15:11). It is the Word abiding in you that causes faith to be present in your words when you pray (John 15:7-8). Notice it glorifies the Father when you get your prayers answered and your needs met.  Your joy can be full if God’s Word abides in you. (Matthew 21:21-22) (Mark 11:23-24)

    Faith will make prayer work.  Prayer won’t work without faith, even though faith will work without prayer.  Prayer is one of the means of releasing faith, so if we line ourselves up with God’s Word and release our faith when we pray, we will see the power of God come alive in our lives. 

    Three things you must remember.

    • The spirit world is controlled by the Word of God.
    • The natural world is to be controlled by man speaking the words of God.
    • The spoken Word of God is a creative power.

  • Walking in the Light

    Lord God, You are the God who knows all things, and I desire to walk with You in Your wisdom.  Thank You for Your promise that when I call to You, You will answer me and show me great and mighty things (Jeremiah 33:3).  I ask You, please, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You.  Enlighten the eyes of my understanding so I will know the hope of Your calling, and what are the riches of my glorious inheritance in the saints.  Thank You for Your promise that You will reveal to me the exceeding greatness of Your power toward me as a believer (Ephesians 1:17-19). I keep not the spirit of the world, but willingly embrace Your Holy Spirit that I may understand what You have freely given me (1 Corinthians 2:12).

    His light shining through us creates such a bright and beautiful world!

    Heavenly Father, You are light and in You there is no darkness to be found (1 John 1:5).  You are the Father of Lights, with You there is no variation, or shadow of turning (James 1:17).  I so desire to walk in Your light at all times.  As I walk with You in Your light, Lord God, I have fellowship with You and other believers, and the blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses me from all sin (1 John 1:7). Oh, to spend a day without sinning! As I obey His commandment, to love others, the darkness in my life disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in (1 John 2:8 TLB).

    Father God, I know that Christ Jesus is the revelation of Your plan for salvation kept secret from the beginning of time, but now revealed and made known through Your Word, so that all nations might believe and obey You (Romans 16:25-26).  For Jesus is a light of revelation, the Light that was intended to shine upon all nations (Luke 2:32). You give us the light of the knowledge of Your glory through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

    Father, Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).  The unfolding of Your Word gives light; it gives understanding even to the simple (Psalm 119:130).  From this time forward I desire to walk as Your child of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9).  Because as I walk in the light, I will no more have fellowship with the fruitless works of darkness.  Rather I will reprove them and expose them (Ephesians 5:11).

    Thanks to You, O loving Lord, I am one of a chosen generation, a peculiar people, that we may show forth the praises of Christ who called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), that Christ, the Morning Star, will shine in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19).

    If we believe in the Light of the world (John 12:46), we are children of light (John 12:36). Then we are all children of the light and children of the day; we no longer are of the night, or of darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5). We should always be thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:12). “Wake up, O Sleeper, and rise up from the dead; and Christ will give you light!” (Ephesians 5:14)