(Editor’s Note: For Blood Cancer Awareness Month, we offer this story about one woman’s victory over leukemia.)

“You’re about to walk through a difficult and uncertain season.”

Karen Schatzline heard these words deep in her spirit as she stood at the kitchen sink, praying. And at first, she didn’t recognize who spoke them.

“I would love to say that I immediately trusted that it was the voice of my Father God, you know, the Holy Spirit,” Karen tells host Marti Pieper on the “Hope Through Cancer” podcast. “But my first reaction was to rebuke it like it was the enemy. And I thought, No, God would never say that to me.

“And then immediately after, I heard the same words, ‘You’re about to walk through a difficult, uncertain season.’

But what came next, Schatzline says, let her know the speaker was indeed the Holy Spirit. “I heard the words, ‘But do you trust Me?’

“Well, that struck such a chord to me, because it was God saying, ‘Here, you are about to walk through something. I didn’t do it to you. I’m not causing this. You know, a good Father doesn’t inflict pain on His children, but you’re about to walk through something. But do you trust that I’ve already been where you’re going? Do you trust that I’ve already walked the journey you’re about to walk?'”

What followed were the most difficult months of Schatzline’s journey to date: a diagnosis of a rare form of leukemia, regular visits to a hematologic oncologist and more. Listen to the podcasts to hear how God used this season of challenge to build Schatzline’s faith and bring healing to her life!

Lately, I feel like God has been warning me about distractions. In fact, while I was trying to write this blog, I got distracted all over the place!

In today’s world, we face entertainment distractions, social media distractions, crisis distractions, everyday life distractions and many more. It seems as though my attention span is getting shorter and shorter, and the space for creative thinking and productivity is being choked out.

Am I the only one who gets distracted more often than I’d like? What can we do?

Every one of us has our share of distractions, no matter our status, daily work, age or where we live. There’s just so much going on! But the enemy of our souls would love for us to do nothing all day but give in to the distractions of life.

The thing is, nothing gets done if we don’t stay focused. So let’s remind ourselves daily of our purpose. We are only on this earth a short time, and we’re here for a reason.

Paul said it this way in Philippians 3: “The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads … filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it … all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand … I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us (vv. 2-16 MSG, emphasis mine).

Keep focused on the goal! If we ask ourselves every day, “Why am I here?” I believe it helps us stay grounded and focus. I guarantee that we are not here to be jerked around by every distraction that comes our way in a day!

Here are five practical ways to focus in and get the victory over distractions:

• Be aware. You can’t get the victory unless you realize what’s distracting you. If you get too many social media notifications in a day, disable that function. Retain your attention span. Recognize the distractions, the plots of the enemy, and refuse to let them have air time.
• Make a list, check it twice. If you’re trying to focus on something and something else occurs to you or wants your attention, write it down, then continue with what you’re working on. Or if it seems like everything is wrong and nothing is right, make a list of all those things and find Scriptures that have your answer. Then every time trouble comes to mind say, “Thank you, Father, for working all of that together for good—You are causing me to triumph!” (Rom. 8:28, 2 Cor. 2:14).
• Ask for help. This means delegate, yes, when you can. But first it means: ask God! “Father, I need your help to focus here. Thank you for helping me keep the distractions at bay!” Use your authority and bind the devil! (Matt. 16:19).
• Engage the Spirit. There’s no better way to get a grip on natural things than with spiritual things. Pray in tongues! It releases the powerhouse inside you! (Read More: Pray in the Spirit).
• Find the flow. Matthew 11:29 tells us to “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” I’ve learned that if I’m trying to focus in on something (for example, writing a blog) and I just cannot get into it, I wait. I stop fighting it and say, “OK, Lord, I’ll come back to this later when Your grace is flowing.” Works. Every. Time.

I challenge you to make a concerted effort to push distractions to the perimeter and do everything possible this week to focus on Jesus and on your purpose. Bring back productivity and laser focus into your life. It takes effort, but it’s so worth it to fulfill God’s purpose for you! {eoa}

Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry over 30 years. Formerly a lead pastor, then an instructor at Rhema Bible College, she is currently an itinerant minister and author of several books. Connect with her on her website, , on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

This article originally appeared at .

God is always speaking. We just aren’t always listening. This is a truth that I’ve come to realize by trial and error. The problem is we want the handwriting on the wall, the voice from heaven, the dimensions of the ark. However, God does still speak in all those ways.

Even when he saw the handwriting on the wall and knew it was supernatural, King Belshazzar had no idea what the words meant. He had to call for Daniel to interpret them. They weren’t pleasant words (see Dan. 5:24-28, 32.) However, that night ,what God said came true.

Samuel, Samuel

We want God to speak to us audibly as He did in 1 Samuel 3. In this case, Samuel thought the voice of God was his mentor, the priest, Eli. Each time Samuel heard his name called, he ran to Eli.

Finally, on the third time, the elderly Eli figured out it was God speaking and told Samuel, “‘Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went back to bed” (1 Sam. 3:9, NLT).

God told Samuel He was going to carry out his threats against Eli and his sons, who were blaspheming God. When Eli asked Samuel what God said, Samuel told him truthfully. God continued to speak with Samuel and Samuel shared the truth with the people. Because everything Samuel said proved to be true, he became known as a prophet (see 1 Sam. 3:19-20).

Build an Ark

God also spoke to Noah. He gave him the exact dimensions of the ark and what he was to do with the gigantic boat. Noah didn’t wonder whether it was God’s voice or not. He simply got busy building a boat for an event that might never happen (see Gen. 6-7).

I’ve heard people excuse away all the stories in the Bible of how God interacts with man and even to say that if He did do that back then, He doesn’t do it today. But, I know He does, because He’s done it my life.

I used to say, “If God would just give me exact details like He did Noah, I’d do anything He wants.” That just isn’t true. There have been plenty of times God has told me specific things that I refused to do. Each time I knew it was God, but I just didn’t have the faith to act on what He said.

Quarter Lady

There’s one time I will never forget. I had pulled into the medium-sized grocery store near where we live to run in for a few items I needed for supper. As I was gathering my purse, a woman knocked on my car window.

She was not shabbily dressed like the man in front of the store with a can panhandling for change. She had on jeans and a T-shirt, which were both clean. She looked like any other woman going into the store. “Do you have a quarter?” she asked.

I couldn’t lie. I was sitting in my car, and in the door handle pocket, she could see I had quarters. I said, “Sure,” and handed her a quarter. She headed inside the store.

Not a Winner

I rolled up the window, locked the car and went inside to get what I needed. Back at the car, I got in and put the groceries on the passenger seat. As I did, I noticed the quarter lady sitting in the car next to me.

A bit of anger welled up inside as I saw what she was doing. She was scratching off a lottery ticket. She used my quarter to help buy the rest of a lottery ticket!

As I watched, I saw the moment her face fell. She obviously didn’t win. She put her head on the steering wheel. There were tears in her eyes.

Go Talk To Her

That’s when God spoke to me softly as if whispering in my ear. “Go talk to her.”

“What?” I said out loud.

“Go talk to her.”

“What would I say? You used my quarter to buy a lottery ticket? I’ll never give you another quarter again?”

“Go. Talk. To. Her.”

“Really, God? What would I say? I have to have something to say.”

“Just talk to her. You know how to talk to people, right?”

“Not to her, I don’t.” I said under my breath as I drove away. Turning on to the street, I heard God say, “You could have prayed with her.”

My Time to Cry

The words arrested me. I could do that. I could offer to pray with her. I went around and back into the lot, but quarter lady, panhandling man and her car were gone.

Now, I was the one sitting in my car crying. “God, if you give me another chance, I will talk to whoever you want me to.” I stayed for a few minutes hoping she’d return, but she didn’t. Instead, I prayed God would bring someone else to talk with her, wherever she was.

My Lesson

I learned a valuable lesson that day. I am sure if I had obeyed God’s voice, He would have given me the words to help the woman. I might have even found out the real reason she was looking for extra money and have been able in some way to share the love of God with her.

There was a reason God put her in my path. I will never know until I reach heaven what that was.

This not only taught me to not be afraid to talk to those God points out, but to act on what I know He is saying to me. The words of Jesus really came alive to me that day. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” (John 10:27, MEV).

God’s Voice

As a child of God, I am known by Him, and He talks to me. If I hear His voice and do what He says, then I am one of His. If I don’t, I am either not His child or I am rebellious and need to repent. For me, it was the latter. I was truly sorry and repented.

God was leading me to understand that He really does speak to me. It could be in any number of ways, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt when it is Him. I know His voice, and I also know that whatever He is leading me to do, He will give me the strength to do it.

First, though, I have to move my feet. I have to take the first step.

Clear and Plain

This has been more than true on my journey of losing more than 250 pounds. He spoke to me about living a healthier life through Scripture, friends, pastors, doctors, coaches and His very presence in my life.

He always made what He said clear and plain. Although I didn’t always follow, He continued giving me the same consistent message.

Learning to hear, listen to and follow God made all the difference in my transformation. There were times I got it wrong, but God was always there to help me turn my failures into successes by learning from them. {eoa}

Teresa Shields Parker is the author of five books and two study guides, including her latest, Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy, and her No. 1 best-seller, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds. She is also a blogger, spiritual weight loss coach (check out her coaching group, Overcomers Academy) and speaker at .

This article originally appeared at .

What a roller-coaster ride! This dating thing has had its ups and downs. Without hesitation, I have been sharing with the world my whole dating experience. Sharing with you hasn’t been all that bad, though, because I never for a moment doubted my faith walk while dating.

However, as I mentioned in my shared stories prior to this one, especially the last episode, I thought I had this dating thing in the bag. Boy! Was I wrong. Let me start off saying, “I know nothing.” The one person I can count on in every situation is the Father. I admit I sort of went on this journey without seeking Him for counsel. I went headfirst, thinking I knew enough to make choices on my own.

I was so wrong. I would have saved a lot of time if I had taken each person I had met to God in prayer. I thought I had chosen the right person out of a total of three. I’m not even sure any of the three was created by God for me and my son. I believe we want what we want as a people so much at times we leave God out—especially those sections of our lives we have a strong desire for things to go our way. We absolutely listen to our flesh.

What a lesson I have learned. The one guy I thought was the better one of the three was not what I thought. He’s not a bad guy. He just wasn’t a good guy for me.

We both had a similar upbringing, and I connected so much with that; I was hooked. What a revelation. I connected with his past hurt and pain. Yet we had only one other thing in common in our now. I really had to step back and take a look at why I connected with him on such a painful and hurtful past.

Maybe I had always desired for someone to truly understand what I had gone through. Maybe I need someone to. I believed that this connection was enough to build on, but it wasn’t, because we were unequally yoked. We didn’t share in the same level of faith in God. This guy hadn’t experienced the same warfare I had experienced. He had never been taught who the enemy really is. I was not willing to give up on us because of our differences, but God never intended for me to be the one to be his teacher.

“His intentions are not good toward you,” I heard the Father say to me during my prayer after a frustrating final three months of a six-month relationship with this guy. It had become too much for me.

I finally surrendered enough to give it to God. I finally came to the end of myself. I finally wanted what God wanted for this guy and myself. It was time to allow God to order my steps. Time to take my hands off the wheel. I felt so much relief afterwards.

A peace of God came over me, and I knew I was transitioning into the place He wanted me. I fought my thoughts often during my short weeks of recovery. I had to fight the thoughts of wasting my time. I had to deal with the disappointment of things not working out as I believed they would.

Instead of staying there. I got up and chose to believe the Father’s truth instead. This gave me the strength and the power to move forward. I have not given up on love or dating. The lesson I have learned first and foremost is to take everyone and everything to the Father first. Thank God, He is the restorer and a healer. Move on, with Him being involved in everything and in every way. Save yourself some time! {eoa}

For Dr. Gina’s teaching on this topic, listen to the podcasts included here!

Gina R. Prince is an apostle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has a podcast show called “The Keys Against the Enemy” on . Connect with Gina on Instagram and Twitter @ginarprince as well as Facebook at “The Keys Against the Enemy.” Visit her website at

A cancerous tumor is gone! This is newsworthy for today. And we should all celebrate with this dear sister in the Lord. Let’s read her testimony and find out what happened. What steps did she take for this cancerous tumor to be gone?

Becky and Team,

I love your ministry! I discovered you on Sid Roth just a few months ago and my life has changed and I am healed because of your faithfulness and the grace of God! I will be in Salisbury, North Carolina, later this month, and I pray I will be able to spend a few minutes chatting with you. I desire with all of my heart to minister as you do. I have read The Prophetic and Healing Power of Your Words, DARE to Believe, and I am reading Greater Than Magic now.

I have walked with the Lord since 1998, but only received the Holy Spirit just a couple of months ago. Oh my, what I have missed out on all of these years! The revelations the Holy Spirit is revealing to me are nothing short of miraculous. I want to grow, to help others heal their broken bodies, their broken spirits and their broken hearts. Fear keeps us from moving “In Him.” And I for one want to shout from the rooftops that we as His body don’t have to walk in that place of darkness any longer. I want to be used for His glory. Will you pray and help me?

I have read hundreds of Christian books and yours, by far, have touched my spirit like no other. I am on fire for God and want to be used mightily by Him. Enclosed you will find some cards I had written and printed. I am handing them out at cancer treatment centers, (where I have had treatment). But I know I am healed in Jesus’ name. (Sept.5, 2019)

Do you hear this woman’s excitement leap off the page? I do, and for good reason. This is what she shares, “There is hope! Prayer coupled with belief is powerful. I know. I prayed the healing all of my heart and the very next day a protruding cancerous tumor on my neck disappeared!”

Let’s look at what happened for this woman to go from a protruding cancerous tumor on her neck to the next day it being gone.

1. She stirred her faith for the miraculous by watching the following show: Sid Roth–It’s Supernatural!.

2. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and prays in tongues.

3. She read my books and developed her faith for the miraculous.

4. She prayed a prayer of faith for her healing.

5. She is solidifying her healing by testifying about it to others. {eoa}

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

This article originally appeared at .

With the live-action Aladdin now on DVD, viewers can watch the character of Princess Jasmine come to life in a new, positive way. Christian actress Naomi Scott brings a fresh depth to the classic princess as she demonstrates loyalty, sacrifice, love, courage and perseverance. She wants to lead her people to protect them, not because she’s power hungry.

When the audience first meets Jasmine, she’s left the palace for a brief respite from royalty. Behind the castle walls, she’s bound by obligation to marry a prince so he can rule the country. This pains the princess, as she’s the most qualified person to lead Agrabah. Yet, she’s willing to sacrifice her personal happiness in order to save her country.

This is most evident as Jasmine considers marrying the evil Jafar. She’s afraid that if she doesn’t wed him, he will destroy her beloved land. In this action, Jasmine demonstrates sacrifice and love for her people.

That’s not all. Jasmine exemplifies Christ’s call to love one another, and viewers can see this in the way she treats her father, her handmaiden and even Aladdin. Jasmine is very respectful of her father, even if she doesn’t always agree with him. She treats her handmaiden like a friend and not like someone that’s of lower class. As for Aladdin, Jasmine shows him unconditional love, despite the fact that he’s lied to her.

Read the rest of this article at Movieguide®. Find out what God’s doing in Hollywood!

This week, we commemorated a horrific event in our nation’s history. Social media feeds once again overflowed with posts and photos from Sept. 11, 2001—a day that (please excuse the cliché) will live in infamy.

Whether it’s 9/11 or another tragedy, personal or national, responses tend to move to two extremes: We either run to God or run away from Him.

We saw it 18 years ago. Some people asked, “Where was God?” almost derisively. As if the tragedy were proof God did not exist. Meanwhile, others recounted how they had a strong sense that God was intimately present, helping them through the worst day of their life.

For a time during and after 9/11, there was a surge in spirituality. Talking about God was suddenly more acceptable in mixed company. Houses of worship were packed as people sought comfort in the midst of confusion. Displaying a spiritual perspective was not just accepted, it was admired and applauded. For a while it was even OK—barely—to include the name of Jesus in conversations, as long as you didn’t make any exclusive claims about Him.

But spirituality and Christianity are not the same thing. Spirituality accepts that there is another world—a world we cannot see. That spiritual world contains many ways to god … and many gods. However, the biblical belief in Jesus Christ as God and Savior is an exclusive belief that says Jesus is the only way.

In fact, Jesus said this about Himself. “I am the way, the truth…” (John 14:6, emphasis added). Not one way among many. Not one truth among many. For those who disagree, they are not disagreeing with us, they’re disagreeing with Jesus’ own words.

So it’s not a surprise that the surge in spirituality has dissipated over the past 18 years. After all, feel-good spirituality offers nothing of substance. It’s often a composite of beliefs chosen from a wide spectrum of faiths, cobbled together with nothing more than personal preferences.

And once again, Jesus is left outside our culture. A culture desperate for answers to the meaning of life, yet stubbornly running away from the Giver of Life.

Personal preferences make a poor foundation for beliefs about eternity. For your preferences will be different from mine, and mine will be different from the next person. And we can’t all be right.

Christians are told it’s OK to believe what you want, but only if you acknowledge that Jesus is not the only way. Problem is, if we acknowledge that, then we’re no longer followers of Christ. We would become followers of yet another belief system comprised of empty promises. A belief system led by a god of our own making.

So how can we justify a belief in a sovereign God who allows tragedies such as 9/11 to occur? Perhaps a better question to ask is, why does God get blamed for all the bad things that happen, but those same people fail to give Him credit for the good that occurs?

Or why does our culture demand total freedom to do what we want, when we want it, and in the next breath, demand to know why God doesn’t intervene and stop all evil from occurring?

Why do tragedies keep coming? It boils down to the reality that this is a broken world and all of us are broken people in need of a Savior. And it helps me to remember that in light of eternity, our troubles are temporary. The apostle Paul put it this way:

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:17-18, ESV).

This world—on its best day or on its worst day—is not all there is. But this life does give us opportunities in the midst of tragedy. For when people ask, “Where is God?”, we can be the vessels He uses to display His grace and kindness. We can be the ones to meet a need in Jesus’ name. And we can love in a way that gives others a taste of the love their heavenly Father has for them. A love that was willing to provide the way—the only way—to restoration, healing, and wholeness.

The darkness of a broken world is the backdrop which allows God’s light and love to shine most brightly. Don’t blame God for tragedies. Be His hands and feet to love people in the midst of their suffering. Give them the answer to their question:

Where was God in the tragedy?
He was right here all along. {eoa}

Ava Pennington is a writer, speaker and Bible teacher. She writes for nationally circulated magazines and is published in 32 anthologies, including 25 “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. She also authored Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, endorsed by Kay Arthur. Learn more at .

This article originally appeared at .

Have you ever lost your sense of peace as a believer? Did you know this might be a spiritual warning sign?

Jennifer Eivaz found this out the hard way—only a year into her newfound faith. “All of a sudden, things began to grow dark. I lost my sense of peace, and I didn’t know why,” she says on the “Take 10 With Jenn” podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.

“And one of the ladies who was at this prayer meeting, she could see into the spiritual realm … and she told me, ‘I see a spirit of sorcery standing over you.’ Now, let me explain. I come from an occult background. And I had those kinds of connections in the past.”

When the woman spoke out about the spirit of sorcery, Eivaz says, “Something picked me up, threw me against the wall, and I went into a grand mal manifestation.”

Because the women she was with did not know how to practice deliverance, Eivaz went on her own journey to discover how to find freedom. “And I had to learn by the Word of God and by the help of the Holy Spirit how to walk out my own freedom, how to walk in the authority of Christ that He paid for on the cross for you and me.”

Learn more about Eivaz’s deliverance from this evil spirit and how she received an anointing to deliver others when you listen to this podcast!

I love the show Extreme Weight Loss. That’s where the host chooses one extremely large person to lose half their weight in a year. He surprises them at in public and says. “I choose you for the transformation of your life!”

I feel like I’ve been on that show, only it was God who surprised me by saying, “The invitation for the transformation of your life has always been there. It’s always been your choice as to whether or not you are ready to surrender to the process.”

Losing nearly two-thirds of my body weight didn’t take me a year. It’s taken me years to get that weight off. Even though I’ve lost 250 pounds, I have still not fully arrived at where I want to be. There’s always more to work on. We will never get it perfect. I will continually be arriving until the day I reach heaven.

When I started my weight-loss journey, losing weight was all I wanted. At 430 pounds, I thought if I lost weight all my problems would be solved. Far from it. Weight loss was the outward sign of many faulty ways of thinking that stemmed from emotional issues, which led to spiritual disconnects.

Entire Remodel

What I began to understand was a diet or changing my eating alone would not fix me. I had to have an entire remodel. I had to allow God to tear my house down and start over beginning with restoring my very foundation.

I knew transformation was possible because God says we can be transformed by renewing our minds. “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).

Those verses mean several things to me. First, transformation is just a thought away. It begins with allowing God to renew my mind. Then, transformation begins by me learning how to fix my attention completely on God and what He wants.

Transformation Begins With Surrender

This last thing, though, is the toughest. Transformation begins with surrender. What does it mean to offer my body to God as a living sacrifice? It means I have to surrender everything I am to all that God is.

This is not surrendering to defeat like waving the white flag because we’ve lost the battle. It’s just the opposite. It is surrendering so we can enjoy the victory only God can bring. It is surrender of our selfish desires to whatever God desires.

For many I have coached, surrender of the foods they love to God is the most difficult part of this journey, but that is really where transformation begins. Without surrender there is no transformation.

True Surrender

When we surrender something we love, something we think we can’t live without, that’s when God knows we mean business. That’s because God knows what the true desires of our hearts are. He knows if we have placed certain foods as more important to us than He is to us.

There were many times I told God I would do anything to get rid of the mountain of weight on my body. Then in the next few minutes, I would go back to stuffing my face with foods I knew were not healthy for me. I had chosen those earthly desires over Him.

For transformation to be genuine, surrender has to begin with a small but intentional step, so God knows we mean business. We have to show God we are on board with His process of transformation.

We have to give up something, one small thing, but make that commitment be not just for a short time, but for the rest of our lives. Habit change is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Still, we have to start somewhere. We have to actually put feet to our faith.

Change Your Mind

We stop a bad habit, but not some huge, all-encompassing bad habit. Just one small bad habit. Maybe a trigger food, the thing we always run to when we are stressed. Whatever we choose, we surrender it completely to God and ask Him to help me take our thoughts captive where that food is concerned.

We don’t focus on the bad habit. We put firm boundaries around it. Then, we begin a good habit, one we know we must incorporate in our lives before we can get healthy. This is what we focus on. This is what we work diligently on. It takes our minds off that food that had become our go-to source.

This is how we work with God to change our minds. Remember, transformation is just a thought away. It begins by focusing on God, who starts changing us from the inside. Then it begins to show on the outside as we surrender more of the foods we think we can’t live without by focusing on the other things God wants for us, those things that will move us forward.

Then, the good habits we choose to begin become our godly way of living rather than conforming to pattern of this world.

Slow and Steady Process

Weight loss is just one way we gauge transformation. Many I coach are amazed at the change that happens when they even start to surrender their desires to God. They begin to see that the only real way to lose weight and keep it off is to daily surrender to God.

It’s not about a quick way to lose weight. It’s about eventually changing everything in order to be all that God desires us to be.

It is a slow, steady process that we work on with the support of others on the journey, another who has been there and can help lead us and God Himself who stands us in the place of our destiny.

God Has Chosen You

I want you to know that God has already chosen you for the transformation of your life. All He’s waiting for is for you to surrender everything, even the foods you think you can’t live without, to Him.

It’s not a difficult decision. It’s candy, cookies, cake, fast food and not eating all you can eat at all-you-can-eat buffets or the transformation of your life.

It’s an easy decision. You know the right answer. God has chosen you. Now, the choice is yours. {eoa}

Teresa Shields Parker is the author of five books and two study guides, including her latest, Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy, and her No. 1 best-seller, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds. She is also a blogger, spiritual weight loss coach (check out her coaching group, Overcomers Academy) and speaker at .

This article originally appeared at .

So many people in this world are suffering from cancer. And we have what it takes to overcome it: faith.

According to the Scriptures, our faith, when correctly activated, can move mountains. Jesus says in Matthew 17:20, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be impossible for you.'”

Perhaps we do not need to move a physical mountain, but we may be facing an even greater one, such as cancer. One of my readers submits the following prayer request.

“Dear Becky,

I have your books and have been using them to pray for myself and others. I would like for you to agree with the healing of my mother, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and now there is a mass on her colon, spot on her lungs, right hip and abdominal area. Chemo starts this week. Thank you for your prayer!”

I want to share my prayer of faith with you so that you too know how to take down this satanic mountain in the lives of our loved ones. I pray, believing, this way:

In the mighty name of Jesus, I renounce this spirit of death and all these cancerous cells and tumors. I curse them at the seed and command them to dry up at their roots, and be eliminated from her body. I release the fire of God to burn in her body and cleanse it from all cancer and premature death. I speak creative miracles to take place in her body and new cells to be recreated; these cells are super smart cells, and they outwit any form of cancer. These newly created cells are cancerproof. Cancer cannot live in her body. Cancer cells cannot handle the heat of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, amen and amen. I also speak to her lungs, hip, abdominal area and colon to be recreated, strengthened and made whole for the glory of Jesus, amen!

Please take this prophetic healing prayer and change it according to the situation, then begin to prophesy it by faith, believing in the power of the redemptive blood of Jesus, and seal it with a solid “Amen!”

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

This article originally appeared at .