His Perfect Will, His Final Word

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9–10

I want to share with you a precious testimony from Caleb, a father in Texas who wrote to my team:

My youngest son was diagnosed with scoliosis when his X-ray showed a seventeen-degree curve in his spine. Upon receiving the news, fear, doubt, anger, sadness, worry, and condemnation began to set in our hearts. We were also concerned about potential disabilities and surgeries for our son in the future.

As a pastor, I found myself struggling with my Christian beliefs. Nevertheless, I could feel the Lord’s loving embrace and peace as I prayed for my son. My church also prayed for him, and we believed the Lord could, and would, heal him.

The doctor referred him to a children’s hospital and arranged for an appointment. By faith, we decided to go for the appointment to confirm the healing had already begun. Even though doubt, condemnation, and fear crept into our hearts, we kept declaring the finished work of the cross and we kept partaking of the holy Communion.

During the appointment, the doctor examined my son and took more X-rays. Then she said, “I have good news for you!” and showed us the X-rays that displayed no trace of scoliosis. Our son’s spine had straightened out. The Lord had healed him! There is victory and power in the cross indeed!

We now distribute a copy of Pastor Prince’s book The Power of Right Believing to every new member in our church. We believe miracles happen as we fill ourselves with the good news of the gospel.

I really felt for Caleb when he described the feelings he went through on hearing his son was diagnosed with a condition that could potentially lead to lifelong disability. Every loving parent wants their child to be well and to enjoy a quality life, and that’s also our heavenly Father’s heart and will toward us.

Despite his fears and uncertainties, Caleb did the best thing he could for his son. He kept declaring the finished work of the cross, and he kept partaking of the holy Communion. And just like that, with nothing spectacular happening, no voice booming out from heaven, and no earth-shaking demonstration of power, his son was healed.

Are you also concerned about a health issue today? I pray that as you do what Caleb did, you will also see God’s supernatural healing manifest for you!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Be Led by the Holy Spirit

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

Acts 16:6–7

The more areas of your life you involve the Lord in, the more you can experience His protection. You can even ask the Lord to guide you in something as seemingly natural as your travel itinerary. In fact, read the passage above. The apostle Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them at every step.

We see from those scriptures that closed doors are not necessarily negative, and could be signs of God’s protection over our lives. The challenge for some of us is that we are so adept at planning and scheduling our busy lives that many times, we don’t make room for the Lord to intervene and to guide us to be at the right place at the right time.

Let’s not put our trust in our intelligence and planning, but in His wisdom, leading, and counsel. There is a proverb that says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). Even as we plan, I pray that we will always remember to commit all our ways to the Lord, and allow Him to direct our steps.

Being led by the Spirit does not have to be something complicated. When you walk close to the Lord and have a close relationship with Him, He can lead you in supernaturally natural ways.

Some years ago, a couple in our church were vacationing at a beach resort on Penang Island in Malaysia, when the wife felt like eating something in another location on the mainland. Because of that “prompting” in her belly, they headed off earlier than they had originally planned. While they were loading their vehicle, a man kept hurrying them and asking them to move off as they were apparently blocking the hotel driveway, and that had really irritated them at that time.

In any case, just fifteen minutes after they had crossed from the island to the mainland, they heard the news that an earthquake in the Indian Ocean had triggered a killer tsunami that crashed onto the beachfront they were at, killing more than fifty people.

Had they left just a little later, they could have been among the casualties of the tragedy that day. Looking back, the couple believes that the man at the hotel might even have been an angel sent by the Lord to get them out of harm’s way quickly.

I don’t know about you, but I want the Lord to direct all my steps! Call upon Him today and He will answer you.

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Next, Damascus somehow has to be destroyed. It has to happen. Damascus has never been destroyed to the point that is uninhabitable. The Bible says, “The burden against Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.”

But it’s not just that. Other countries that the Bible mentions that are going to come up against Israel are already surfacing in the news. Libya – we start seeing in Libya action that is resulting from the shenanigans of Russia, Iran, and Turkey in that country. Sudan – we see that both Russia and Iran and even Turkey are doing stuff there. Of course, the Abraham Accords that Trump started in 2020, they will continue, and we will have even the Saudis very, very soon added to this very thing. And we’re talking about it right now. You can see that.

And why am I saying that? Because the Bible says that while Iran is going to join Russia and Turkey, Sheba and Dedan, which is Saudi Arabia of today, will protest against it because they’re on the side of Israel. For that war to start, Israel must be safe, secure, and prosperous, and we know that it happens.

And that’s what Ezekiel 38 says, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you.”’” God is for Israel, and God is against those who come against Israel. And He says that Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal is going to come, and Persia and Ethiopia, which is Sudan of today, and Libya will join them. Gomer and Togarmah, which is Turkey of today, many people will come with them.

So you can see all the countries. And I bet you will see that happening either during Trump’s administration or right after that. These are the countries that are going to rise up against Israel. These are the countries that comprise the Ezekiel 38 war that will come.

And right after that war, following the supernatural victory of God in that war, Messianic aspirations will continue to increase, which will unfortunately lead to the acceptance of a false Messiah based on the false understanding of who and what Messiah is all about. And when you don’t think the Messiah is God and that He didn’t come to die for your sins, it’s very easy to choose a man promising prosperity, peace, and, above all, the temple in Jerusalem.

And that is exactly what Daniel, in chapter nine, said that the last seven years will bring upon Israel. “He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week,” seven years, “but in the middle of that one week he shall bring an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined.”

It’s determined. You cannot change it. There is going to be an invasion of Israel. There’s going to be an antichrist. There is going to be a Great Tribulation. We are not part of it. The entire description in the Book of Revelation, the church is not even mentioned once during the Tribulation. We will be out of here while Israel will be the focus of God’s dealing with the world. There will be a Great Tribulation, and Israel is going to seek the Lord during that time. “Alas! For that day is great,” Jeremiah 30 says, “so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”

Daniel 12 says, “At that time, Michael…” There is a specific angel in heaven whose job is to protect the nation of Israel. Did you know that? That’s his job – Michael. “The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.”

Basically, Daniel was given news by Gabriel that the Tribulation would be far greater than the Holocaust. And then he said, “And at that time, your people shall be delivered.” Who? The Jewish people that will see and acknowledge Messiah, believing in Him, because everyone does who is found written in the Book.

Zechariah said, “‘It shall come to pass in all the land,’ says the Lord, ‘that two-thirds [of Israel] shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, “This is my people”; and each one will say, “The Lord is my God.”’”

Remember, Israel of the present is Israel of the past, and it’s the same Israel of the future. It’s the same promise.

Zechariah 2:8-9
For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.”

Zechariah lived and prophesied in the post-exilic era, meaning after the Babylonian captivity. Remember, Israel had forsaken the Sabbatical year for 490 years, which equated to 70 Sabbatical years during which they had been ordered to allow the land to rest. God had promised that the sixth year would yield a bumper crop for them that would sustain them until the ninth year of the cycle when the eighth year’s plantings would be ripe for harvesting.

They did not do as the Lord commanded and God said to them, “You didn’t let the land rest so I am taking you out of the land to let it rest for 70 consecutive years.” Yet even after nearly half a millennium of disobedience, God said to them, “He who touches you touches the apple of My eye.”

What a tragedy it is to overlook such a great and deep love that God has for His chosen people even after great failures. This should be an encouragement to us as we learn of His mercy and grace through the Jews. Why would we choose to see Israel as forsaken when current events clearly show they are not? We miss such beautiful pictures of God’s faithfulness when we do such a thing.

God has brought them back into their land, they are prospering in it, nations prophesied by Ezekiel are in coalition together, Damascus is constantly in the news, and Israel is the focus of world attention. That means we can expect the destruction of Damascus, the invasion and defeat of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, and Sudan, and that the 70th week of Daniel are all on the near horizon.

All these things tell us that “soon and very soon we are are going to see the King!” And seven years or so later, all Israel will be saved when we return with Jesus at His second coming. Don’t let anyone tell you that modern Israel is not biblical Israel, because their existence today is not about their faithfulness to God but His faithfulness to His word!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

We Are Only Complete In Christ

'But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.'

John 20:31

Recognition of our completeness in Christ is a tremendous safeguard against deception. Prior to salvation we are incomplete and constantly strive to satisfy our hunger. But through the new birth, we are complete in Christ and our hunger should only be for more revelation of what we already have in Christ. Total satisfaction with Christ disarms Satan's lies. A big part of all temptation is dissatisfaction.

Adam and Eve would not have eaten of the forbidden fruit if they hadn't been made dissatisfied with what they had. Through Satan's lie they were led to believe that they didn't have it all (Gen. 3:5). The truth is, they did have it all. They were more like God before they ate of the fruit than after they ate the fruit. Their dissatisfaction was a preliminary step to their action of sin.

Satan tempts us in the same way he came against Adam and Eve (2 Cor. 11:3).

Therefore, a full revelation of our completeness in Christ will keep us from chasing after all the things the devil has to offer. If anyone tells you that Christ isn't enough; that you need something more, then that's the devil trying to turn you away from your completeness in Christ.

In the same way that Jesus has the fullness of God in Him, we have the fullness of Christ in us. That makes us complete or perfect in Him - that is our spiritual man. Our born-again spirit is identical in righteousness, authority, and power to Christ's spirit because our born-again spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9) which has been sent into our hearts crying 'Abba Father' (Gal. 4:6). Andrew Womack

Be Rooted in His Love

That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.

Ephesians 3:17–19

My friend, if you have received a negative medical report, it is natural for you to be fearful. It is normal to feel doubt, anger, sadness, worry, and condemnation, and even “struggle with your Christian beliefs.” The Lord does not expect you to never be shaken. But in the midst of your tumult of emotions, keep your eyes on Jesus and keep on declaring His finished work over your situation.

Maybe right now you are angry with God for allowing a disease to take root in the body of a loved one. Maybe you are feeling helpless because it feels as if you are standing on the sidelines, and there is nothing you can do to alleviate the suffering. Or maybe you yourself have been confined to a hospital bed, and you are terrified. Every time you are wheeled out for more scans, you don’t know what the doctors will find, and you are crying out, “God, why is this happening to me? Where are You?”

When you are staring at the symptoms in your body or in the body of your loved one, when it seems as though you have prayed with all your heart and still the sickness remains, I know it is hard to believe God can heal. Or maybe you believe He can heal, but you doubt He wants to.

Perhaps you have given up hope because you think that if He wanted to heal you or your loved one, He would have done it already. If that is how you feel right now, may I encourage you to feed on His love for you. The doubts in your mind might be screaming so loudly it’s hard for you to even believe in Him anymore.

But I pray that you will be able to catch a fresh glimpse of the width and length and depth and height of your Savior’s love for you (Eph. 3:18–19). I pray that even when your mind cannot understand it, your heart will be rooted and established in His love for you. When you are so established in His love, you will see Him do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you ask or think (Eph. 3:20).

Do not allow the enemy to shake your faith. Do not allow the enemy to sell you any more lies. He is a defeated foe, and whatever evil he meant against you, God will turn it around for your good and for His glory.

The Word of God declares that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isa. 54:17). Even if the enemy has formed some weapon of disease against you, rest assured that it has no power to prevail against you.

This devotional is adapted from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

The Secret to Godliness

. . . add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

2 Peter 1:5–9

Have you been told you have to exhibit more Christian character, more self-control, more godliness, and more brotherly kindness? Like a thousand times, perhaps? I certainly was as a young believer. My friend, I totally agree that all these qualities are good and necessary, but the question is, how do we develop them? How should we preachers help believers to exhibit more Christian character?

When asked for the solution, most people would say, “Discipline! We need to focus more on the Ten Commandments and develop discipline, and then self-control, godliness, and brotherly kindness will come.” While all that sounds very good (to the flesh), that is not what the Word of God says in today’s scripture. Read it again, focusing especially on the last sentence.

It is clear that if a Christian lacks the qualities mentioned in today’s scripture, it is not because he lacks discipline, but because he “has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins”—the main clause of the new covenant. He has forgotten that the blood of Jesus has purchased for him the forgiveness of all his sins.

Beloved, if you remind yourself daily that you have been cleansed from all your sins, not only will it produce a genuine love for the Lord, but you will also exhibit more and more Christ-like qualities. Your heart will overflow with faith, self-control, godliness, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and love.

Let me share with you a wonderful praise report from a precious couple who experienced this very truth in their marriage and family. Andy (the husband) had discovered the gospel of grace through one of my books. Prior to this, he was a believer who loved the Lord, his family, and the church he attended. But Andy always experienced a struggle within himself where he would go through cycles of feeling up and down.

His wife, Danielle, who supported him through these cycles, described it this way: “One month he’d be fine. The next two weeks, not so much. Life was like a roller-coaster ride. . . these ups and downs became so regular that I could almost tell when things were going good and when they were going to swing downward again.” Needless to say, this negatively affected those closest to him—his wife and daughters.

However, as Andy began to learn about God’s grace, he came to see how he could rest in Jesus’ finished work. He explained the changes this brought: “The revelation that I’ve been forgiven through Christ and made righteous in Him made me Son-conscious instead of sin-conscious.

Now, when the accuser of the brethren tries to accuse me, the Spirit of truth convicts me of Jesus’ finished work! I still feel down at times of course, but I don’t sink to those depths as before and I’m not down as long as I used to be. I can’t explain it, but I’m so much more joyful now, and I’m just in love with Jesus all over again!”

You might like to hear how Danielle eloquently sums up how the revelation of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace has radically changed her husband:

I saw major changes in him! He’s become much calmer in handling frustrating situations. We’ve always had a good marriage, but now he treats me with so much more love and care and our marriage is even better! He also treats our girls better, showing much more patience with them. He spends much more time with them now and I can also see him really enjoying the time he spends with them.

The secret behind every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven. Their godliness stems from a revelation of their forgiveness. They are believers who believe and honor God’s Word. When God says that He is merciful and that He has forgiven all their sins, they take Him at His Word.

All day long, they are forgiveness-conscious. Even when they say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or have a wrong thought, they continue to be forgiveness-conscious. They see the blood of Jesus continually washing them. They see God in His mercy and grace. And because of their forgiveness-consciousness, they experience victory over sin.

I encourage you to meditate on the forgiveness and righteousness you have in Christ. This is the key to enjoying your relationship with God and experiencing His love manifesting in and through you! Beloved, the more you are anchored in Jesus’ grace and finished work, the more you will reign in life through Him!

This devotional is adapted from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

Intimacy with the Lord

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28–29

The Lord does not want you to simply claim His promises of protection. He wants you to come close to Him. Running to Him and coming under His feathers speak of closeness. It’s not about how many times you have recited Psalm 91; it’s about having an intimate relationship with Him.

As a child, if it was thundering at night and I was afraid, I would run into my parents’ room, jump into their bed, and hide in my mother’s arms. After a while, I would fall into a deep sleep even if the storm was still raging outside.

You see, you don’t have to learn the seven steps of overcoming fear. Having the presence of a loving parent right with you is enough to drive out fear. Our Lord Jesus who loves you wants you to come close to Him and to take shelter in His love. Will you do that today?

I heard the story of a farmer whose farmhouse got burned down. As he walked around the smoldering wreckage, he saw the burned carcasses of his chickens. He happened to move the blackened body of one of the hens with his foot, and to his astonishment, little chicks came running out from under the body. What happened? They had taken refuge under the wings of their mother, who had given her life to save her little ones.

That’s a picture of what our Lord Jesus did when He took upon His own body the full punishment for our sins. The fire of God’s judgment fell, not upon the scribes and Pharisees who had rejected the Messiah, and not upon the Roman soldiers who nailed Him to the cross, but upon His own beloved Son—for the nation of Israel, for the Gentile nations, for you, for me, so that whosoever believes in Him would be saved.

But here’s something I want you to see: when Jesus was offered on the cross, He absorbed the judgment of God in His own body, and, as the sacrifice, He was greater than the fires of judgment. The Offering was greater than the judgment because the Offering was not consumed.

On that cross, our Lord declared, “It is finished!” before He gave up His Spirit (John 19:30). The Offering remained after all of God’s judgment was exhausted. Hallelujah! That is why we can come boldly to His throne of grace today!

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Born to Die so That You Might Live

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:12

You are probably familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Bible says that when the time had come, Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:6–7). But have you ever wondered why the angel told the shepherds that the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger was a “sign”?

A manger is actually a feeding trough for livestock. Do you know what a feeding trough in those days looks like? I have seen a similar one at Solomon’s stables in Meggido, Israel. It is basically a big rectangular block of stone with the trough hewn out of it. So baby Jesus, who was wrapped in swaddling cloths, was placed in such a stone trough.

But why was that a sign? Because if you have seen the empty tomb of Jesus at a place called The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, you would have noticed that the place where His body was laid, inside a tomb hewn out of rock, resembles a stone trough. The Bible says that after Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a tomb hewn out of a rock (Mark 15:43–46).

Can you see the similarities? Wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, baby Jesus would one day be wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb. That was the sign the angel was referring to. It pointed to Jesus’ death.

Jesus was the only child in all of humanity born to die. Once you realize that, you will realize how much God loves you. You will realize that He gave up His Son for that one purpose, and that His Son willingly came for that one purpose—to die for your sins and mine.

Beloved, can you imagine living your life knowing that you are just qualifying yourself to die on the cross to save the world? That was the life that Jesus lived. He lived to die, so that we might live and enjoy life abundantly today! From Joseph Prince

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Jesus will be the glory of His people, Israel. He is their salvation. And it’s an amazing passage that reveals all of that. Not only that He is not done with Israel, but in fact, all of Bible prophecy relates to the nation of Israel. A third of your Bible, everything that has to do with the future of you and me and the rest of the world is related to the nation of Israel. The Bible doesn’t have a chapter speaking about the war between Ukraine and Russia or the trade war between America and Mexico and Canada. The Bible does not have anything to say about nations as they do things among themselves, but it’s always about how they relate to Israel.

Deuteronomy says, “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.” And every single Christian will be asked about his view on Israel. And every nation on planet Earth will be judged according to what they did and how they treated Israel. This is very severe. This is very heavy. And this is exactly why Satan is on the move to completely confuse a younger generation right now.

The Bible has made it clear that there is coming a time when things will begin to advance prophetically in quick succession.

Matthew 24:34
“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.”

Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.

Jesus said that all He taught in the Olivet Discourse would happen within a single generation. Revelation opens with a statement about Jesus giving to John prophetic information about things that will shortly – meaning in quick succession – take place.

That tells us we should expect escalations in things related to Bible prophecy in the last days. Among those things is the escalation of antisemitism. Since the heinous actions of Hamas on October 7, 2023, we have seen a rapid rise in antisemitism that can only be described as demonic in that it makes no sense. To turn on the nation that was attacked, to accuse those who have experienced genocide of perpetrating genocide can only be the result of demonic, spiritual delusion.

This delusion has severely impacted the younger generation via the influence of those who have betrayed their calling and become liberal indoctrinators instead of educators. We cannot simply stand by and allow this delusion to go unchecked. Lies only have one enemy – the truth.

It is Satan who has convinced many that merely offending someone is hate, that not agreeing with what anyone might believe makes you a bigot. Christians all over the world have joined the fight for the unborn child; we need to have the same attitude towards fighting for the already born child. We march for life not caring that it offends many and we must also take that approach for those being deceived by wicked and godless indoctrinators who stand in front of our kids in the classroom. That being said, there are still some wonderful teachers out there and we need to wholeheartedly support them. 

Proverbs 24:11-12
Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
 
God wants us in the fight, not just sitting around waiting to be raptured. We are quickly running out of time to reach those who are being drawn towards death.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

Pray for Right Happenings

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16 NLT

The Hebrew word qarah is often used in the Bible to explain God-ordained happenings. The first time qarah is mentioned is in Genesis 24:12, when Abraham sent his servant to get a bride for his son, Isaac. The servant did not know which girl would be the right one, so he prayed, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham”.

The phrase “please give me success” is the word qarah. The servant asked God to give him qarah—right happening. If you follow the story, you will see how Abraham’s servant was successful in his task.

What I want you to focus on here is the posture of the servant. He prayed for God’s help, intervention, and leading. He had a posture of humility. We all need the Lord in our daily lives. No matter how intelligent we are, we can’t put ourselves at the right place at the right time a hundred percent of the time. Only the Lord can do this for us.

If we stay “low” and lean on the Lord for wisdom, guidance, and understanding, He will guide us and protect us. To pray is to adopt a posture of humility. It is saying to God, “Father, I can’t, but You can.”

A lady who attends our church regularly shared that on one of her overseas trips, she got so engrossed in her quiet time with the Lord that she missed breakfast in the hotel at which she was staying. But while she was in her room, a horrific terror attack took place in the hotel’s restaurant.

She was dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and was supernaturally led to linger in His presence that morning. She humbly prioritized her time with the Lord over the scheduled time for her breakfast. If she had gone down to eat, she would have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That is why I like to call Psalm 91 the prayer of protection. When we pray this prayer, we are saying, “Lord Jesus, we can’t protect ourselves, but You can. We humble ourselves before You. Be our refuge, our fortress, and our God. Surely You shall protect us and deliver us from harm in these dangerous times. Lead us to be at the right place at the right time and to be with the right people.”

This devotional is adapted from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

A Picture of Pure Grace

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1 NLT

Years ago, I was sitting in my living room, just spending time in the Word, when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Son, study the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai, for this is a picture of pure grace. Not a single Israelite died during this period although they murmured and complained.”

I had never heard anyone preach that before or read it in any book. So, feverishly, I turned to that portion of the Scriptures, trying to find someone who had died, so that I could prove God wrong! Have you been there before, trying to prove God wrong? Well, you can never succeed, and indeed, I could not find any Israelite who died even though they murmured and complained.

God had rescued the children of Israel from their Egyptian slave masters by performing great signs and wonders, yet, the children of Israel failed to honor Him, and murmured and complained over and over again.

When the Egyptian army came thundering toward them from behind and the Red Sea was before them, the Israelites cried out to Moses saying, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?” (Exod. 14:11).

That was a complaint against God, and murmuring and complaining are sins. But what was God’s response? He opened up the Red Sea and they crossed over to dry land on the other side, safe from their enemies.

Then, even after God had brought them safely to the other side of the sea, they complained about the bitter waters at Marah. What was God’s response? He made the bitter waters sweet (Exod. 15:23–25). In the wilderness, they cried out against Moses when they were hungry.

What was God’s response? He rained bread from heaven (Exod. 16:2–4). But still, the children of Israel complained. When there was no water again, they cried out against Moses, saying, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Exod. 17:3). What was God’s response? He brought water out of the flinty rock.

Every time the children of Israel murmured and complained, it only brought forth fresh demonstrations of God’s favor, supply, and goodness. Why? Because during that period, the blessings and provisions they received were not dependent on their obedience or goodness. They were dependent on God’s goodness and His faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant (Exod. 2:24), which was a covenant of grace.

Can you see what the Lord was showing me? The Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Sinai was a picture of pure grace. Their blessings were not dependent on their goodness but His goodness, not on their faithfulness but His faithfulness. Before the Ten Commandments were given, they were under grace and nobody was punished even when they failed. But immediately after the law was given (Exod. 20), their failure resulted in punishment.

Beloved, the good news is that we are no longer under the old covenant of law. We have been delivered from the law through Jesus’ death on the cross. Because of Jesus Christ, we are now under the new covenant of grace. This means that today, God does not assess and bless us based on our performance, but on His goodness and faithfulness.

If you have been struggling with a challenge for some time now, look away from yourself, your mistakes, your lack, and your imperfections. Look instead at and give thanks for the pure grace God extends to you today because of the finished work of His Son. Let your confidence and trust not be rooted in your imperfect performance, but in His constant and unwavering goodness, love, and undeserved, unmerited, and unearned favor toward you, and see Him supply all that you need.

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

It’s Written on Your Heart

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13

God has made it so easy for us in the new covenant to be directed by His wisdom and love. We no longer have to run to prophets to find out His will for us. He Himself leads us!

For those of you who want to serve the Lord, but don’t know where to start, just ask yourself what is in your heart. If you have a desire to work among children, then do so.

As a new covenant believer, that’s how your Father leads you. He puts His laws in your mind and writes them on your heart!

Perhaps you feel a prompting to bless someone financially, even though the person looks prosperous. Follow that prompting because today, God speaks to you directly and He has made it easy for you to know His will through His promptings in your heart.

We all know how looks can be deceiving. For example, many con artists believe that church folks are gullible. Therefore, they dress down with a well-rehearsed sob story so as to move you to give to them.

On the other hand, there are noble people who dress up on Sundays to honor the occasion, but they may be in dire straits financially. Hence, we need to follow the promptings of our hearts and not the sight of our eyes.

So when you feel a desire to do something good for someone, do it, knowing that you have a brand-new heart that hears God, and that it is God who works in you both the willingness and the ability to do it!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

Rest in Jesus’ Finished Work

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace [unmerited favor] in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–7

Look at the above passage. It tells us that by God’s unmerited favor, we are seated together with Christ at the Father’s right hand. What does it mean to be seated together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus?

It means that today, we are in a position of rest in Jesus' finished work. To be seated in Christ is to rest, to trust in Him, and to receive everything our beautiful Savior has accomplished on our behalf.

My friend, God wants us to take the position of relying on Jesus for good success in every area of our lives, instead of relying on our good works and human efforts to achieve success. What a blessing it is to be in this position of dependence on our Savior!

But instead of looking at Jesus, believers are misled by the devil into looking at themselves. For thousands of years, the devil’s strategy has not changed. He is a master at accusing you, pointing out all your flaws, weaknesses, mistakes, and blemishes. He will keep on reminding you of your past failures and use condemnation to perpetuate the cycle of defeat in your life.

When the apostle Paul found himself sinking into self-occupation, he became depressed and cried out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me...?” (Rom. 7:24). In the very next verse, he sees God's solution and says, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Likewise, beloved, it’s time for you to step out from being self-conscious and self-occupied, and begin to be Christ-occupied instead.

Today, you should no longer be asking yourself, “Am I accepted before God?” This question puts the focus back on you and this places you under the law. I know that there are people who will encourage you to ask yourself this question, but it is an error to ask yourself if you are accepted before God.

The correct question to ask is, “Is Christ accepted before God?" because as Christ is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17). Don’t ask, “Am I pleasing to God?” Instead, ask, “Is Christ pleasing to God?”

Can you see the difference in emphasis? The old covenant of law is all about you, but the new covenant of grace is all about Jesus! The law places the demand on you to perform and makes you self-conscious, whereas grace places the demand on Jesus and makes you Jesus-conscious.

Can you imagine a young child growing up and always wondering in his heart, “Am I pleasing to Daddy? Am I pleasing to Mummy? Do Daddy and Mummy accept me?” This child will grow up emotionally warped if he does not have the security and assurance of his parents’ love and acceptance.

That is why your loving heavenly Father wants you rooted, established, and anchored in His unwavering love for you. He demonstrated His love for you when He sent Jesus to become your sin on the cross so that you can become His righteousness. Our part today is to turn away from ourselves and to look at Jesus!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

The Power of Worship

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

Psalm 95:6–7

Some people think that when they worship God, they are giving something to Him. On the contrary, I believe that as we worship and praise Him, He is giving to us, imparting His life, wisdom, and power into our lives, renewing our minds and physical bodies as well in His sweet presence.

Worship is simply a response on our part to His love for us. We don’t have to, but when we experience His love and grace in our lives, we want to. It’s a response birthed out of a revelation in our hearts of just how great, how awesome, how majestic, and how altogether lovely our Lord and Savior truly is.

As we worship Him and become utterly lost in His magnificent love for us, something happens to us. We are forever changed and transformed in His presence. All fears, worries, and anxieties depart when Jesus is exalted in our worship.

We have seen this demonstrated through a worship collection, A Touch of His Presence (Volumes 1 and 2), that we compiled from spontaneous worship songs that flowed from my spirit during intimate times of worship when we simply occupied ourselves with the person of Jesus.

I would sing out what God was putting in my heart, and He would manifest His loving presence. That’s when the gifts of the Spirit would operate and healings would break out among the people in the congregation.

We received a letter from Emma in Germany who said, “Whenever the devil tries to attack me with symptoms of a disease, I would listen to these worship CDs and worship Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, and my Redeemer. I would also often partake of the Holy Communion while listening to the worship songs. After a few minutes, all the symptoms would disappear!” Another brother described how this worship music freed him from paralyzing, irrational fear and chronic sleep problems.

I share these testimonies with you because I believe that some of you want to worship God, but you may not know where to begin when you are alone at home. If that sounds like you, then start by getting ahold of anointed Christian music that can fill your room with the presence of the Lord.

Allow the music to simply wash over you like rivers of living waters. Let His presence flush out every fear and every anxiety. Let His love take away the cares that burden you. Let Jesus be magnified and glorified, and watch Him turn all things around for your good!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Delighting the Father

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6

Today’s scripture tells us it is by God’s unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor that we have been made accepted in the Beloved—Jesus. This is true for every believer. If you are a believer, then by God’s grace, you are accepted in the Beloved.

The Greek word for “accepted” here is charitoo, which means “highly favored.” Our Father in heaven wants you to know that you are charitoo, that is, highly favored in the Beloved. Charitoo also means to “compass with favor.” In other words, we are surrounded with favor. This is our position in Christ: highly favored and surrounded by favor by the glory of His grace!

Now let me show you another scripture, which says, “Wherefore we labor, that . . . we may be accepted of him” (2 Cor. 5:9 KJV). We have just established that by God’s grace, we are accepted in the Beloved without labor. So what does this scripture mean?

The word “accepted” here is not the Greek word charitoo. It is another Greek word, euarestos, which means “well pleasing.” Hence the New King James translation says, “Therefore we make it our aim . . . to be well pleasing to Him.”

Now, euarestos is not about your position in Christ. Euarestos (in 2 Cor. 5:9) refers to something that you do that brings your Father in heaven great delight and joy. In Christ the Beloved, we are already highly favored, but there are things that we can do to glorify and be extra pleasing to our Father in heaven.

Let me illustrate my point: Our children Jessica and Justin are always highly favored in Wendy’s and my hearts. There is nothing they can ever do to change that position. It is a position anchored on their identity as our children. Yet there are times when they do something special for us that brings us great delight and touches our hearts.

In those moments, not only are they highly favored, they are also extra well pleasing to us. Do they have to do those special things to earn our love? Absolutely not! They are already loved and highly favored in our hearts. In fact, their desire to do something special for us stems from their having confidence in our love for them. They desire to please us because they know just how much we already love them.

It is the same in our relationship with our heavenly Father. When we know how much we are loved and are established in His grace, we want to do good works to bring delight to Him. The apostle Paul, who was zealous for the gospel and good works, said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

Paul, who had a revelation of God’s grace, didn’t become a lazy, passive Christian. On the contrary, he worked harder than all the other apostles for the gospel’s sake, and he attributed all his ministry success to God’s grace in his life. That, my friend, is euarestos (well-pleasing good works) in action.

Everything we do today must flow from the lavish supply of God’s grace. Our giving has to be out of His grace. Our serving has to be out of His grace. When His grace is our delight, we can’t help but labor more abundantly and bring delight to our Father’s heart!

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

God Is Your Refuge from Evil

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

Psalm 91:9–10 KJV

Isn’t the above passage beautiful in the King James Version? You can make the Lord your habitation.

First John 4:16 says, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” The more you stay in His love, the more God Himself becomes your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you and no plague shall come near your dwelling. And as you make Him your dwelling place, He protects your dwelling. No plague shall even come near your home!

In another psalm, it is written, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). As we make the Lord our city of refuge and allow Him to put us upon His shoulders, He becomes our “very present help” even if we encounter trouble.

Iris from Australia experienced God’s protection for herself when a cyclone hit the area she lived in. Read her testimony here:

A mini cyclone hit our street and the surrounding area recently. As I huddled in the hallway with my husband and our cat, I declared, “Thank You, Jesus, that You are the calm in the storm!”

When the wind stopped, we went outside and saw a lot of fallen trees on the road. The trees in our street were huge and as tall as thirty meters. As a result, many cars were crushed by the trees and some houses were also damaged. My husband’s work car was damaged slightly but our family car was left unscathed. And praise the Lord no one was injured!

As the damaged trees were being cut down across the road, I realized something. The path of the wind had cut through a few properties across the road and when it came near our house, it stopped completely! It did not come near us and our house was completely undamaged.

Everyone in our street was so surprised that the big tree in our backyard was untouched and that we had no cleanup of our own to do. Praise Jesus! He is the calm, peace, and protection I need!

Wow, praise the Lord! I love this testimony—when the Lord Himself is your refuge and your protection, even cyclones have to stop in their tracks when they come near you!

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Proof Of The Resurrection

'Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city,

and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.'

Matthew 28:11

In the Jews' efforts to prevent anything from happening that would cause people to believe that Jesus was resurrected, they gave one of the most sure proofs of His resurrection. They sealed the tomb so it would be obvious if it had been opened and they obtained a guard of soldiers to protect it.

This removes all doubt that the followers of Jesus could have stolen His body. Therefore, the enemies of Jesus became a historical witness that Jesus literally rose from the dead.

The guards told the chief priests everything that happened at the tomb. This means that they had a complete account of the earthquake, the angels rolling away the stone, and the angels giving the message to the women that Jesus was alive from the dead. They may have even seen Jesus walk out of the tomb.

The very ones that the Jews had secured to guarantee there would be no rumors of Jesus being raised from the dead, became the first witnesses and heralds of the resurrection. Yet, with the testimony of impartial, non-religious eyewitnesses, they chose not to believe (Lk. 16:31). Andrew Womack

What Spiritual Warfare Looks Like

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

1 Samuel 17:45

To show you what it means to engage in spiritual warfare, let me share with you the precious journey taken by Anna, who was part of our ministry team for my Grace Revolution Tour. While she was in Dallas, Texas, she went through a horrifying ordeal.

She recounted experiencing a numbness in her legs that quickly progressed to her diaphragm. Unable to move, she was rushed to the emergency room where she underwent a five-hour emergency surgery for spinal cord compression caused by multiple lesions and tumorous growths along her entire spinal cord. Without warning, she found herself bedridden with stage-four cancer that had metastasized from the thoracic area to her neck and bones. Given a life expectancy of three years, this is how she described her battle:

All that I, a frightened sheep, could do was to just stay really close to the Great Shepherd. During my entire thirty-three days of hospitalization, Jesus became my impenetrable “safe house,” protecting me from further assaults by the devil. I requested for visitors to be kept to a minimum, choosing to spend the time with the One whose very presence and words were now my very life and healing. Just hearing the way the doctors and nurses talked about my cancer caused the life and peace in me to leak—I felt that I had touched death.

But I remained in my “safe house,” Jesus. I fed on God’s Word during my waking hours, often drifting off to sleep with Pastor Prince’s sermons playing on my iPad. Every time I took my cancer medication, and after undergoing each round of radiotherapy, I would also partake of the holy Communion. I believe that was the reason I didn’t experience any of the side effects, except for temporary hair loss, throughout my fifteen cycles of radiotherapy treatment. I just continued daily in the Word and in partaking of the holy Communion.

The cancer was real, but Anna knew the true battle was a spiritual one. Of course, she was fearful. But she is a child of God and was not going to take the enemy’s attacks lying down or allow him to intimidate her. She fought back, armed with the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), knowing that her God was backing her up all the way.

Anna reminds me of how David refused to cow in fear before the giant Goliath as the other soldiers of Israel did. Rather, he got angry and demanded to know “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26). David was conscious only of how big his God was. The enemy may come against you with a sword, spear, and javelin, but when you come to him in the name of the Lord of hosts, that Goliath is no match for your God!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

“No Condemnation” Comes First

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

John 3:17

The story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1–12 demonstrates something very important. What enables someone to have the power to overcome sin? The threat of the law obviously didn’t stop the woman from committing adultery. But receiving Jesus’ acceptance—knowing that even though she deserved to be stoned to death, He did not condemn her—that gave her the power to “go and sin no more.”

Notice that Jesus saved the woman righteously. He didn’t say, “Don’t stone her. Show mercy to her.” What He said was, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” And on their own accord, the Pharisees and religious mob all left. Notice also that Jesus did not ask the woman, “Why did you sin?” No, what He asked was, “Has no one condemned you?”

It seems as if Jesus was more preoccupied with the condemnation of the sin than the sin itself. He made sure that she walked away not feeling the condemnation and shame. Let’s not reverse God’s order. When God says something comes first, it must come first. God says “no condemnation” comes first, and then you can “go and sin no more.”

Christian religion has it in reverse. We say, “Go and sin no more first, then we won’t condemn you.” What we need to understand is that when there is no condemnation, people are empowered to live victorious lives, lives that glorify Jesus. Grace produces an effortless empowerment through the revelation of no condemnation. It is unmerited and completely undeserved. But we can receive it—this gift of no condemnation—because Jesus paid for it at the cross.

Truth be told, none of us could have cast the first stone. We have all sinned and fallen short. In Christ, we are all on equal ground. If a brother or sister gets tangled in sin, our place is not to judge them, but to restore them by pointing them to the forgiveness and gift of no condemnation that are found in Jesus.

The only person who is without sin and who could have exercised judicial punishment on the woman was Jesus, and He did not. Jesus was in the flesh to represent what was in God’s heart. It wasn’t judgment. His heart is unveiled in His grace and His forgiveness. I like to say it this way when describing what happened as the Pharisees waited to stone the woman: The Pharisees would if they could, but they could not. Jesus could if He would, but He would not. That’s our Jesus!

This devotional is adapted from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

What Imparts Faith

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

Acts 13:38–39

In Acts 14:8–10, where Paul heals a crippled man in Lystra, we see that Paul does not lay his hands on the man to heal him. The faith to be healed came from just listening to Paul preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and when he simply responded to the apostle’s command to stand up, he was healed.

While what Paul preached to the man was not recorded for us, we do have one of Paul’s sermons recorded word for word for us by the Holy Spirit in the preceding chapter (Acts 13:16–41). And the highlight or climax of that sermon is found in today’s scripture.

Now, listen carefully to this: the power of the gospel that Paul preached to the crippled man is found in the forgiveness of all your sins for “everyone who believes.” There is no other qualification for being forgiven of all your sins.

The old covenant was based on justification by works (obedience to the Ten Commandments). You had to perform to be forgiven. But the new covenant of grace is based entirely on justification by faith (believing in Jesus Christ). Can you see the radical difference?

The demand is no longer on you, but on Christ. This is the good news: all who believe in Jesus receive the forgiveness of all their sins and are justified from all things! Good news? Hallelujah! There is no better news than this!

We have experienced this time and again in our church services. As people are sitting in the service and hearing the gospel of grace and Jesus’ finished work being preached, healing miracles break forth!

This has happened not just in our church services, but also in other places. One of my dear friends, a pastor of a dynamic grace church in Holland, shared with me a wonderful healing miracle that took place in his car as he was driving to Romania with a few friends. On this particular day, he was on his way to Romania for a preaching engagement. He was listening to one of my sermons in his car, something that he did often.

Lulled by the monotony of the long drive, one of his friends dozed off in the backseat. This friend had been involved in a jet ski accident some years ago, and since then he often suffered sharp pains in his back. Somehow, through the fog of sleep, he heard me preach this: “Jesus has already healed you and the devil is the one giving you lying symptoms in your body.”

He said “Amen!” in his heart, agreeing that Jesus had already healed him by taking his sin and bearing his sicknesses and pains on the cross. At that moment, he felt the power of God go through him, and he was completely healed! All the pain in his back was gone!

That’s the power of hearing and hearing the gospel of Jesus. That’s how faith comes! The more of Jesus you hear, the more of His grace you receive. The more revelation you get of His finished work, the more you will receive an impartation of faith for any situation, even the seemingly impossible ones!

This devotional is adapted from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.