Gloria Copeland

When an athlete goes into training, he practices to improve his skills. He works hard, repeating the same motions over and over until they become what we’d call “second nature” to him.

Most of us understand how crucial that kind of training is in the physical realm. We know that you simply can’t be a winner without it. But did you know we can train ourselves that same way where spiritual things are concerned?

Some people say you need to “give till it hurts.” Don’t you believe it. God doesn’t want gifts given in pain. He wants gifts given in joy! In fact, those are the only kinds of gifts that please Him.

That’s why He tacked His promise of abundance onto His command about cheerful giving. The two are connected.

Some people find it difficult to believe God’s promises because they’ve seen so many things in the natural world that seem to contradict them. They’ve seen faithful tithers go broke. They’ve seen sick Christians fail to receive their healing.

In reality, it would be more accurate to say that they think they’ve seen those things. Because, you see, there’s a deceiver at work in the world. A deceiver who’s busily doing the same thing he’s been doing ever since the Garden of Eden: tricking mankind into believing God’s Word isn’t true.

Have you ever had a Holy Spirit-inspired dream, a dream of doing something really great for Jesus? A dream of being so prosperous, for instance, that you can finance a nationwide revival? A dream of leading thousands of people to the Lord?

At one time or another, you probably have, but perhaps you backed away from it. You thought, Oh my, I couldn’t do that. Satan’s kept me defeated for so long I have a poor self-image.

You’ve been walking by faith. You’ve been believing God to meet your need. But what do you do when the results seem slow in coming and you are tempted to give up?

Be patient!

There is not much said about patience these days. But, when it comes to receiving from God, it is just as important as faith.

It will make the difference between success and failure for you.

Have you ever thought about the fact that man is the only creature God created who has to wear clothing to cover himself? All the other creatures grow their own coverings. Some grow fur, some feathers, others scales or leathery hide. But all are clothed from the inside out!

Most people don’t realize it, but in the beginning, man was clothed that way too. He was made in the image of God. And, if you’ll look in Ezekiel 8:2, you’ll find that God is clothed in fire from the loins up and from the loins down. That fire is His glory emanating outward from His innermost being.

If you’ve been crying and asking God to run the devil out of your life, stop! The Bible says you’re the one who’s supposed to overcome the devil.

How? By resisting him. By rebelling against him when he tells you to do something and doing what God says instead! When Satan tells you some lie, contradict him with the Word of God. Oppose him. This verse says when you do that, he’ll flee from you. He’ll “run as in terror.”

That means everywhere you go, as you walk in faith and oppose the devil, darkness is pushed back.

In this day and time, trouble seems to surround us on every side. If it’s not a failing economy, it’s a failing business, a failing marriage or failing health. Yet, in the midst of seemingly overwhelming problems, God has promised to deliver us.

If you hang around God very much, it won’t be long before you’ll start wanting to do things the world considers supernatural. You’ll start wanting to lay hands on the sick and have them recover. You’ll start wanting to cast out demons. You’ll start wanting to cast mountainous problems into the sea.

What’s more, you can do it if you want to!

How? Not by jumping out and “trying” to do supernatural things, but by obeying God one step at a time. By doing the things He’s already given you power to do.

Never underestimate the importance of praise. It’s one of the most powerful spiritual weapons you have.

Praise is more than a pleasant song or a few uplifting words about God. It does something. It releases the very presence of God Himself. And, when the presence of God comes on the scene, your enemies are turned back. Sickness and disease can’t stay on your body. Poverty can’t stay in your house.

No matter how long you’ve been living by faith, no matter how much you’ve learned about it, every once in a while you’re going to suffer a setback. You’re going to run into some circumstances that just don’t turn out the way you expect them to.

When that happens, remember this: Those setbacks are just temporary. You may have lost a battle, but you’re not going to lose the war. Just get up and go at it again.

“But I don’t understand it,” you say. “I did the best I could. I walked in all the truth I knew to walk in. Why didn’t I get the victory?”

Truly, it’s time for us to stop looking for the living among the dead. It’s time for us to stop wandering around in the cemetery of sin, sickness and failure and to step into resurrection life!

As a resurrected creature, you’re no accident going somewhere to happen. Your life isn’t just a loose web of events and circumstances. God has specific plans for you.

God honors those who honor Him. He’ll never forget the seeds of loyalty you sow. He’ll multiply them and give them back to you in a harvest of blessing. And Malachi 3:17 says when He makes up His jewels, you’ll be forever among them.

Forever. Think about that for a moment. By honoring God with your life and your lips, you’re stepping into a realm of blessing that will literally take an eternity to explore.

You are an ambassador for Christ! If you have made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you have been sent to act as a representative for Him in this world. Just as nations send ambassadors to represent their interests in other countries, you've been sent here to look after the interests of the kingdom of God.

Resurrection. What do you think of when you hear that word? Most people think of the past. Of a stone rolled away. An empty tomb. And a risen Lord.

Praise God, Jesus is alive today, isn't He?

What we don't fully understand is this: He's not the only One who has been resurrected. We've been resurrected too!

We were spiritually resurrected the day we made the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. That day we passed from death to life. The greater part of your resurrection has already happened!

Some people have the mistaken idea that when the direction of the Holy Spirit comes to them, they can just ignore it for a while if they want to and then obey Him later in their own good time. They think to themselves, I know what I'm doing is wrong. I know my lifestyle isn't right, but I'm just going to do it a while longer. Then I'll get things straightened out with the Lord.

Self-consciousness is a major problem in the Body of Christ today. It keeps us from doing the things God tells us to do. Instead of simply obeying Him, it makes us start to wonder, Now what will people think of me if I do that? What if I command that person to get out of the wheelchair and he doesn't get up? What if I start believing for prosperity and go broke? What about that, God? I won't look too good, will I?

As a believer, you have the power of the Holy Spirit inside you. But that power won't go to work until you put it to work!

The Holy Spirit won't just muscle in on you. He won't come in and turn down the television set and jerk you up off the couch and say, "Now you listen to Me."

No, He's a gentleman. He's sent to help you to do the will of God, to strengthen you, to counsel you...but He won't do a thing until He's asked.

That's why the book of James says if you're in trouble or afflicted, pray. It's prayer that puts the power within you to work.

Times of hardness are inevitable. You need to know that. It's true that we've been redeemed from the curse, and there's nothing Satan can do to reverse that, but he is going to challenge you on it.

So don't be surprised when things get tough. Times will come when you have to stand strictly by faith, when you'll have to speak and act as though what God says is true even when you can't feel it or see it happening around you. There will be times when everything looks terrible. That's when you must endure hardness as a good soldier.

There's a dimension of living you can only experience when you make a decision to please the Father in every activity of your life. In that dimension, Jesus becomes real to you and manifests Himself to you.

Just after the turn of the 20th century, God poured out His Spirit and started a revival on Azusa Street. It was an awesome time, a time when people's entire lives were turned inside out. Everything else in their world seemed to lose importance. Supernatural things were happening. God was manifesting Himself in their presence.