Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! —Philippians 4:4

What separates Christians from non-Christians is not whether bad things happen to them but whether we can make the choice to rejoice in all circumstances.

In Philippians 4:4 we are given a command to rejoice: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” It is a command because joy isn’t always spontaneous. Sometimes it comes unexpectedly, but it is wrong to wait only for the spontaneous joy. Many years ago I used to sing, “Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray.” The problem with that old spiritual is that, speaking personally, if I waited until I felt the Spirit moving in my heart, I fear I would not pray all that much. Paul said to “be instant in season, out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2, KJV). “In season” is when the Spirit is consciously at work; “out of season” is when we feel nothing.

We are to rejoice always. Why? Because circumstances change. If we are found rejoicing at all times, we are showing gratitude. If we make a commitment to gratitude, it means we must be prepared for the unexpected trial and dignify that trial when it comes. Dignifying the trial means:

* Refusing to complain

* Accepting that the trial is from God

* Letting God end the trial His way

Every trial has a built-in time scale. It will end! God will see to that. God knows how much we can bear. If we will truly believe that, we can keep our commitment to be grateful—and show it by the choice to rejoice no matter what the circumstances.

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. —Psalm 106:1

When Louise and I go through the old prayer list (I’ve kept it—lest we ever forget), we now run through the same petitions only to say, “Thank You, Lord, for the way You have worked.” Most of these petitions have been answered. Never have we felt so grateful to God. And yet we make sure that we never, never, never forget but always remember to tell Him how thankful we are.

Again and again comes the injunction: give thanks.

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. —1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. —1 Chronicles 16:34

With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” —1 Chronicles 16:41

One of the great kings of the Old Testament was Hezekiah. “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” (2 Kings 18:5). It is said that “he succeeded in everything he undertook” (2 Chron. 32:30). Part of the explanation for Hezekiah’s greatness and prosperity was that he assigned priests and Levites to offer burnt offerings and “to give thanks” (2 Chron. 31:2).

It is a matter of remembering. It is so easy to forget, but I for one do not want to come to the end of my years with blushing over not remembering to give thanks to the Lord. Just tell Him! He likes to hear it. We will never be sorry, and doing it promises that one day we will hear from the lips of Jesus Himself, “Well done.” Be assured He will remember to say it.

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

One of the greatest sins in the church is not necessarily
gossip, strife, addictions, adultery or fornication—even though all these
things are sin. What I believe is the greatest sin today, especially in
America, is the sin of prayerlessness or leaving God alone. 

We can easily become caught in the trap where our only
consistent time of prayer is offered before each meal and that’s about it. You
know what I mean by the meal prayers,
don’t you? “God is good; God is great. I’m so hungry I could eat this plate.”
I’ve been so hungry before that sometimes I have felt like eating the plate.

One time when I prayed a quick prayer over my meal, I felt
the Lord say, “Now, Hank, did you mean that from your heart?” Like most of us,
I didn’t mean or even hear what I had prayed. Since then, I always feel
convicted when I pray insincere prayers, even if the food is making my mouth
water.

Prayer, however, is about so much more than that. The truth
is that we need a deep commitment to prayer that goes far beyond our meals.
Additionally, it is far more than praying only when problems arise. I have
found prayer becomes easy when you are in some kind of trouble. It seems like
you have more energy to reach out to God when you need an answer to a difficult
situation. But God has our time consistently, regardless of what circumstances
are present in our lives.

The way to develop this type of personal relationship with
God—the kind that moves His heart—is to set a time and a place to meet Him. The
Lord looks forward to your special time together. You can become determined to
not leave God alone by developing a consistent prayer habit. Give God the
desire of His heart—He wants to be with you, to spend time with you. Be
committed to it until the habit takes a permanent hold in your life.

Talk to the Lord about your desire to be with Him. By
verbalizing your commitment, you remind yourself that to have a fruitful walk
with God, you must find devoted time to fellowship with Him. Imagine what would
happen. If we would refuse to leave God alone that way, miraculous things would
begin to take place.

If you would commit yourself to prayer, you will learn the
secrets to a powerful prayer life. I have learned the most about prayer by
staying with it no matter how I felt or what the present circumstances were.

If you ask Jesus how to pray, He will teach you. Much of my
learning about prayer came from just getting alone with God. When you get alone
with the Lord, He will teach you—if you
are determined to learn.

We do not have to make powerful prayer complicated. After
more than 20 years serving God, I keep it simple. I make God real to me. He is
real to me. And the more real I make Jesus, the more real He becomes in my
life.

Just get alone with the Lord, and He will teach you to pray.
Don’t be discouraged if some of your prayer times with the Lord feel dry or
unproductive. Begin with a hunger to spend time with Him, and the Holy Spirit
will help you succeed.

Adapted from Don’t Leave God Alone by Hank Kunneman, copyright 2008, published by
Charisma House. The Bible is filled with examples of great men and women who
would not leave God alone. Their cries to God changed their lives and the lives
of others and altered the course of history. This book will help you discover
the secrets to powerful prayer that can move God to change even what appears
impossible in your life. To order a copy click on this link.

PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 4/23/2012

Set a time and place to get alone with God this week and ask
the Holy Spirit to teach you how He wants you to pray. Give God the desire of His heart, which is to be with you. Understand that
truth when you enter His presence and unabashedly share your love, gratitude
and commitment to Him. Let Him lead you as you pray for what’s on His heart.
Include praying for worldwide revival, more laborers for the harvest and unity
in the body of Christ. Pray for the peace and protection of Jerusalem, the
persecuted church, the restoration of righteousness in our nation, and the
upcoming elections.  Psalm 122:6; 1
Tim. 2:1-4

To enrich your prayer
life and learn how to strategically pray with power by using appropriate
scriptures, we recommend the following sources by Apostle John Eckhardt: Prayers that Rout Demons, Prayers that Bring Healing, Prayers that Release Heaven on Earth and Prayers that Break
Curses. To order any or all of these click here.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. —1 Corinthians 4:5

I think the hardest thing in the world that I have had to learn is to stop judging. I cannot say that I have learned it completely. God is not finished with me yet, and He is still dealing with me in this respect. I have discovered that the less judging I do, the more peace I get.

Paul is not talking here about hating sin, because that is something we should all do. He is talking about finding fault with someone who is threatening you, someone who is giving you problems, or perhaps someone who just “gets your goat.” Sometimes it is a personality clash and you make it into some big issue when it is really a personal one. Many times what is posed as a theological issue is nothing more than a problem of jealousy, envy, or pride, which are purely personal problems. Failing to recognize that, we get embroiled in it and say, “God’s with me,” and He is not. It is too common a mistake.

There are five things we ought to know about being judgmental, and the first is that judging is speculation. We simply do not have all the evidence.

Second, judging is schismatic. It will always cause division; you cannot avoid it. Whenever you begin to judge, the church will be divided.

Third, judging is selfish. Primarily it is a sign of our self-righteousness. We do not think so, but it is, and it is self-serving.

Fourth, judging is spineless. No strength of character is required for you to be judgmental, and it shows no taste.

Fifth, judging is superseding because you are doing not only what God says not to do, but you are actually doing what God says belongs to Him: “To me belongeth vengeance. Vengeance is mine.” Five good reasons, then, for taking this verse seriously: stop judging!

Excerpted from When God Says “Well Done!” (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1993).

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. —Psalm 103:2

Can you remember a time God was angry at you? I can. The unveiling of His anger is the scariest thing under the sun. I know what is it is to receive a wake-up call from God. I know what it is to feel His “hot displeasure” (Ps. 6:1, KJV). It is a severe kind of chastening one does not want to experience. But I have, and I pray I will never be foolish enough to forget it.

Prosperity may have the consequence of making us forget. Good health is something many accept without thinking. A job, a place to work, having a good income are things one can begin to take for granted.

The message of this is: don’t forget to be thankful. Thank God for the air you breathe. Thank Him for sunshine. Thank Him for rain. Thank Him for food to eat. Thank Him for clothes, for a warm bed at night, and for shelter.

If God prospers you, He is putting you on your honor—to be thankful. And to show it. So tell Him!

David lists all the benefits: forgiveness for all his sins, the healing of all his diseases, redeeming his life from the pit, crowning him with love and compassion, satisfying his desires with good things, his youth being renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:3-5).

One of the irrefutable evidences for the divine inspiration of the psalms is the repeated praises to God and admonition to praise. Only God could lead a human being to pen psalms like that. The most natural tendency in the world is to forget to be thankful.

Remembering can sometimes come to us without any effort—should God bring it to our attention. What God wants from us, however, is that we remember because we choose to remember.

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice … —Proverbs 24:17

If you wish to be today’s servant, then you must also resist gloating when you have been vindicated. If Samuel had been small-minded, he would have been glad Saul had failed the test. Samuel was the only one who warned against the kingship. We therefore might expect him to shout to the housetops, “I told you so.” How do we know he didn’t do that? Because God said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel?” (1 Sam. 16:1, emphasis added). There was no gloating, only mourning.

A good evidence that we can be trusted with today’s anointing and today’s stigma is that we mourn when a brother or sister slips or falls. Cain said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). The answer is yes. I fear that the anointing many of us desire is largely delayed because of a rival spirit. We look over our shoulders and, consciously or unconsciously, compete with one another. Virtually no consideration at all is given to seeking the glory that comes only from God. We want mutual adulation more.

Today’s man or woman ought also to be on the lookout for tomorrow’s man. Jonathan Edwards said that the one thing Satan cannot successfully counterfeit is a love for the glory of God. As long as you and I truly love God’s honor, including the reputation of His church today and tomorrow, it is good evidence we haven’t been duped by the devil. But if it is my own reputation I worry most about, there is no proof I am today’s man. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Excerpted from The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Charisma House, 2003).

“I believe Charisma continues to play a crucial role in bringing insight and unity to the body of Christ.”

—Bessie Watson Rhoades

Revival for the Long-Haul

Charisma has been a staple since my conversion in the 1970s. I so appreciate how you continually morph and rebirth the magazine. I believe Charisma continues to play a crucial role in bringing insight and unity to the body of Christ. Thanks for stretching me again with the March issue. We need the truth about revival today. It’s not just for a few wacky zealots in it for the short haul; it’s for every committed, rooted Christian serious about our mandate to heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the gospel and make disciples. 

Bessie Watson Rhoades, Cleveland

Stop the Fighting!

Marcus Yoars’ editorial, “Have We Become Armchair Revivalists?” (March) was excellent! My heart is saddened because so many fellow Christians do not participate in any move of God yet roundly criticize those who are blessed and changed by a move of God. I long for the church to be one in spirit and in truth, and for us to quit all our hateful bickering and backbiting. 

Elaine Beachy, Manassas, Va.

How Divine was Jesus?

I have enjoyed Charisma for many years. However, I’m confused and disappointed by some statements pastor Bill Johnson made in “You’ve Got The Power!” (March). He claims that Jesus “emptied Himself of His divinity. … It’s vital to note that He did all His miracles as a man, not as God.” The Philippians passage that Johnson cites never says He gave up His divinity. He did give up some of His majesty to become human, but if we take in the whole counsel of the Word, Jesus performed all His miracles as 100 percent God and 100 percent man. Christ the God-Man is a mystery, and we must handle the mystery with care. 

Melisa Morse, via email

Missing a Hunter

I noticed in your March issue you left out one very powerful healing ministry: that of Joan Hunter, whose parents were Charles and Frances Hunter, aka “the Happy Hunters.” I’ve been in Joan’s meetings where there are multiple healings and instantaneous miracles! Your issue was good but missing Joan Hunter. 

Becky Rogers, Raleigh, N.C.

As a 15-year-old Daniel King was inspired to set a goal larger than most could even dream. He’d read a success book that told him to aim for earning $1 million by age 30. But King, who grew

“Instead of trying to become a millionaire I wanted to lead 1 million ‘heirs’ into the kingdom of God. And God started opening up doors,” he said.

At 28, just two years shy of his 30th birthday, King led his 1 millionth heir to Christ during a crusade in Haiti. Though most Christians never witness such a feat, it was only the beginning for King. Now 33, the evangelist has set a new goal of leading 1 million people to Christ every year.

King is feverishly working to reach this new objective in places such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Ethiopia and other nations in the 10/40 window, where the message of Christ has never been heard. His crusades consistently draw tens of thousands, and his efforts to train local pastors have resulted in planting 14 house churches with 70 people or more attending each.

“For me it’s an awesome privilege to go to these places and tell people about Jesus,” King says. “They’re so hungry for the gospel, and when you go to a nation and you see thousands and thousands of people who want to hear about Jesus, you see how powerful the message of God’s love really is.”

On the Rise

“God is·supernaturally·raising up a movement of young people like I have never seen in 27 years of student ministry—ever. It is as if the Spirit of God is just beckoning this to happen.”···—Jay Mooney, after the Converge21 USA conference­, where young people and church leaders fervently prayed for and discussed the future of the Holy Spirit-empowered movement.

Telling his story in Redemption: A Rebellious Spirit, A Praying Mother, and the Unlikely Path to Olympic Gold, Olympic athlete Bryan Clay hailed from inauspicious and troubled beginnings to ascend to athletic prowess and stardom.

Clay, who has garnered a 2008 gold medal and a 2004 silver medal in the decathlon, grew up in a contentious, drug-abusing and fractured household, having no hope of being a professional athlete. His parents divorced at a formative age, and Clay became an angry youth. His waywardness followed him to Azusa Pacific University, where he continued to sow his wild oats yet also grow in his love of track and field.

This autobiography is the story of an “unlikely champion,” a praying mother and a young man who chose to reexamine his priorities and relationship with God. By eventually “putting God first,” Clay learned discipline and commitment. Now a husband and father, he also created his own foundation to offer hope, guidance and self-confidence to children. Redemption is an authentic story of conversion and transformation that will touch a diverse readership.

Reinhard Bonnke

(Charisma House)

Internationally known evangelist and author Reinhard Bonnke takes a comprehensive look at the person and work of the Holy Spirit in his newest release, Taking Action. The book tackles this topic through the eyes of an evangelist, but more than that, it is a successful attempt to produce a handbook of solid theology for the church to understand what it means to be filled and operating in the Holy Spirit’s power.

Bonnke begins with an overview of the importance of being baptized in the Spirit, then goes into greater detail describing each of the gifts of the Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

Although Bonnke illustrates his points with personal experiences, much of the book is an examination of Scripture. Indeed, there is an appeal for Christians to get back to the Bible and to measure all experience by it. At the same time, Bonnke wants readers to avoid being legalistic—which would strangle the grace of God and the Spirit’s freedom—and maintains that Scripture is the loving guide to greater freedom and not meant to punish people with rules.

The German-born teacher does not communicate casually in English as other popular authors; his writings take on a more structured and formal tone, yet it never detracts from—rather, it enhances—the rich content. Taking Action is both spiritual and sensible and will prove to be a great resource for those who want to be faithful in their walk with God.