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Thank You! Other material by Paula Cross may be found at
www.paulacross.com
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Introduction Have you been a Christian for years but still struggle with the same defeats and troubles you had before you met Jesus? Or are you a new Christian whose life is full of dysfunction, darkness or despair? You look around at other believers whose lives are far from perfect but they have some sense of order, stability, peace, abundance and success and you want desperately to know such victory. And you know the Bible has all the answers but you just don’t know how to lay hold of them. This booklet is a brief compilation of important scriptural truths which altogether (not any single one alone) play a paramount role in helping us get out of the dark cycles we’ve faced for years. Through the Word we are transformed by the renewing of our mind and this is indeed a process. But while the beautiful grace of God allows us to go through this sanctification process at our own pace it doesn’t happen overnight no matter how hard we try to make it. This booklet, however, will provide an overview of many important truths that will help you get a jumpstart on the metamorphosis of your life. The suggestion is to use the various points as lead-ins to deeper study in your pursuit of God and turning your life from one of defeat to one which God truly, emphatically desires and made possible for you - a life of victory. 5
The following are the topics discussed in this booklet which we must understand and apply if we want to experience the life God desires for us:
Your Relationship with God The Prosperity of Your Soul Knowing Who You Are Your Environment Practices to Live By Idolatry The WAY to PRAY
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Your Relationship With God When we give our lives to God we often start our relationship with Him focusing all of our attention on, “I have to change my ways. I have to give up this and that…” While it is certainly true that following God does mean changing our ways, this should NOT be our primary focus. Our focus shouldn’t “start” at working on our bad habits or shortcomings. What a burdensome relationship that becomes! No, our approach should be to focus on building our love affair with the One Who loves us beyond our understanding. To focus on learning to comprehend God’s love, His beauty, His wonder and His ways. The Bible says in John 14:23 that those who love God obey Him. On the contrary, 1 John 2:5 says, “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.” So, on one hand if we love Him we will obey, but on the other if we obey, we will love Him. It’s evident that the two build upon each other. But which came first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, loving God should come first because it goes without saying that it’s so much easier to do something out of love than out of obligation. For example, if we hate playing board games but our dear friend or spouse asks this of us, doesn’t our selfless love for them compel us to comply? If we do it out of obligation we have a sense of dread. If we do it out of love, we have grace for it. It is, therefore, obvious we should love God so that we will more gladly obey Him. And then, as we obey, our love for Him grows stronger. Then guess what’s next! Yes, it becomes even easier to obey. And, eventually, it’s our passionate pleasure to please our Lord! However, all this obedience starts by falling in love with God. But let’s be honest, we don’t know Him very well right away so we don’t feel that intimacy and love instantly. This is 7
something we must build. And this is done by pursuing Him, by focusing on Him and His goodness, by having a back and forth relationship where, because you DRAW NEAR to Him, He responds and you experience Him personally. Another flaw in our pursuit of the Lord is we spend all of our time pursuing His hand to move on our behalf, to fix our lives. While this, too, is definitely a part of our relationship with Him since He is our ever present help in trouble, provider, healer and protector, it is only a part. The primary aspect of our relationship is to love Him first by building that back-and-forth intimacy. One way to know if you are doing this is by comparing your pursuit of God to an earthly relationship. When you meet someone and begin building a relationship it shouldn’t involve forcing yourself to be how you think they think you should be and then asking them to fix everything in your life. No, instead, you are interested in discovering each other. You communicate with each other, get familiar with each other, and learn each other’s ways. If you have healthy relationships, you show each other honor, respect, and appreciation. You seek to serve each other, to put each other’s desires above your own. You spend time together and you begin to know each other inside and out. You feel them. And you love them. THAT is how your relationship with the Lord is also built! And while He is not currently physically right in front of you, the approach is exactly the same through the precious Holy Spirit and His written Word. So, start there… Just start seeking HIM. “I want to know You, Lord. I want to understand Your love for me. I want to know You deeply. I want to feel You and Your presence. I want to comprehend Your majesty and greatness! I want to understand Your Word. Open my spiritual eyes to see You and all of Your truths! I want Your Will to be my will. I want to be passionate about the things You are passionate about. Purify my heart and help me to love You so that I will gladly obey all of Your ways. I know You made me righteous by Your blood, but I want to walk in Holiness by Your power in me. I want You to 8
change me and remove everything from me that keeps me from experiencing all I possibly can of You while I’m still walking this earth.” Etc… Perhaps you have addictions, have a trucker’s mouth, or some other behavior that is frowned upon. Indeed, God will help you to morph out of these ways. But He has not welcomed you into His Kingdom with a yard stick ready to smack your fingertips for all your wrong ways. No. His arms are open wide, wanting to hold you, to love you for who He made you to be regardless of what habits you have and how terrible they are. You are his pleasure not because of your ways, but because He made you. God adores you! The fact is you were fearfully (intricately) and wonderfully made but were born into a world that twisted you all up. Do you think He is surprised at how you were molded by the fallen nature? No, His interest is what He knows He made you to be before you were impacted by the dominion of darkness. And it was splendid. You are His delight. Beautifully designed by His own, glorious hand. And now He wants you to embrace this reality and see Him for the deep love He has for you. That’s your primary focus. Take your eyes off everything that’s wrong with you for the moment and just learn to love your Lord. Then, step by step, He will help you to address things at the pace that is right for you. Don’t listen to religious spirits who might condemn you for your imperfections. YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS BECAUSE YOU RECEIVED THE CLEANSING BLOOD OF CHRIST! You repented for being a messed up sinner. That was YOUR part. And you believed He washed those iniquities off of your slate. That was YOUR part agreeing with HIS part. Now you are clean even if you are still struggling with wrong ways. As long as your heart is pure in that it truly wants to be changed and you are ready and willing to follow His easy lead, you are walking in grace. Changing is not YOUR burden; it became God’s job when you connected yourself to Him through His shed blood! But now it’s time to fall in love with Him so that HE can increase IN you which will CAUSE you to overcome your sin. This is HIS part. Glory to God! 9
Now that’s a relationship with our precious Lord… That’s where it starts. If this makes sense, excellent. Let’s move on.
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The Prosperity Of Your Soul Ultimately, a person whose soul is in bondage or despair will not excel in any other area of life including health and finances. In fact, persons with such distressed souls end up having extensive health and financial issues. This, then, adds to the despair of the soul and, you guessed it, the cycle continues. But just as the blood of Jesus redeems us from damnation, it can also deliver our souls from despair. Darkness is so rampant these days that many people seem to do nothing but experience hurt and injustice, violations and letdowns, setbacks and hardships, and so on and so forth. Yes, life happens but it says in Colossians 1:13 that God delivered us from the DOMINION of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son! 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” And John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
If the Bible is true, and IT IS, God does not desire that we have such troublesome, despairing lives! He does not! So, if you are one whose soul has known much despair, it’s time to call on the dominion power of Christ that is in you to heal your soul. And it’s time for you to command your soul to be made whole. If you have been victimized relentlessly throughout your life, chances are your soul has a victim mentality and you must surrender that. Because when you were born again into God’s Kingdom, all of you became new. This means your soul is now of a victorious Kingdom. It may still only know to anticipate the next hurt, but you must decide here and now that you will no longer think of yourself as a victim. This includes no longer feeling sorry for yourself for all you’ve endured. Why? Because as a person thinks, so he is. Do not ponder the past hurts or even 11
daily new ones! If an offense or violation occurs, it will hurt but you must grieve only as much as is necessary, then with God’s help, forgive and let it go so it does not take up residency in your soul. This only aids in paralyzing you. Instead, make it a habit to ONLY think about good things. Find every good thing you possibly can and let that be your focus. Likewise, only think on the truth of the Word and His promises no matter what life looks like. Life suggests things have to be bad. We do not have to listen. We can violently respond to the circumstances declaring that the Bible says OTHERWISE. Things we do that help our soul to stay locked in its hopelessness are, one, we agree with all the lies the devil tells us. Such as, “You aren’t good enough, you’re so stupid”, “They don’t really like or care about you”, “Nothing will ever go right for you”, “You are so ugly, fat, incompetent, disgusting, weak, weird…”, “Since when has God ever come through for you”, “You can’t do anything”, “You’re a quitter, a failure, you never finish what you start”… And two, we think our strife is with people when the Bible says our war is with powers and principalities of darkness. For example, we may have a spouse or other close family member who isn’t very nice, who has some unkind ways, who puts us down, abuses us, rejects us, etc. Yes, they are the ones ‘assaulting’ us but it’s ultimately darkness that has a hold on them. If we understood that, we would be less paralyzed by their actions and more able to come against the darkness at work instead. We wouldn’t fall for the devil’s plan to lead us into hatred, bitterness, and resentment. Doing so is to our own demise. That’s one of the devil’s strategies! To get us bitter against people! We must not fall for it! He knows it helps him destroy our lives!!! We must forgive. Further, we wouldn’t need to defend ourselves night and day. We would be able to rely on God to show us how to handle the strife and adversity in grace. And if necessary, we would have the wisdom and strength to separate ourselves from them - especially if they are abusive! God does not desire us to put ourselves into or remain in situations where deliberate abuse transpires. 12
What we need to do is foster healthy, positive souls in ourselves. This is done by comprehending God’s Word and how HE sees us and then by taking every thought captive, bringing it into the obedience of Christ. In other words, thoughts or comments like, “I can’t take it anymore”, or “I hate you” or, “I can’t stand you”, “I’m sick of you”, or “I wish I (you) were dead” are all ANTI scriptural positions! When you willfully operate in this fashion, you are wounding your own soul more than the person who insults you does and you will continue to live a troublesome life! Therefore, when these thoughts come to mind or out of your mouth, take them captive. Repent. Forbid them. They are lies from hell. They keep you locked in defeat! Do not agree with them. If you do, immediately renounce it and close the door to the devil! In place of all the negative victim thinking, begin speaking the truth - a hundred times a day if you must. Say things like, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that lives but Christ Who lives in me. The life I live in my body I live by faith in the Son of God because He loves me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. Speak other scriptures concerning the good life God desires for you. Because in order to experience the truth and promises of the Bible, you must FIRST AGREE with them. If you want to prosper in all areas including health, finances, and wellbeing, you must first let your soul prosper.
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Knowing Who You Are One of the biggest reasons believers do not come into the blessings of the Bible is because they never come to understand WHO they are in CHRIST! Or the power of the Christ IN them. The Bible says we are victors, that we are the head and not the tail, and that in His Name those who believe will cast out demons and will heal the sick. The fact is that we are joint heirs with Christ according to Romans 8:17. 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a royal priesthood! We are citizens of a Holy Kingdom where all things are good. And because we have been sealed with Christ by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), we have an inheritance and access to all God offers us! This is the truth yet we are brainwashed by the difficult circumstances we’ve always known into thinking that’s the only way things can be. And the fact is, so long as we continue believing that the bad things of life have freedom to continue dominating us, those difficult circumstances will proceed as usual. But the Bible says they no longer have legal right to dominate us! Jesus gave us the keys (his blood) out of that dark dominion. So, why do we not stand up in that truth instead of crying over what the devil does to us? Why don’t we just cut Satan off where he continues to try to illegally dominate? Because if you’ve got the blood of Jesus and you are walking in agreement to His Kingdom principles, the devil has no legal right to destroy you anymore! You see, the Bible is absolutely true, but we must know and BELIEVE it in order to obtain its truth! So many believers are clueless about the deep truths of God because their eyes are fixed upon the show Satan puts on daily – and this is where their confidence lies. So, that’s what they’ll continue to see. 15
The sad truth of it is many people are born into very unhealthy, dysfunctional situations and they grow up not having any sense of self-value. For example, such people would discourage someone they love to have a relationship with somebody who disrespected them, used them, or abused them. Meanwhile, they allow themselves to be treated those ways. They can’t handle seeing someone else hurt but they accept it, take it, tolerate it because they are used to it and don’t respect or love themselves enough to put an end to such relationships. If you relate to this, it’s time to pray that God helps you to comprehend your value. It’s time to ask God to help you love yourself so that you will stop permitting dysfunctional relationships in your world. Because these will only aid in keeping you from the all and all of Christ. His plans are for your good. Not that there won’t be challenges and trials – but that in general, you will have stability, peace of mind, and everimproving wellbeing. Something else you should be sure to realize is the Lord doesn’t want you going to the throne begging and pleading for good things or help. He already provided them. He wants you to come to the throne thanking Him that they are available by His precious grace and love asking Him to release them unto you because your arms are open wide to ALL the goodness He has for you that you have never beheld! That’s what your Heavenly Daddy wants from you - for you to know how much He WANTS to bless you! And for you to believe He already provided it all! The bottom line is, if you want to begin living a better life, the one God intended for you, it’s time to shake off your old identity and come to understand who you are and WHOSE you are in Christ Jesus your Lord! Lean not on your own understanding! Put your confidence in what the Word literally says, forget what has always been, and you’ll be well on your way!
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Your Environment Another reason why so many believers feel trapped in troubles and don’t prosper in all the areas of life like health, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and finances like the Bible promises is because of the connections to nonrighteousness we continue to maintain and practice. The friends we have, the places where we socialize, the type of entertainment we enjoy… these all will be either holy or non-holy. Yes, we live in a world surrounded by un-holiness. And a quality, holy atmosphere is difficult to come by. But if we are swimming in the swamp, we’re going to be covered in guck. Life, transformation, overcoming, prosperity… these all come by hearing the Word, by fellowshipping with other healthy believers, and by removing ongoing evil from our environments. We are vessels, temples of the Holy Spirit. If we approve of and absorb things that are not of God on going, we will be influenced and molded by them. We can only change into Christ’s likeness when what we are consuming is pure and holy. If we have friends and family who are in opposition to God, who practice life-styles that are not pleasing to God, we are likely to walk less like Jesus and more like our friends. As much as we may love them, because God certainly does, too, the Bible says bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33). What we need to do, especially if we’ve experienced so much darkness in our pasts, is surround ourselves with healthy, spiritfilled believers in Christ. We can do this by attending a HolySpirit led church, attending Bible studies, inviting quality believers over for dinner, etc. The day will come when you are strong and transformed where you can invite not-so strong believers over for dinner so that you can minister unto them or be an example in their life. But for now it would be best to seek 17
out positive mentors and glean from them. If they’re quality Christians who are strong in their faith, they will know to pray for you, carry your burdens with you, they will enlighten you concerning scripture, they will encourage you when you are struggling, and they will advise you if you are heading in a wrong direction. Now don’t go expecting them to be perfect and to adhere to all these 100%; they are only human, after all. Getting resentful if they fail you is wrong and may be a spirit of rejection. Confess and renounce this spirit and let God bless you as He pleases. You just pray for the right friends and open doors and let God do His thing. Thank Him that He wants to provide such brothers and sisters for you to have in your life. It’s His desire, after all. (And if you’re in a situation where some unhealthy relationships are unavoidable, be all the more determined to find those healthy friends and mentors and then spend your time with them. Never, EVER allow yourself to be isolated with only the unhealthy relationships to contend with. This will only bring you down further and further! You must find Godly friends!!!) And it goes without saying that the more you are absorbing unhealthy entertainment, your soul and spirit will be toxic and you’ll continue being unhealthy in potentially every area of life. So, it’s important that you ask God to help you make necessary adjustments and to surround yourself with light bearing people so that you will begin to experience full life yourself.
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Practices To Live By There are many aspects of the Bible that are very precious practices which add to the fullness of God’s presence in our lives and they aid in our overall prosperity and wellbeing. While we are not required to practice them in order to be “in right standing with God”, these practices had valuable spiritual impact on people all through time because they reflect something meaningful about God. This book does not go into all of these practices in depth but it is suggested to get familiar with them in order to experience the blessing each brings. For example, everyone has heard about taking communion. It’s traditionally taken by the body of believers at least once every month (more in some denominations). The purpose in eating of the bread and the cup is to remember - to take a moment to ponder and focus yet again on the fact that the Son of God went willfully to the cross, spotless, to atone for our iniquity. To remember that He gave Himself up to unexplainable suffering but then rose from the dead to demonstrate the victory we can have in Him! There are some misconceptions that one must ‘get right’ before being permitted to take of the bread and cup, but the fact is it is by His broken body and shed blood that we were already made right. So, if we are believers, we are righteous ongoing, even if we messed up Sunday morning before church, and can and should partake of the remembrance ceremony. Taking that time to repent and remembering that this was why, after all, Christ died for you. Modern Jews who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah celebrate the various feasts of the Bible. It is suggested that believers in Jesus also celebrate them. Again, not because we must, but because they are illustrations of the Gospel in their own right. One way or another, all of the festivals and feasts represent something that Jesus ended up fulfilling. These are 19
beautiful things to observe and they bring the Lord honor. There is just something sacred and precious about the feasts that would certainly influence our lives for the better. Other, more necessary practices, of course, would be the consuming of the Word of God. It’s easy to do this nowadays with all the ministries on television and all the translations of the Bible that make understanding it so much easier than days gone by. Just put on Christian television any day of the week where a Holy-Spirit filled pastor is giving a sermon and he’ll give you scriptures you can look up, ponder, seek God on, meditate on, etc. We can even get on the internet, click on an audio Bible website, click on whatever passage we choose, and listen to it over and over and over. The Bible is even made available for MP3 players. There is no reason one cannot dig into the life bearing Word of God. Again, Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God - so this is paramount to our wellbeing and seeing our lives change for the better. Then, of course, the Bible tells us that we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). That we should be anxious (that means no worrying at ALL!) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6). And this doesn’t mean memorizing a few repetitious prayers and saying them over and over. It means discussing all things with God, trusting all things into His care day and night, night and day. This means offering up continual praise and thanksgiving. These are prayers delightful prayers of love, gratitude and honor. Even while we worship, often times these are prayers unto the Lord. And we should do these ongoing. One other practice the Bible instructs us to live by is giving. And this helps us come into overall prosperity (soul, mind, body, spirit, finances) because, side by side with the other points discussed in this booklet, it demonstrates where your hope and confidence lies. If you can let go of the mighty dollar, your hope is not in that dollar. And when you demonstrate this, 20
deceptions and struggles begin to lose their place in your world. Bondage becomes a thing of your past. But giving of our finances is a sore spot for many because it is difficult to give when you are in lack. Especially if those who are asking you to give, such as ministries, ‘seem’ to be set in their ways having lack for nothing. But this truly is nothing but noise and flack that hinders some people’s understanding of the beauty and purpose of giving. Giving is a complex subject matter so for the sake of keeping things brief, it all boils down to faith. If our faith truly is in the reality that God is a reliable provider, that God is our source, then we should be able to give freely and bountifully - even if we are in lack. We would understand that since He commands us to care for others who are poor, such as orphans and widows might be, then He will have others care for us in our time of need. The wonderful thing is many believers actually do understand all of this, fortunately. But some remain in lack and begin to doubt the truth of the Word. Perhaps they didn’t see promises or miracles they were sowing towards so they are skeptical as to the validity of seed faith giving. Or worse, they may have become bitter against organizations or ministries that beseech them to give relentlessly. The fact is, as was previously explained, sowing financial gifts in anticipation for increase is scripturally true because God blesses us in order that we can be a blessing. But this aspect of God’s truth works in conjunction with the rest of the truths. In other words, if your words are selfdestructive because they speak doubt and suffering and bitterness for all the struggles, for example, but you sow a seed in faith for a harvest, if you haven’t come back into alignment with the truth by praising God, giving thanks in everything, and repenting of your anti-faith, which position are you actually in? Faith or nonfaith? Or what if you sow a seed for a healing but you are angry and full of resentment towards somebody for what they’d done decades ago? Anger begets illness, it’s scientifically 21
proven. So, how can you effectually receive the healing or if you do, how will you stay healed if the anger is what started the sickness to begin with? If that’s somebody’s condition, where they are having difficulty forgiving and letting go of a hurt from decades ago, then perhaps they should plant a seed for that such miracle, declaring they know they are wrongfully in bondage to this anger and need miraculous deliverance from it. That would be a wise thing to sow towards, just to demonstrate how this truth really works. There’s no need to fret, it just needs to be understood that God’s promises do not solely revolve around sowing seeds any more than a farmer relies solely on putting his seed into the ground. He had to prepare the soil before planting it. Furthermore, he has to water and harvest it. Several conditions had to be in order. For a believer who is sowing a financial seed, this means if there is something blatantly out of order in their lives that violently defies God’s Word it may hinder their ability to receive their harvest unless they repent and bring it under the blood of Christ. Your actions (seed faith sowing) must not conflict with or be contrary to another action you are simultaneously taking. This will only cancel out your faith. At any rate, a life practice of giving offerings and alms certainly is one part of seeing your life transformed from relentless struggle to one of improvement and steady incline. Another trait the Bible calls us to live by is realizing that if we want to be made great by the Lord then we have to be the servant of all. This doesn’t mean take on every volunteer position you are aware of, this means not seeking yourself first. It means being mindful of others before yourself. It means not being in hot pursuit of our own desires, but being aware and interested in others. If we all applied this scriptural truth, imagine what a wonderful world this would be. Yes, it does mean being willing to step up to the plate and volunteering or helping out where you feel the Lord says He wants to use you. But mostly, it means not living your life focused on “me, myself, and I”. Revolving around yourself, especially your wants or pain 22
or misfortunes, does not allow increase to invade your world because you have made it that the increase is up to “you, yourself, and you”. So, forget about yourself and become interested in assisting other people in their needs. There are stories of people dying of cancer but instead of being on their knees night and day pleading for a healing, focused on their problem, they dedicated themselves to praying for other people with cancer, seeking other people’s healing……….. And they got healed! So, it’s simple. Get your eyes off of self and look out for others whatever way you can. Yes, take a break, rest, take those much needed vacations; there’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself. But, generally speaking, don’t spend all your time dwelling on your needs, wants, and desires. Don’t spend all your energy gratifying yourself, spend it looking beyond yourself and being a blessing to others somehow, someway. This is paramount. If you keep your eyes on you and your immediate world, this will hinder the blessings of God from reaching you even when He pours them out. More than anything, however, and in every area of our lives, we must practice walking by faith in God. This means trusting Him no matter what the devil or the circumstances tell us. It means learning His ways and relying on His power within us to apply them. This means “knowing” He is for us and WANTS to bless us. This means practicing confidence in the promises of the Bible no matter how foreign they may seem. Practicing living a life of faith (and not doing things according to carnal logic and relying solely on your intellect to figure life out) is a very important aspect of what it takes to see your life transformed.
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Idolatry You would think that since the Bible’s very first two commandments instructs us to not have any other gods or idols that we would be wise to our propensity for idolatry; but we aren’t. Idolatry doesn’t seem to be thoroughly understood for what it is so it’s a common occurrence in the body of Christ, if even ever so subtly. God expressed that He is a jealous God. And all throughout scripture He instructs us to love Him with all our hearts. What this tells us is that we should love God more than we love anything! More than our jobs, more than our hobbies, more than material items, even more than our families! He made that clear when He tested Abraham to see if He would give up his only son on the altar as the God, whom he loved, feared and trusted, directed him to do. But we’ve become a generation so out of touch with our Lord that our love for the finite has replaced our allegiance to the Master of the universe. Especially in thriving countries where so much is available to us, where we can become easily attached to things that superficially give us joy and fulfillment. We are such lovers of pleasure just like the Bible says we would be in the last days (2 Timothy 3:4). That’s not to say we can’t enjoy things. But it’s all too often that our happiness is dependent upon these things. This is a huge reason many people are stuck in cycles of heartache even after they give their lives to the Lord and even practice many of His ways. They may give of themselves unto the service of God, may give to the poor, and may have overcome a terrible addiction even, for example, but despite all their yielding to God they love something equally, if not more, than God. And it might not even be a bad thing that they love. It could be a good thing. Perhaps they would rather please and satisfy every whim of their children, spouse, boss, pastor, or pet 25
over pleasing God in a particular matter. Perhaps they love their home being so immaculate they would rather scrub their kitchen floor for the second time that week when God nudged them to look after the neighbor’s overgrown lawn that had a stroke and was in the hospital for weeks. It doesn’t matter how good or bad something is that we love. Anytime we love something so much that it causes us to compromise on or resist or even reject God for it if even momentarily - we are being idolatrous! If we only do things for or obey God when it’s at our convenience because other things take precedence, we do not love God the most. The reason idolatry is so dangerous for us, the reason it contributes to our remaining stuck in the same old battles and trouble, is because the thing we love more than God is virtually another god to us. And Satan is the author of false gods. He can’t be the real God, so he has to settle for being your false god. What this does is gives the devil authority over your life. Think about it… If you give your life to Christ, you are saying you want Him to be in charge, you want His authority and power to rule in your life so that you experience the benefits of His Kingdom. But, once you’ve given your life to Jesus and thought you gave Him the authority, if you continue to hold on to your other gods - anything at all that means as much or more to you than the one TRUE God, you give that false god a place over you as well. The false god, which is of Satan’s kingdom, then has some authority and legal right to go on dominating certain aspects of your life. Therefore, pointless struggles will continue and curses will not be broken. It is up to you to break ties with every false god in your life, to bring that area under the blood, and then to take authority over it in Christ, binding it and commanding it to go. Doing this will break the power that had legal rights to afflict you. And this should prove to remove some of the dark clouds that seem to follow you relentlessly. If you have been living your life in conjunction with all this book has discussed for quite some time, however, and have 26
repented of and broken all agreements with the dominion of darkness and you are still seeing the same measure of struggle and despair in your life as ever, you should seek out a deliverance minister. There may be generational curses that simply need to be broken.
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The Way To Pray One last topic of discussion in this booklet which will surely help you to see your life start heading in a better direction concerns how to pray. For the most part, everyone pretty much knows what goes into prayer. But there are a couple of mistakes many believers often do in their communications with God. The biggest one is asking for something in a fashion that shows you don’t realize it’s already accomplished. For example, “Please heal my thyroid”, or, “Please give me a wife”, or “Please give me a better income.” While these requests are not bad, would it not be more accurate and pleasing to God if the approach was one of faith, “Lord, You died on the cross for me and took all sickness and disease but my thyroid is not working properly and I know You took care of such problems. So, I command my thyroid to submit to what You accomplished for it and I ask You to release the healing that You purchased for me all those years ago. And thank You that You love me so much to have done that for me, My precious Lord! I love You because You love me so much and want to do such lovely things for me!” Or, “Father, You said it is not good for man to be alone I didn’t say it. And I agree with You. So, clearly, if You made me, then You must have made a helpmate for me. Please guide her my way. Please release her to me now so that we may serve You as one according to Your design.” Or, “Father, You said I’m blessed so that I can be a blessing but my circumstances are not in compliance with what you said. They have hindered me from being a blessing and this is not Your will! So, I ask You to move on my behalf concerning whatever it is that is causing my circumstances to not be compliant. You gave man dominion and even authority 29
through Your Son so I command my financial circumstances to come into compliance with the Word of God. Father, You said those who give generously will receive generously. And you said give and it shall be given unto you. Well, I’ve been obedient to Your instruction in this, Lord, so I ask You to open the floodgates of Heaven, and release the provision that is yet to be seen and beheld. And I thank You, Father, for being so good to me. I do not trust in the lack my circumstances are swearing by, I trust that Your Word is true and that You will cause my circumstances to increase by Your Word and power.” You see? We shouldn’t ask Him, “Oh, please take this addiction from me!!!” We should tell Him what He says, “Lord, You said those whom You set free are free indeed! Thank You that this means You took this addiction!!!” and you keep praying and declaring that out loud until the addiction submits to the truth. That’s a major thing we really ought to change in our approach. Instead of pleading for things as though God has to consider if He wants to do or give it, we should approach knowing that the good thing, the right thing we desire, is already His desire for us as well. And that He is simply waiting for our petition, which includes thanksgiving, in order to activate the provision. Another mistake we make in praying is, after praying, not BELIEVING that He will do it! We wonder if He wants to or if He is too busy or if He is even able. Really? If God is a good God and His Word says He desires that we have life and have it more abundantly, then that settles it. He will do the good that we need so that we can be a blessing, so that we can excel and contribute to the betterment of mankind, so that we can prosper in soul, mind, emotions, body, and finances… In everything! So, pray thanking God for all He has done for you. Pray thanking Him He has delivered you from the dominion of darkness and transferred you into the Kingdom of His Dear Son! Pray thanking Him that He is blessing You so that You can be a 30
blessing. Pray thanking Him that You are the head and not the tail. Pray thanking Him that You can overcome sin by His strength and power in you. Pray thanking Him that He made you righteous and it’s not up to you to achieve perfection. Pray magnifying Him and telling Him how awesome His love is, How beautiful He is, How grateful you are. Pray telling Him how glad you are that He is perfect 100% of the time while you never are. Pray thanking Him that you can rest knowing that He is forever stable, forever all powerful, forever ‘for’ you no matter what life is presenting to you on a given day. And on and on… Do you see the difference? Praying out of your faith in Him rather than out of desperation is a completely different approach to the throne room. This is perhaps one of the most profound aspects to walking in who we are in Christ and in His every plan for us.
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Final Words‌ It may seem that this booklet conveyed a lot of major aspects that need adjusted in your life in order to see the cycle of distress in your world become less and less and the goodness of life occurring more and more. Do not be overwhelmed. Remember that the most important thing is to build your love affair with God. Then, with all these keys in mind, you will gravitate towards the light and the light will most certainly take over your world! God bless you!
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