I was having some ridiculously petty thoughts yesterday, and do you mind if I don’t tell you what they were? They swirled around disappointment and frustration, ending in a big pile of self-pity. Just so you know, I’m 69 chapters into reading Psalms and have noticed that David sings the same song over and over again, so I’m feeling less bad about my repeat struggles.

“What’s wrong?” said that man of mine, as I snuggled on his chest. That’s when I gave him a big earful of all my feelings—bless him—including my own chastisement of myself.

“How I feel isn’t right, but it’s still how I feel,” I said.

“I know,” he said.

“I can hold onto good thinking about as long as I can hold a plank,” I told him. “Three seconds.”

“You could hold a plank longer than three seconds,” he said.

“Nope. Look,” I said, from my cozy place on the couch, “I can’t even get into a plank.”

Then I asked if he could remember when Caleb was little. We used to try to get Caleb’s attention to tell him something, but that was challenging. So I would bend down and secure his cheeks in my hands. “Caleb, look at me,” I would say. “Look. At. Me.” His lips would say, “OK,” but his eyes could not focus on me for even one second.

“Look, Caleb. Look at me.” Nothing. Not possible. But the kid was so stinkin’ cute with his coke-bottle glasses that we finally just gave up on getting his full attention and took what we could get.

In Hebrews 12:2, we read:

Let us look to Jesus.

Yeah, I fix my eyes on Jesus about as well as Caleb could fix his eyes on his parents.

But I keep trying.

What else can we do but just keep trying to get our thoughts to line up with Bible truth instead of wallowing in a pit of lies?

After confessing my feelings to my husband, a Bible verse came to my mind that firmly set my thoughts back on the rail of truth. I shouted the verse from the kitchen, like a warrior going into battle.

“That’s right,” responded Matt in a loud voice.

Bad feelings usually come from bad thinking, and bad thinking has to give the right-of-way to Scripture.

Are you overwhelmed by feelings you know are not based on truth? What can you do, at least in this moment, to fix your eyes on Jesus?

Did you ever realize that when God speaks, “Let there be light” in this verse that He does not refer to the sun, moon and stars? The creation of these heavenly lights can be found on the fourth day, but we are still on the first day of creation (Gen. 1:14-19).

What is this light that He refers to? It is His manifest presence on the scene.

When we allow His presence to manifest, His glory overshadows the darkness and the conditions have no choice but to change. Evil bows to good, darkness reforms to light, corruptible to incorruptible, imperfect to perfect and impossible to possible.

If you are in need of a miracle, the best thing you can do is to find your way into the very presence of God and allow His power overtake and heal you. There is no sickness or disease that can withstand the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Is there an area in your life that needs the power of the manifest presence of the Lord? {eoa}

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist, the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic and the soon-to-be released, The Healing Creed. Click to learn more about Becky.

In 1999 when a cardiac surgeon told me I only had five years to live unless I lost at least 100 pounds (preferably more) and kept it off, all I could think about were the things I’d miss. I wanted to choose to live (Deut. 30:19-20), but the mountain I knew I was going to have to climb seemed impossible.

Miracles do happen, because with God’s help, I’ve lost 260 pounds since then.

What Did I Want?

The main thing I thought about when the surgeon left my room was that I wanted to be there to see my then-9-year-old daughter grow up and get married. I wanted to be there on the most special day of her life. I also realized how much she would want me to be there. 

I realized how selfish it would be of me to graduate myself to heaven by eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it and not be there for her on that future special day. Being there for my daughter and son became a motivating factor during the next years of my weight-loss journey.

Vowed to Be Present

That day in that hospital bed, I vowed to do better, to make a way to be present in my children’s lives. There had been so many times I had barely been present. At that point in time, I couldn’t walk far, could barely go shopping or attend school events. I never volunteered to be a parent chaperone because I would just slow everyone down.

Anytime we went on a family vacation, my husband explored with the kids while I sat in the car reading but wishing I could be with them. It seemed everything in our lives were planned around my limitations. I was precluding my family from being complete by my inattention to my health.

I heard once that the definition of a dysfunctional family is one in which at least one family member has limitations that affect every member of the family. We had a loving, close-knit family. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t necessarily the behaviorally challenge foster children we began taking care of that made us dysfunctional. It was me.

There was a vast difference in me from when my daughter was a grade schooler and when she got married. 

Her wedding day was an overwhelming kind of celebration day for me. Of course, I was celebrating Jenny and her new husband, Nigel, but I was also just celebrating being alive.

Rude Cardiac Surgeon

I was well-aware that a rude cardiac surgeon saved my life by being bluntly honest with me back in 1999 when he said, “Your heart was never designed to pump blood through a body of your size. You’ll be dead in five years if you don’t lose 100 pounds and keep it off.”

Then he promptly turned and walked out of the room leaving me to die in my own fat. I’d done this to myself and I knew it. I wanted a fast cure. I wanted everything to be right with the world. I bargained with God.

I cried. I moaned. I wailed at God for making me this way. I screamed at myself for not being able to control my appetites and cravings. I admitted I was a ticking time-bomb ready to explode in my family’s face.

Motivation

At every turn, I saw the sweet face of my daughter in my mind. My son was 15 by this time. I figured he and his dad would do fine. My husband would do good with my daughter, of course, but she needed a mom. My mother and grandmother were already in heaven. I was it, and I had a responsibility to present for her as long as possible.

I knew what it felt like to lose one’s matriarchs. It felt like being exposed, like being the next in line to expire. I didn’t want her to have that feeling then. It wasn’t the right time. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

Space and time precludes me from sharing my entire story. That’s what my book, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds is for. Let’s just say God’s grace grabbed hold of me in a way I never thought possible.

He showed me what to do. He led me to people who helped me on my journey. Most of all, when I surrendered my weakness for the foods I craved, His grace-power stepped in (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Today, I am not just alive. I am alive with abundance that only being in the center of God’s will can bring. It’s an abundance that Jesus gives, more than I expect, life in its fullness till I overflows (John 10:10). {eoa}

Teresa Shields Parker is a wife, mother, business owner, life group leader, speaker and author of Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor and Sweet Grace Study Guide: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Overcome Sugar Addiction and Sweet Freedom. Get a free chapter of her memoir on her blog at . Connect with her there or on her Facebook page or Twitter.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted … and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old” (Is. 63:9).

The solution to loneliness is not to give in or give up, or do what everyone else does, or go where everyone else goes, or look like and speak like and think like and act like the world around you so you won’t stand out so sharply from the crowd. The solution is not to withdraw into an uninvolved, inactive life. The solution is found when you discover meaning in the midst of loneliness as God Himself shares your loneliness while you walk with Him and work for Him.

Two thousand years ago, another solitary figure stood out in history. He stood alone against all the visible and invisible forces of evil in the universe. The sin of all mankind was placed upon Him as He walked to the place of sacrifice, carrying His own means of execution. He was betrayed by one of His best friends and denied by another. Not one person stood with Him—not the blind man to whom He had given sight, not the deaf man to whom He had given hearing, not the lame man to whom He had given strength. He was crucified on a Roman cross alone so that you need never be alone—ever again. {eoa}

Anne Graham Lotz, the second child of Billy and Ruth Graham, is an acclaimed Bible teacher and the founder of AnGeL Ministries. She also is the author of books, including The Glorious Dawn of God’s Story and The Vision of His Glory, both from Word Publishing.

Are you satisfied with your quiet time?

Do you look forward to meeting with Jesus each morning, or do you walk away feeling like something was missing?

Many people I talk to feel like their quiet times are bland and boring. They don’t feel they are exciting and effective for their Christian walk. In fact, many Christians I speak with feel like they are not growing at all. They may have gotten saved years ago, but they have failed to mature.

When a baby fails to thrive, it can be life-threatening; and the same is true for our spiritual lives!

In the Christian walk, there is no such thing as standing still. You either progress or regress, but if you fail to mature you will eventually die spiritually.

And one of the most essential elements to Christian maturity is spiritual discipline, and one of the most elementary spiritual disciplines is establishing an effective quiet time.

A quiet time is something that needs to happen on a daily basis, because just as healthy food is essential for our physical growth so is a quiet time essential for our spiritual growth. Without an effective quiet time, we will quite literally fail to thrive as believers!

Here Are the 10 Steps to an Essential Quiet Time

1. Just do it. Making the decision can be half the battle. Don’t wait until you “have time,” because you’ll never have time. You need to make time, whether that means getting up earlier or going to bed later, turning off the T.V. or adjusting your schedule in some other way. You need to make the decision that a quiet time is going to be an important part of your schedule, but not just an important part of your schedule, but the most important thing you do each day. Weekends included!

2. Don’t get caught up in too many details. So many times we get caught up in all of the logistics of a thing that we never actually take the first step to do it. When I sent out my survey earlier this year, I discovered that many women felt bogged down by all the things they could have to make their quiet time better. There are a million reading plans and printables out there, and while many of the things we can buy and download can supplement out quiet time or recharge one that has grown too routine, we can also allow all of the possibilities to overwhelm us. In my post “5 Things You Need for a Quiet Time,” I give you the five basic things you need to get started. They are simple and easy to collect in just five minutes!

Read “4 Fabulous Quiet Time Tips For the Easily Distracted”!

3. Pick a spot. I have found that it helps tremendously to have a set spot for my quiet time. I have a spot for my morning cup of tea, my Bible, my journal and all of the essentials I need for my daily quiet time.

4. Pick a time. Going back to point No. 1, part of making your quiet time a priority in your life is adjusting your schedule to include it as a part of your daily life. Make a date with God, set a time each day that is dedicated to your quiet time and then don’t stand God up.

5. Make a plan. If you’re like me, you like to go into a project with a clear plan of action. Take a sheet of paper and write down where you’ll meet, when you’ll meet, what your prayer time will include and where you plan to read each day. Having this plan will help you stay on target!

6. Turn off the noise. There is one thing I don’t do in the mornings until my quiet time is over. I don’t turn on my computer or tablet and I don’t look at my cellphone. I just don’t. I know that if I do this I will get sucked in, and I will be distracted during my quiet time with all of the notifications and emails. Turn off all technology around you: TV, radio, computers, tables and phones and embrace the solitude of a quiet time in the presence of the King of kings!

7. Pray. Start your quiet time with prayer. If you feel like you don’t know how to pray, I have put together a seven-day series on prayer called 7 Days to a Better Prayer Life that each day explains each element of prayer, using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide. Prayer helps us focus our thoughts on Christ and prepare our hearts to receive His Word.

8. Read until three things stand out. There are reading plans that take you through the Bible in a year or the New Testament in a month. While these are not bad things (in fact, I’d argue that for a mature Christian they can be very good), reading the Bible is not a race to the finish line. Read until three things stand out to you and then stop. Even if you’ve only read three verses. In my post “How to Read Your Bible and Get the Most Out of It,” I explain why this is important.

9. Write those three things down. Take a slip of paper and write down the three things that stood out to you while you were reading the Bible and put them in your pocket. The combination of reading the Word and writing down key verses helps to make those things stick in your heart and mind.

10. Review them throughout the day. This is a part of biblical meditation. In my post “How Eastern Meditation Differs From Biblical Meditation,” I share about why biblical meditation is important to our daily Christian lives. Throughout the day take out that slip of paper and review the verses that stood out to you that day and ask yourself how you can apply them to your daily life.

If you do these 10 things, I guarantee that you will have an effective quiet time and that you’ll grow and mature as you should as a Christian and child of God! {eoa}

Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her Bosnian hero. Together they live with their two active boys where she enjoys fruity candles, good coffee and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. Her passion for writing led her to author her best-selling book The Missional Handbook. At A Little R & R she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. You can also find her at Missional Call where she shares her passion for local and global missions. She can also be found at on a regular basis. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.

You can name it two ways. Call it ditzy or call it creative.

Call it a deficit or call it gifted.

My son and I often laugh because we both suffer from the same illness. We are on our way to do a task, but then our imaginations hijack us. For him it looks like going to clean his room, and then we hear strums on his guitar. My husband and I smile at each other and enjoy the music.

For me, it looks like heading to the kitchen to start supper, and then my husband finds me scratching a blog post idea on a sticky note. The raw meat is sitting in the frying pan but no flame is burning. (Please don’t say that’s also a good description for me.)

This is the reason why: Whenever my husband calls me to ask for a favor, at the end of our conversation he says, “And thank you for doing that for me.” And I say, “Oh yeah!” He knows the balloon of responsibility is loosely tethered to the rail of my mind and must be tied more securely lest it fly far, far away.

Now how does someone like this ever have a quiet time with the Lord? How does a creative, easily distracted brain pray?

Oh my word, it is not easy. Sometimes I think the Lord must want to grab me by both cheeks and say, “Focus, woman.”

Take yesterday morning, for example.

I sat down with my Bible and coffee, plus my fuzzy blanket. With a tug on the red ribbon, my Bible opened to Psalms. But before I could start reading, I had an idea for my Spanish class.

It was the most awesome idea. Pretty soon I was in the kitchen, scratching out the idea on a piece of paper. Once I had it mapped out, I came back to my Bible.

Where was I?

Sorry, Lord, I prayed. Sorry!

Well, I thanked him for giving me the great Spanish idea, and then I grabbed my own self by the cheeks. Focus! I said.

In Psalm 139:1, David sings:

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.”

God knows me. He made my actual brain—this idea-generating, imaginative brain of mine. When I come to spend time with Him in the mornings, I can see that same smile creeping into His eyes that my husband often gets. It’s the smile that says, “This is the girl I married, and I love her.”

So if you are easily distracted, be comforted by the fact that the Lord understands you, the internal you. He loves you. You are the person He wants to hear from all day long. When you find your thoughts wandering off, just keep bringing them back (that’s my only advice.) God is very patient.

1. Listen to your thoughts. They are quite revealing. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (MEV).
2. Listen to your spoken words. What you speak the most about comes from your heart. Matthew 15:18 puts it this way, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man.”
3. Observe your actions. Good or bad, your actions show you where you are activating your faith. James 2:18 explains to us about faith and actions or works, “But a man may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Your actions reveal what you actually believe, and where you are activating your faith.

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic, and soon-to-be released, The Healing Creed.

Is suffering a good thing? Is suffering to be embraced? Or avoided?

Suffering never feels good. That’s why it’s called suffering. Some Christian believers seem to embrace suffering and grow from it personally and spiritually. Other believers seem to avoid it at all costs, wonder why God doesn’t always relieve their suffering, and wonder what’s wrong when suffering continues.

Much of that confusion, I believe, comes from a failure to understand the difference between necessary and unnecessary suffering.

Unnecessary Suffering

There are countless ways in which we suffer—physically, emotionally, spiritually. But not all of that suffering is necessary or inevitable. It’s not a pleasant thought, but sometimes you cause the suffering yourself.

What about the suffering of material lack—poverty? Have you invested your time and energy well, refusing to blame others for where you are in life? Have you learned good money-management skills, staying away from debt? Have you learned to be a wise steward of any physical resources you have?

What about the suffering from the breakup of a marriage? Did you give up too soon when your marriage might have been saved with hard work? Did you neglect your spouse too long in too many ways? Did you compromise your boundaries, or refuse to deal with damaging things in your own character?

What about physical suffering? Are you experiencing the consequences of a lifestyle of unhealthy eating, no exercise or substance abuse? Have you cared for your body well, with appropriate rest and medical care?

Wallowing in shame and guilt about any of this is not useful. But it is sobering to realize that some of our suffering was caused or at least made worse by the decisions we made and actions we took.

That’s actually good news! Because it also means we can now reduce our suffering in those areas by making new decisions and taking different actions.

Necessary Suffering

God’s people have always suffered. And some of that suffering is necessary if we want to experience all that God has for us in His kingdom.

Moses suffered under the burden of an uneducated band of slaves who regularly rebelled against what God told them to do. Elijah suffered the furious anger of a Jezebel out to destroy him after he demonstrated the reality of the God of heaven. Jesus suffered misunderstanding, rejection and death from those who refused His offer of life. Peter, Paul and others endured suffering as a result of their refusal to shut up about the message God had entrusted them to share.

There are times—many times—when doing the right thing invites suffering:

• The parent who continues to care for a disabled child
• The spouse who loves husband or wife well through a long or terminal illness
• The family who gives the money they might have spent on themselves to support their church or help a family in worse need
• The couple who follows God’s direction to plant a church or serve in a mission field
• The employee who refuses to compromise his Christian principles even though it might cost him his job
• The business owner who acts with integrity even when it may cost her market share or profits
• The believer who risks alienating friends or family by lovingly standing up for righteousness in some controversial area

Have you ever talked with someone who has suffered in one of these ways? Frequently they will not think of their experience as suffering, or at least not talk about it as such. The meaning, fulfillment or reassurance that they are doing what God wants them to do is what matters most.

Suffering Well

It’s a mistake to believe that all suffering comes from either God or Satan. Some of our suffering comes from our own choices.

It’s also a mistake to believe that all suffering is either good or bad.

So if you find yourself suffering in some way, here are some questions to ask that will help you know if your suffering is necessary or unnecessary.

1. What choices do I have?

And you always have choices! You may not always like the choices you have, but you always have them. You may have the choice to change your lifestyle, to work harder or smarter, or to learn to forgive. You may need to learn to love well even through painful circumstances. You may come to realize that the eternal benefits of the suffering you may encounter far outweigh any temporary gains from compromise.

2. What is God calling me to do right here, right now?

If your spouse or your child is sick, God is calling to you be right there caring for them. If you are not living the healthy lifestyle you know you should, God is calling you to make the necessary changes regardless of how hard it may be. If your popularity or job or comfort might be at risk by acting out of truth and integrity, God is calling you to put Him first—regardless.

Sometimes these questions are challenging. Take the time to learn what God says about your situation rather than simply seeking the easy way out

3. How can I hold on to God’s strength through this?

If your suffering is the result of godly choices, He will always give you the strength to persevere. He will also give you the motivation you need to make hard changes if you need to undo some unnecessary suffering. You may need to learn how to “suffer well”—refusing to accept shame or guilt for unnecessary suffering, while embracing suffering that comes from doing things God’s way.

One day there will be no more suffering. And Paul said it will all be worth it! “Our light affliction, which lasts but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).

Dr. Carol Peters-Tanksley is both a board certified OB-Gyn physician and an ordained Doctor of Ministry. As an author and speaker, she loves helping people discover the Fully Alive kind of life that Jesus came to bring us. Visit her website at .

“A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” John 15:20, MEV

They didn’t just persecute Jesus; they crucified Him! How is it that you and I think we will be treated any better?

You may be thinking this doesn’t happen today. Yet it has been estimated by the World Christian Encyclopedia that more than 45 million men and women were put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ during the twentieth century! In recent years the estimate has averaged between 160,000 and 171,000 per year. Imagine! That’s more than 10,000 Christians dying for their faith every month! More than 400 per day!

While you and I are getting up in the morning, trying to decide what to wear and what to eat and where we will spend our vacation, somewhere in the world someone is paying the ultimate price for his or her relationship with Jesus! And I ask myself, would I be willing to do the same?

Anne Graham Lotz, the second child of Billy and Ruth Graham, is an acclaimed Bible teacher and the founder of AnGeL Ministries. She also is the author of books, including The Glorious Dawn of God’s Story and The Vision of His Glory, both from Word Publishing.

There is great confusion among believers in Christ as to whether or not a confession of faith is a lie. The ninth commandment tells us we are not to lie. Proverbs 12:22 plainly says. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” And a lying tongue is listed as one of the seven sins God hates the most. “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Prov. 6:16-19). From these three verses alone we can gather that lying is a serious sin, and God hates it, and we are to speak the truth.

But then we read verses such as Romans 4:17, in which God says, “(As it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) before God whom he believed, and who raises the dead, and calls those things that do not exist as though they did.” Proverbs 18:21 clearly teaches us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 12:18 reveals right type of words bring forth healing, “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is health.”

This sets my mind to thinking that there is a huge spiritual difference in the way in which words are being spoken. Some say it is a lie to say, “By His stripes I am healed” (Is. 53:5) when they still have physical symptoms of sickness upon them. But with the story of Abram, later changed to Abraham, he was to call those things that are not as though they already were. No longer was he to confess that he was fatherless with his barren wife, Sarai, later renamed Sarah.

The words that one speaks are so vital, that God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. So now, every time he introduces himself, “Hi, I’m Abraham.” He is actually declaring to everyone he meets, “Hi, I’m the father of many nations.” Now, from a carnal perspective that would be telling a lie. His wife was barren. They were elderly. He had one son with his wife’s servant, Hagar. One son, with another woman other than his wife still does not make him a father of many nations.

And God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, so she would start to declare that she would give birth to nations, kings, prominent people would come from her womb. This too with natural reasoning would be consider a lie. She didn’t even have one child, let alone be the mother of nations and kings.

James 3:1-11 warns about the power of the tongue: “My brothers, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. We all err in many ways. But if any man does not err in word, he is a perfect man and able also to control the whole body. See how we put bits in the mouths of horses that they may obey us, and we control their whole bodies. And observe ships. Though they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are directed with a very small rudder wherever the captain pleases. Even so, the tongue is a little part of the body and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles. The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. The tongue is among the parts of the body, defiling the whole body, and setting the course of nature on fire, and it is set on fire by hell. All kinds of beasts, and birds, and serpents, and things in the sea are tamed or have been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring yield at the same opening sweet and bitter water?”

The power of the tongue either blesses or curses, creates or destroys ourselves, others, hopes, dreams and future plans. So what is a confession of faith for a healing or a miracle? Is it an arrogant lie? Is it a form of manipulation we use against God to try to get our way? No, it isn’t any of these explanations. What it is then?

A confession of faith for a healing or miracle is faith talk. It’s God’s form of speech. It’s supernatural vocabulary that produces what it declares. It’s based on faith and comes from the heart, and it believes what it is saying. And I’ll take this deeper, and make it clearer. When we speak a confession of faith for a healing or miracle, we are actually prophesying into the situation.

We read of this in Genesis 1:3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light.'” Another example of this is found in  Ezekiel 37:4, which says, “Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'” Jesus prophesies in John 11:43, “When He had said this, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!'”

What happened when God prophesied in Genesis 1:3? Light manifested. And this is what happened when Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones, “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise and a shaking. And the bones came together, bone to its bone. When I looked, the sinews and the flesh grew upon them, and the skin covered them. But there was no breath in them” (Ezek. 37:7-8). And when Jesus prophesied with a loud voice over Lazarus’ dead body, it came back to life and walked out from the tomb.

We are not speaking out a lie when we declare a confession of faith for a healing or a miracle. We are activating the gift of prophesy. And according to 1 Corinthians 14:3, the purpose of prophecy is, “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.”

Today, make a quality decision that you will use the power of your words wisely; bless, not curse yourself and others; create and build up, not destroy your body in the name of Jesus; and declare those things that are not as though they already are: “In Jesus’ name, I am healed.” {eoa}

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic and, soon to be released, The Healing Creed. Visit her at .