BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

* * * * article from p. 19 continues * * * * Remember, the Word is what keeps your faith strong. So it should always be first place in your life. Get up earlier in the morning or stay up a little later at night if that’s what it takes to make time for it. Do whatever you have to do, because in these dangerous days, what you need more than anything else is to hear the voice of the Lord, and the first place He will speak to you is through the Bible. He’ll also speak directly to your spirit if you’ll take time to pray and listen to Him. Personally, I pray every morning before I leave the house. Sometimes I’ll sense the Holy Spirit prompting me to change my plans for the day. I may have intended to run errands or go shopping, but if the Lord leads me to do otherwise, I obey Him. I don’t have to have any explanation. I don’t have to have a bad feeling or foreboding. All I need is a leading, an inner nudge from God. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about believers whose lives were saved because they paid attention to such leadings. I’ve heard about people who avoided losing money on bad business deals because the Holy Spirit warned them to stay away from them. I have pages of testimonies in my files from people who heard and responded to God’s direction in their spirit on the morning of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and, as a result, escaped that tragedy. I’m not saying you need to be afraid. On the contrary, this is no time to fear! Fear opens the door to the devil. So, instead of being afraid, just let the Spirit of God make you aware. Make an agreement with Him. Say, “Lord, whatever You want me to do, tell me. I’ll change any plan at any moment if You lead me to. Just show me whatever I need to do to follow You.” If you’ll take that attitude and then pray every day, God will not only help you avoid danger, He’ll lead you to do things that will bless and help you. He’ll prompt you to go to a certain meeting, or go to the hospital to pray for someone who’s sick, or call someone on the phone and encourage them. He’ll help you develop the habit of following Him and obeying Him in little things so that when He speaks to you about something big, you’ll hear what to do. That’s called being led by the Spirit—and these days it’s the only safe way to live. Get in Sync Once you’ve made it a priority to hear God’s words, if you want to stay current in faith, you must also pay attention to your own words. God’s words and your words are the two elements involved in victorious faith. His words bring faith, and your words release faith. If you just have God’s Word but He doesn’t have your words, nothing is going to happen. Faith has to be spoken. So, once you’ve heard the Word, start saying it and don’t say anything contrary to it. Granted, when you’re first learning to retrain your mouth, this can be a real challenge. It’s tempting to join in when everyone around you is contradicting God’s Word. When they’re talking about how much financial trouble they’re in and how they’re afraid of catching the flu or losing their job, sometimes you might feel like saying, “Me too!” But don’t do it. God hasn’t said anything about letting you go broke or get sick or end up unemployed. He said He meets all your needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He said by Jesus’ stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). He said you’re blessed, not cursed (Galatians 3:14)! So you should be saying those things too. No matter what happens to the stock market, no matter what symptoms of sickness might try to come on your body, no matter how much the government may frustrate you, you cannot let your words go crazy. If you want a supernatural life of blessing, increase, freedom, abundance, health and the salvation of your family, you have to sync your words with God’s Word. Then all things will be possible to you by faith! 20 : BVOV

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