BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Essentially, that tree said to Jesus, “No, You’re not getting anything from me today.” So He answered it. “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever,” He said (verse 14). The next day, Jesus and His disciples passed back by and the tree was dead. When the disciples marveled, Jesus told them to have the same kind of faith and then laid out for them how to release it through prayer. “What things soever ye desire,” He said, “when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any…” (verses 24-25). Faith Begins Where the Will of God Is Known “But Brother Copeland, you still haven’t explained why it’s a mistake for me, when I’m facing a problem, just to pray whatever comes to mind. Especially if I have scriptures to back me up, isn’t that just following the example set by Jesus?” No. He didn’t just pray whatever came to mind. He didn’t react to situations by just spouting off every Bible verse and faith confession He could think of. He said only what He heard the Father say. As a result, His prayers were always answered and His words always came to pass. “I am in the Father, and the Father in me,” He said. “The words that I speak…I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). Because He operated this way, Jesus didn’t sound the way we often do when He released His faith. He didn’t pray a long prayer about the fig tree and shout a dozen scriptures at it. He spoke just nine words to it. He declared the end result. Then He turned His back on it and walked away. Jesus didn’t wait around to see if the tree would die. As far as He was concerned, it was already dead. He’d released His faith and the job was done. How could He be so certain? Was it because as the Son of God He had special power? No, it was because He’d heard from the Father before He gave the faith command. He’d received God’s wisdom about the situation and knew He was saying what God had told Him to say. Faith begins where the will of God is known. That’s why it can be a mistake to be too quick to pray and start quoting scriptures the instant you’re confronted with a problem. Even if you have a general knowledge of God’s will in certain areas, there may be something God wants you to know about the specific situation. He may want to show you what opened the door to the problem or give you instructions about how to deal with it. So, unless you’re facing an emergency that requires an instant response, it’s best to take time before you pray the prayer of faith to seek God’s wisdom. For as Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing.” I learned a lot about this from Brother Kenneth E. Hagin. He used to tell a story about a time he was away from home preaching and his daughter Pat developed a large growth on her eye. The school nurse was concerned about it and wanted her to be taken to the doctor, so Brother Hagin’s wife wrote him a letter asking what he wanted her to do. The first thing he did was to seek The LORD about it. He didn’t cancel his meetings and rush home right away. He didn’t even write his wife back immediately. Instead, he spent time meditating the healing scriptures. While maintaining his preaching schedule in the daytime, at night he would sleep for an hour and then wake up and meditate on the scriptures for a while. Then he’d sleep for another hour, wake up and meditate on them again. After three days, he wrote his wife. “Tell Pat she’s healed,” he said. She did; Pat believed it and said, “OK, if Daddy says I’m healed, then I am!” The next morning the growth was gone, and her eye was fine. That’s what happens when you get the wisdom of God before you pray the prayer of faith. You get results! Over the years, I’ve learned, that when I’m dealing with an especially serious situation, to set aside three days just to pray and hear from The LORD about it. During that time, I don’t pray about anything else. I roll my other responsibilities over on The LORD and focus on that one thing. Every time I’ve done that, I’ve gotten the answer I needed before the three days had passed. Several times, it’s come to me just as I woke up on the third day. “But Brother Copeland,” someone might say, “I’m not a preacher like you. I don’t have the same ability to hear from God.” Yes, you do! You have the same Holy Spirit living inside you that I have inside me, and Jesus said, “He will teach you all things” (John 14:26, New King James Version). What’s more, 1 Corinthians 1:30 says Jesus has been made unto you wisdom. And James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” God’s wisdom belongs to you! All you have to do is believe that and ask God to give it to you. If you’re in difficulty or facing some kind of trial or temptation, just say, “Father, I need some insight here. I know this situation didn’t come from You because it’s bad. It’s under the curse, and I know that Jesus has redeemed me from the curse. But I need Your wisdom, Sir, to help me lay hold of the victory Jesus has provided for me.” 6 : BVOV

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