If your car won’t start, don’t be so prone to get angry, slap the steering wheel and spout some kind of Christianized profanity at it, such as “Dad-Gummit!” The spirit behind that kind of reaction is the same one behind swearing.
It’s destructive to act that way even when you aren’t directing your anger toward other people because it’s a form of practicing bad temper. If you practice anger and ill temper, they will stay on the surface and activate before you have the opportunity to stop them. Don’t express anger even against material objects. Instead take authority over that anger and say, “No, you don’t. I’m not yielding to you. You get back under control right now.”
That will be easy to do when you’re practicing God’s presence because you know He is lovely, kind and gentle; and you will not want to offend him by displaying an ugly attitude toward anything at any time. Granted, you won’t be able to make all the changes you want to make in the first hour and a half. It takes time to do this. But you can make the decision in the next moment and a half and then walk it out moment by moment.

Receiving healing after you get sick is fine, but living in divine health continually is so much better. Divine health is the ultimate privilege of every born-again, Spirit-filled believer.

According to Proverbs 4:22, God’s words are life to those who find them and health (or medicine) to all their flesh.

God intends for every believer to live completely free from sickness and disease. It is up to you to decide whether or not you will.

One of the best ways to activate God’s power in your life is to continually confess or speak out loud what His Word says about you. By confessing God’s Word concerning health, you will build the image of divine health in your heart until you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is God’s will for you! “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Whenever you speak God’s Word, you should remember Isaiah 55:11 that says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Use the following prayer as your own confession of health and healing. As you do, remember, Jeremiah 1:12 that says God watches over His Word to perform it.

Kenneth Copeland

God created all things by the power of His Word. Each time God spoke, He released His own faith—which was the very creative power that brought His words to pass.

Words. They are spiritual containers that carry the power to shape our destiny. Our words contain and release our faith. But what is most exciting is that when we speak God’s words about our lives, we release the creative power of God’s faith into our situations.

When you speak the Word of God out of your mouth, it is as much the Word of God and has the same authority as when God personally said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

I can’t tell you how many times we have found this to be true in our own lives. Any time we have attacked our lack in an area with God’s creative words of increase and abundance, provision was there for us—every time. And I want you to know, having God speak in your behalf makes a tremendous difference in the outcome. Circumstances are subject to change. God’s Word never changes.

Just as confession is made unto salvation, confession is also made unto prosperity or unto healing or unto whatever it is we need from God. By meditating on the Word, we become persuaded of God’s promises and confident in His willingness to perform those promises in our lives. That’s exactly what real faith is—being persuaded and confident that God will do for us just what He said He’d do.

So, every time we confess the Word of God from a heart that’s confident God will do in our lives what He said—according to Jesus in Mark 11:24—we shall have what we say.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Here are some promises that you, as a child of God, can stand on regarding the transfer of wealth in these last days.

Job 27:13-17

KJV—This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty….Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

Amp—This [I am about to tell] is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage which oppressors shall receive from the Almighty…. Though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay; He may prepare it, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.

NIV—Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty…. Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.

Psalm 37:7-11, 28-29

KJV—Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass….

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace….

For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

Amp—Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him, and patiently stay yourself upon Him;fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass….

For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord, [in the end] shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the evildoer will be no more; though you look with care where he used to be, he will not be found. But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace….

For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved for ever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off. [Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell upon it for ever.

Moffatt—Leave it to the Eternal and be patient; fret not over the successful man, who aims to slay the upright, and carries out his wicked plan….

Evildoers shall indeed be rooted out, and the land left to those who wait for the Eternal. A little longer, and the godless will be gone; look in his haunts, and he is there no more! The land will be left to the humble, to enjoy plenteous prosperity…for the Eternal, who loves honesty, never forsakes his faithful band. The lawless shall be utterly destroyed…the land is the possession of the good, and all their days they shall dwell there.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

One of the best examples I’ve ever seen of the Word determining someone’s choice was in my dad’s life. When I was just a teenager, he was called to testify in a lawsuit his company had brought against a man who had broken contract with them to begin his own company.

There was a great deal of money on the line and the man had already offered my dad millions of dollars’ worth of stock in his company if he would testify in his favor. All my dad had to give was a yes or no answer. If he said no, he walked out of the courtroom a multimillionaire. If he said yes, he walked out with his job intact and a pat on the back.

He didn’t even have to think about it. He just walked in the courtroom, answered yes and ended the lawsuit.

Afterward, I asked Dad, “How could you say that and just walk away from all that money?”

He answered simply, “Because to say anything else would have been a lie.”

My dad didn’t experience any pressure in that situation. As far as he was concerned, there was only one thing to do. His choice had been made by the Word of God long before he ever stepped into the courtroom. He’d already made a decision that lying was not in his lifestyle and his choice flowed out of that decision.

Somebody might say, “Boy, that would be a tough choice to make.” No, it would be harder than tough—it would be supernatural.

You have to be living above this natural realm to turn down an “easy” multimillion dollars. But you can do it if the Word of God is abiding in you.

Notice I said “abiding.” That’s the term Jesus used when referring to His Word. He said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). The word abide means “to live.”

God’s words are living forces. Powerful forces that, if you allow them to take up residence in you, will produce holiness in your life.

To be holy is to be separated to God’s use. Therefore, if you’ll allow your choices to be bathed in the anointing of God’s Word, those choices will separate you from the destructive bent of this natural world and take you into the blessings of the SUPERnatural realm.

Just think how far-reaching the consequences of such a change would be. Your choices can affect an entire generation. You can make certain choices that can either damage or enrich lives all around you. What may not seem like a very important decision to you may ultimately make vital differences in your own future and that of your family.

But God sees the whole picture. He knows what’s around the corner that you can’t see. So when you are walking in His choices, your life starts to fit. Things start working. All the pieces of the puzzle start coming together.

You can save yourself so much heartache and headache it isn’t even funny, just by spending some quality time in God’s presence and in His Word. If you’ll let Him, He will help you with every choice you make.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

I’ll never forget when that transformation began in me. I had just begun to learn what the Word of God and faith can do. I was so hungry for it and so desperate to change my life that I completely immersed myself in it.

I kept teaching and preaching tapes going all the time. I’d get up in the morning and put in a tape while I was shaving. I’d carry the recorder to the table and listen while I ate breakfast. Then I’d haul it out to the car (that was back in the days of the big reel-to-reel recorders, so “haul” is a fairly accurate term) and listen to it while I drove to school. When I got back home at night, I listened to the Word again until I fell asleep.

I was 30 years old at that time and I’d pretty much thought the same way all my life—a way that had maneuvered me into more messes than I could find any natural way out of.

But after just a few days of constantly feeding on the Word, I began to notice a change.

My mind started working differently. I found myself comparing everything I heard, whether it came out of my mouth or someone else’s, with the Word of God.

When I’d hear something that was out of line with the Word, it would be glaringly apparent to me. Somebody would ask me how I was feeling. Instead of saying those old things I used to say—“Well, you know this old football injury has really been acting up lately. It’s giving me this shooting pain right up my leg”—I would just explode with the Word of God.

I’d say, “What difference does it make how I feel? I am not moved by what I feel. I am not moved by what I see. I am moved by what I believe and I believe the Word of God!” I just jumped on people like a chicken on a bug. (I didn’t know any better back then. Thank God, He’s mellowed me some over the years.)

What was happening? The anointing, the influence of God and His Word, was on my mind. It was teaching me things.

The Bible says if you’ll meditate on the Word day and night, it will talk to you when you wake up in the morning and visit with you all day long. That’s exactly what it began to do with me all those years ago.

I’d make choices with ease that other people struggled over. The Word made it clear for me which route I should take. I didn’t have to agonize or debate over what I should do; the Word working in me caused me to make the right choice.

Kenneth Copeland

That’s why Isaiah 55:7 says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” The word wicked there actually means “twisted.”

Satan takes God’s thoughts and twists them. He takes the truth and turns it into a lie. Thus, people who don’t have the Anointing of God on their minds have twisted thinking. They are thinking Satan’s thoughts.

They don’t realize that, of course. They think they’re thinking their own thoughts. But in reality, they don’t have that option.

You see, as members of the race of man, you and I are not independent entities. We are spirit and we are created in God’s class, or image, but we are not sovereign. We are not God.

Each one of us has a spiritual Lord. If we choose Jesus, He is our Lord. Those who don’t choose Jesus have the devil as their lord by default, whether they acknowledge it or not.

Since we are not independent entities, we cannot have independent thoughts. We will either be thinking Satan’s thoughts or God’s thoughts. The straight thoughts of God are truth and the twisted thoughts of the devil are lies, and there is nothing in between.

But, let me warn you. Just because you’ve made Jesus your Lord doesn’t mean you’ll automatically think God’s thoughts. You only begin thinking God’s thoughts when you begin to fill your mind and heart with the Word of God and make yourself subject to His Anointing.

Romans 12:2 calls that process “the renewing of your mind.” It also says that process will transform you. Why does it have such a dramatic effect? Because when you change your mind, you change your choices—and that changes everything!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Actually, it never occurred to the disciples to take the supernatural way out of that situation. It never entered their minds to stand up and speak to that storm. The reason is simple. They didn’t think as Jesus thought.

He thought like Someone Who had access at all times to the power of God Himself, which is superior to all the forces of the natural world. (That’s why it’s called supernatural.) The disciples thought like people who were subject to those natural forces.

That’s why they “feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Instead of jumping up and saying, “Hey, that’s the way I want to be!” they just thought Jesus was strange. People still think that about God. They say things like, “You never know what God will do. He moves in mysterious ways.”

That was true until the Holy Spirit came to teach us all things. (See John 16:13.) We’re not meant to look at God as some strange, mysterious being anymore. We’re to know Him and imitate Him as dearly beloved children (Ephesians 5:1).

The truth is, He isn’t strange at all. He has just seemed strange to us because instead of living on His level as we were created to do, mankind has slipped down into the natural realm in his thinking. When you’re living at that low level, everything about God baffles you.

Some folks say, “Yes, amen, but you know that’s the way the Bible says it will be. After all, God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts.”

Yes, it does, and if that’s all it said, we could never hope to be anything except stupid. But, praise God, the Bible doesn’t stop there. If you’ll go ahead and read the rest of Isaiah 55, you’ll find God also said:

As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and return-eth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (verses 10-11).

In other words, you don’t have to stay below God’s thoughts. Your thoughts can come up to His level. How? Through His Word. God’s thoughts are in His Word, so if you think His Word, you’ll think His thoughts.

But wait a minute. To think God’s supernatural thoughts, you’d have to have a “supernatural mind” wouldn’t you?

Yes—and if you’re a believer, you already have one. First Corinthians 2:16 says it this way: “We have the mind of Christ.” I read that for years, but I didn’t really understand it until I translated the word Christ. It means “the Anointed One.”

So, to have the mind of Christ is to have a mind that is under the influence of the Anointing of God.

A mind that’s not under the influence of God is in opposition to Him. It always goes contrary to His ways. And since God’s ways are right, then a mind without the anointing will think wrong.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

God wants to bless you so you can be a blessing.
He’ll do that by causing you to grow spiritually in
your knowledge of Him and to grow strong in character
and full of wisdom by acting on that knowledge.
In other words, the more we begin to imitate
God’s ways in our own actions, the more we put
ourselves in position for Him to bless us greatly.

Joseph is a perfect example of that truth (see
Genesis 37, 39-45).

Right in the middle of slavery, God gave Joseph
such wisdom, ability and favor that he made his
slave master rich. As a result, the man put Joseph
in charge of all his possessions. Joseph’s circumstances
looked bad for a while. But the wisdom
and favor of God continually brought him success.
Finally, Joseph ended up in charge of the entire
country. During the time of famine when
Joseph was second in command, other nations
came to Egypt for food.

Over and over, in the midst of adversity,
Joseph’s soul prospered. And his prosperity
greatly affected other people—within and
far beyond the borders of Egypt. Just one
person walking in wisdom, favor and success
from God can bless nations. Much like
Joseph, that one person can be you!

Wisdom

Our ability to prosper is based on more
than just believing God. There is a part for
us to play in our own prosperity, and the
Word of God outlines what we must do in
order to prosper. We know that we must
be givers, but our responsibility doesn’t
stop there. The Bible shows us that God
wants His people to grow up and act as
wise adults, making wise choices. According
to the Bible, wisdom is the principal or
supreme thing (Proverbs 4:7). If wisdom is the
number one thing we should be seeking,
then let’s study it more closely and see
what God says about it.

In Proverbs 3, we are told that wisdom is
more precious than rubies, silver or other
riches. In fact, verse 14 even says it is better
to get wisdom than gold because it “yields
better returns than gold” (New International
Version). For when a person has wisdom and
understanding, they can know how to receive
the other things they need—benefits
such as promotion, honor, length of days
and riches, just to name a few.

Having the wisdom to make the right decision
every time, based on the understanding
you have received from God’s Word and the
leading of the Holy Spirit, helps you become
prosperous in every area of life. No wonder
Proverbs 3:13 says, “Happy is the man that findeth
wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Think about that. You are one with Almighty
God. Is He a loser? Of course not! He’s the greatest
winner of all time. And that makes you a winner.
Take His innermost feelings into your heart, and
conform your own will and attitudes to His.

How do you do that? By listening to and
acting on His Word. This is a much higher calling
and a greater form of life than just submitting
yourself to God.

Is that possible? Yes! The Word says we are
predestined to be conformed to His very image—
to be one spirit with Him. It says we have the
mind of Christ and are bone of His bone. Thank
God, we’re connected to Jesus—spirit, soul and
body—through the Holy Spirit and by His Word.
We are completely and totally ONE with Him, so
let’s put ourselves in His position for a moment.

Is there any part of your life God can’t handle?
Certainly not!

Have you ever caught God asleep? No, the
Bible says He never slumbers.

Have you ever gone to Jesus with a problem
He didn’t know how to solve? No.

Have you ever heard Jesus say, “Well, I thought
I had overcome the world, but evidently I
haven’t”? No!

Well, we’re one with Him. If that’s His attitude,
then praise God, it should be our attitude. We are
overcomers with Him!

If I said, “All things are possible with God,”
everyone would smile and quickly agree. But the
same Bible, the same Jesus, the same Word of
God says, “All things are possible to him who
believes” (Mark 9:23, New King James Version). If
you believe the first statement, then you have to
believe the second.

You and I need to change our perspective in
all this. We are one with Him, so we need to set
our attitudes to match His. If we are one with
Him in spirit, soul and body, then we ought to be
one with Him in attitude as well!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries