BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

2 2 : B V O V giving of thanks opens the heart as it freely grants gratitude to the Lord. Change Your "What Ifs" If you want to remain in peace after praying, you need to get rid of the negative "what ifs" in your life. Saying things like: "What if I get sick?" Or, "What if I have a wreck? What if my son is hurt? What if my husband loses his job?" These negative "what ifs" will bring anxiety right back on the scene. What if you change your "what ifs" to: "What if something good happens? What if my husband loses his job and gets one that pays twice the salary? What if I live to be 100 years old? What if my son graduates with honors and lives a long, healthy, successful life?" Thinking on those kinds of positive "what ifs" will change your whole attitude! If you think on positive things, you will have peace and good expectations in your life. Face Your Fears Second Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (New King James Version). The word fear is interpreted from the Greek as dread, terror, cowardice and timidity. Fear produces anxiety! It comes from a dark place.… But God is light and the light of the Word will cause it to disappear, dissipate and cease to exist. I once read an article that stated that people who do not face and deal with their fears fi nd that the fear grows larger. Fears seem even bigger if you continually try to ignore them. Pulling them out into the light, looking at them and acknowledging them makes them smaller. Confronting them in a practical manner and dealing with them will take away their power. We do not have to face our fears alone. We can face them with the angelic host surrounding us and the Greater One within us! Perfect love casts out fear and turns it guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."… You may not be able to comprehend it, but the peace of God will guard your heart and mind from anxiety. The Word of God states that you can have peace if you will do three things: pray, supplicate (ask or request), and give thanks. Focus on God's power, not on the fear. There are many di" erent types of prayer, but all kinds are e" ective against anxiety. Many times, I have worried about something for days before I fi nally prayed about it. Often, I have just prayed in the spirit about something and felt a release. Sometimes, as I prayed in the spirit, I could picture the worry or care as an obstacle being bombarded by my prayers and being demolished. Regardless of how you pray, any kind or type of prayer will help get rid of anxiety. Supplication is a simple request. When you are worried and anxious about the future, you can simply ask God to direct you and change circumstances to His will. If you are not clear on what needs to change, it is much more e" ective to simply ask God for His will to be done in that situation. There are some things that we do know how to pray about. We know that it is God's will to heal, although we may not know exactly how He will accomplish it. You could receive a miracle, or be directed to the right doctor, but asking God to move on your behalf or on behalf of others will bring more peace.… Personally, I like to "call things that are not." I always call for God's "highest and best" to be manifest in every area of my life and the lives of others. Worry, stress and anxiety decrease if you are giving thanks. When you begin to give God thanks for things present, past or future, you are painting a positive picture and giving yourself a good image. There is a lot of value in the old song "Count Your Blessings." Counting your blessings and giving God praise will change your frame of mind—from negative to positive! The word thanksgiving comes from a Greek word meaning "grant freely" and "will." So the i Annette Cappsis the president and CEO of Capps Ministries in Broken Arrow, Okla. Along with continuing the radio ministry of her late father, Charles Capps, she is host of theConcepts of Faithtelevision program, which airs on numerous independent stations and networks including Daystar, TCT Network, and VICTORY Channel. For more information, go to cappsministries.com. C H A N N E L C H A N N E L Tues: 8 a.m.. | Fri: 2 p.m. | Sat: 9:30 p.m. ET Watch Concepts of Faith on

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