Joseph Prince

But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. Jeremiah 20:11

Do you know that the best time to thank Jesus for His presence is when you don’t “feel” His presence? When it comes to the presence of Jesus, don’t go by your feelings. Feelings can be deceptive. Go by His promise that He is Immanuel—God with us!

Have you heard the story of a groom who approached his pastor almost immediately after his wedding ceremony? He went up to his pastor and said, “Pastor, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” the pastor replied.

The groom said, “You know what, I don’t feel married.”

The pastor grabbed him by the collar and growled, “Listen, boy. You ARE married whether you feel it or not, understand? Just take it by faith that you are married!”

You see, my friend, you can’t go by your feelings. You go by the truth and the truth is this: God promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So the best time to practice His presence is precisely when you feel like Jesus is 100,000 miles away. Remember that feelings aren’t based on truth. God’s Word is truth!

Soon after I graduated from high school, I took on a part-time job to teach in an elementary school where I was placed in charge of a class of 10-year-olds. I remember one day, when I was practicing His presence, I knelt down in my living room and prayed, “Lord, I just thank You that You are always with me.” As I was on my knees, the Lord told me to pray specifically for one of the girls in my class who had been absent from school that day.

Now, it is very common for kids to miss class now and then for various reasons, and I had never been led by the Lord to pray specifically for any of them. This girl was the first! The Lord told me very clearly to pray for His protection to be over this girl and to cover her with His precious blood.

The next day, there was a big commotion in the school and I found out that the girl had been kidnapped by a notorious serial killer that very afternoon when the Lord had told me to pray for her. The killer, Adrian Lim, had kidnapped several children to be offered up as sacrifices to the devil. He believed that Satan would give him power when he offered the blood of these children to him.

Over the next couple of days, this girl from my class was all over our national media because she had been miraculously released. Sadly, she was the only girl released. All the other kidnapped children had been brutally murdered.

When she returned to class, I asked her how she came to be freed. She told me that her kidnapper was “praying” over her when suddenly he stopped and told her, “The gods do not want you.” She was quickly released that evening. Of course, you and I know why the “gods” didn’t want her—she was covered and protected by Jesus’ blood!

Listen to what I am saying here. In America today and around the world, the devil is trying to destroy a new generation because he is afraid that the young people of the new millennium are going to take over the world for Jesus. That is why we have to cover our children with Jesus’ protection.

I am sharing all this with you because I want you to see the importance and power of practicing His presence. As a teacher during that time, my class was my responsibility, just like my congregation is my responsibility today.

Think with me: How in the world, with my finite knowledge and intelligence, could I have known that one of my students was in grave danger? It is not possible! But because the Lord, who knows all things, was with me, He enabled me to make a difference in my student’s life.

Similarly, whatever role or vocation you are in, whether you are a schoolteacher, business leader, or homemaker, I want you to know that Jesus is with you and He wants to make you a success. Now, remember, all this happened to me before I became a full-time pastor, so please don’t think that this unmerited favor from Jesus is only for pastors. Beloved, His unmerited favor is for you. The Lord Immanuel is with you.

Author: Jerry Savelle

If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:21-22 NKJV).

Simply put, Jesus was telling His disciples there are no limits with God. They could have whatever they asked—if only they believed.

The only thing that limits what God can do in your life is your belief system. Think about this: your life right now is a result of what you’ve believed over the past weeks, months, and years. Therefore, if you want to change your life, you must first change what you believe.

The way to tap into the limitless miracle power of God is by simply having faith, refusing to doubt, and believing the Word of God. When Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,” He was telling His disciples to think outside the box and believe God for the impossible. The only requirement for their receiving was their believing.

When you are believing God for the impossible, your natural mind will come up with many reasons why it can’t happen. Your natural mind will tell you why it won’t work. Your natural mind will block the supernatural by limiting you to the probable, the logical, and the rational. But if God’s Word promises it will happen, then it can and will happen—when you choose to believe.

Belief in God and His Word opens the door to the supernatural. It moves you into the limitless ability and goodness of God. So, beginning today, create a new life for yourself and be all you were created to be. Live your dream by first doing what Jesus told you to do—believe!

Confession: I choose to open the door to the supernatural today. I remove any limits I have established by my wrong thinking, and choose instead to believe what God’s says in His Word. I now receive God’s limitless ability and goodness, and declare I will be all He created me to be.

Joseph Prince

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life . . . If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:6–7

When I was growing up as a young Christian, I was told that the more I knew about God, the more God would hold me accountable and my punishment for falling short of His expectations would be more severe than someone who knew less.

My response was to stay away from the Bible, since the more I knew, the more I would be punished by God. Come on, my mama didn’t raise no fool!

I was also taught that the closer I drew to God, the more trials and tribulations I would experience. From that point on, I didn’t want to draw close to God. If you have been taught these or similar lies about God, you would very likely also have been robbed of any desire to build a more intimate relationship with Him.

As I grew in the Lord, He opened my eyes to see that the teachings I had received were not true. Contrary to what I had been taught, I found that the closer I drew to God, the closer I was to the answer to all of my problems. I was drawing close to the miracle worker. I was drawing close to the healer. I was drawing close to the provider, my Jehovah Jireh!

My friend, the more of God’s truth you know, the more the truth will set you free from erroneous beliefs that are not based on His Word. It is the devil who would love for you to fear God (in an unhealthy way), so that you would stay away from your best source of help. The devil would love for you to stay away from the Bible because it is the book of your inheritance and it tells you what belongs to you through the blood of Jesus Christ. The devil would love for you not to find out the truth so that he can keep you in bondage, sickness, and poverty.

Distortions and lies about God lead us away from Him and ultimately into the depths of despair and fear, like they did for Tina, who lives in Florida. Tina had been involved with a religious, cult-like organization for twelve years and became gripped by the terror that the devil was going to kill her.

However, when she started watching my television program, listening to my sermon CDs, and immersing herself in the good news of Jesus Christ, her fears started to dissipate. She said, “Despite my erroneous beliefs, my awesome heavenly Dad lavished such tremendous love on me, all through hearing and reading about the glorious gospel of grace!

"He unveiled Jesus to me through your teaching, brought me out of spiritual darkness, and gave me the courage to walk away from the cult. As I face each new day, I know His presence is always with me, that I am His beloved and He loves me dearly. This is just the beginning of a greater restoration that God is bringing into my life. He is just that good, and there is no other like Him! Hallelujah!”

I add my hallelujah as well! My friend, the moment you begin to have the right perceptions of God and draw near to Him, the devil cannot keep you bound in a life of defeat. All the lies, distortions, and erroneous teachings about God will collapse like a house of cards when your eyes are opened to His grace.

You will realize that the Lord is not your problem but your answer—to every problem. Your freedom and victory are found in Him. He is your security, your righteousness . . . your all in all!

Author: Jerry Savelle

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:17 NKJV)

When you really know and love God, everything else pales in significance. Your love relationship with Him becomes your driving passion, and pleasing Him becomes your greatest desire.

The apostle Paul said, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NKJV). When Paul refers to the knowledge of Christ Jesus, he is not talking about head knowledge. Rather, he is talking about heart knowledge. Having only head knowledge of Jesus makes the life of faith hard and dry; heart knowledge reaches every part of your being and makes living by faith joyful and exciting.

Without knowing God and his character, the Christian walk would be difficult. God wants to be everything to you. He wants to meet your every need. He wants you to know Him:

• He isn’t hard and aloof; He is your loving heavenly Father.
• He isn’t devising trials and tests for you; He is your Comforter.
• He isn’t out to hurt you; He is the lover of your soul.
• He isn’t concerned about your performance; He looks at your heart.
• He doesn’t give you what your sin deserves: He’s the God of abundant grace.
• He doesn’t want you to be just a servant; He longs for you to be His friend and child.

Most of all, God wants you to know that He is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Confession: Father, I ask You to give me today the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You. I believe You are opening my eyes to see more of Your goodness and Your heart of love toward me.