Category Archives: Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Always Start with Prayer

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Joyce meyer

[And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity. —Nehemiah 4:4

In Nehemiah 4:4, we find three words that are vitally important to remember when we are trying to stand through a storm: “And Nehemiah prayed.” How did he respond to all the attacks that came against him—the laughing, the anger, the rage, the judgment, the criticism, being told his desired goal was impossible? He prayed!

Let me ask you: What would happen if you prayed every single time you felt afraid or intimidated? What if you prayed every time you were offended, or every time someone hurt your feelings? What if you prayed immediately every time some kind of judgment or criticism came against you? Would your life be different? Would you be able to withstand those storms better? Of course you would.

We can learn an important lesson from Nehemiah’s prayer: “Hear, O our God,” he said, “for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity.” Notice that Nehemiah didn’t go after his enemies himself; he asked God to deal with them. His attitude was, “I’m doing Your will! You told me to build this wall and I am busy building it. You will have to take care of my enemies!”

Many times, God tells us to do something or gives us an assignment and we begin doing it. But then the enemy comes against us, and when we turn to fight him, we turn away from God. Suddenly, the enemy has all of our attention. We spend our time fighting him instead of praying and asking God to intervene.

Nehemiah knew better than to let his enemies command his focus. He was aware of them, but he kept his eyes on God and the job God called him to do. And he simply prayed and asked God to deal with those who were attacking him.

Trust in Him: What do you need to pray about? When the enemy attacks, don’t take your focus off the task God has placed before you. Pray! And trust God to take care of the enemy.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Always Start with Prayer

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Joyce meyer

[And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity. —Nehemiah 4:4

In Nehemiah 4:4, we find three words that are vitally important to remember when we are trying to stand through a storm: “And Nehemiah prayed.” How did he respond to all the attacks that came against him—the laughing, the anger, the rage, the judgment, the criticism, being told his desired goal was impossible? He prayed!

Let me ask you: What would happen if you prayed every single time you felt afraid or intimidated? What if you prayed every time you were offended, or every time someone hurt your feelings? What if you prayed immediately every time some kind of judgment or criticism came against you? Would your life be different? Would you be able to withstand those storms better? Of course you would.

We can learn an important lesson from Nehemiah’s prayer: “Hear, O our God,” he said, “for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity.” Notice that Nehemiah didn’t go after his enemies himself; he asked God to deal with them. His attitude was, “I’m doing Your will! You told me to build this wall and I am busy building it. You will have to take care of my enemies!”

Many times, God tells us to do something or gives us an assignment and we begin doing it. But then the enemy comes against us, and when we turn to fight him, we turn away from God. Suddenly, the enemy has all of our attention. We spend our time fighting him instead of praying and asking God to intervene.

Nehemiah knew better than to let his enemies command his focus. He was aware of them, but he kept his eyes on God and the job God called him to do. And he simply prayed and asked God to deal with those who were attacking him.

Trust in Him: What do you need to pray about? When the enemy attacks, don’t take your focus off the task God has placed before you. Pray! And trust God to take care of the enemy.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Facing Others

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Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man…Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! —2 Samuel 12:5, 7

Fear means running away from or taking flight, but confrontation means facing something head-on. Sometimes those confrontations require us to face ourselves—maybe we’re fearful of failure or fearful of success. Sometimes the fears or concerns you have will require confronting someone else, maybe a parent or a husband, even a child.

David Augsburger, in his book Caring Enough to Confront, suggests ways you can express your thoughts while at the same time showing that you care about the other person: “I feel deeply about the issue at stake.” “I want respect for my view.” “I want you to trust me with your honest feelings.” “I want your unpressured, clear, honest view of our differences.” “I want your caring-confronting response.” “I care about our relationship.” “I want to hear your view and respect your insights.” “I trust you to be able to handle my honest feelings.” “I will not trick, pressure, manipulate, or distort the differences between us.”

We may think that there is less risk of us being hurt or someone else being hurt if we don’t deal with something. Just remember, though, if you run, you will have to keep running.

Lord, give me wisdom for any issue of fear regarding another person. Help me to be honest and to show that I care, and give me the courage to take a stand and deal with it. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Power of the Holy Spirit

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You shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. —Acts 1:8

The Spirit of God gives power to those who want to hear His voice and serve Him. A person may desire to do something and not have the power to do it, but that power can come through receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

You may remember that Jesus was baptized by immersion in water, but He was also baptized in the Holy Spirit. In other words, He was immersed in power, which enabled Him to do the task His Father sent Him to do. Acts 10:38 says, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,” and that He “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (NKJV).

Before Jesus’ public ministry began, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are able to hear God’s voice more clearly and we are equipped for service in the Kingdom of God because we are able to draw on the power (ability, efficiency, and might) of the Holy Spirit we received when He came upon us to be His witnesses. This power enables us to do what God wants us to do.

It is important to see that Jesus did not do any miracles or other mighty acts until after He was empowered by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus needed the power of the Spirit, we certainly do, too. Ask Him to fill you with the power of His Spirit today and every day.

God’s word for you today: You have access to power—turn on the light!

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Are Everywhere You Go!

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For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. —2 Corinthians 5:21

What if everywhere you went, you ran into someone you didn’t like? Wouldn’t that be terrible? Oh no, you’d think, her again. You attend a party, and you have to endure her conversation and views. You go to church, and she’s sitting right beside you. What a bummer to have to spend so much time with this person, you think. Then it gets worse. There she is at the dinner table with you! She’s lounging by the pool; she’s even in your bed! She’s everywhere! That sounds pretty awful, but it is the exact situation you find yourself in if you don’t like yourself, because you are everywhere you go. You can’t get away from yourself, even for a second, so you are in for a sad life if you dread your own company. That much is pretty obvious.

But believe it or not, even though we can all agree that it makes no sense to live your life this way, I find that most people don’t like themselves. They may not even realize it, but some genuine soul-searching reveals the sad fact that they have rejected themselves and in some cases even hate themselves. I’ve come across a lot of people over the years, through my ministry and in day-to-day life, and I’m amazed at how few are truly at peace with themselves. Instead, they have declared war on themselves.

God wants you to love yourself, not in some wrong selfish or prideful way, but in a healthy way that truly understands how special you are to Him. As you begin to see yourself as God sees you, then not only will you love yourself, but you will have the confidence and faith to be a powerful force for good in the world.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The “S” Word

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In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives. —1 Peter 3:1

For the sake of order, God instructed that wives be submissive to their husbands. Many women don’t like that particular “s” word, but think of it this way: you can’t have two people driving a car at the same time. However, it was never God’s intention that women be dominated and made to feel as if their opinions were of no value.

Sad to say, many women perform the role of the spiritual head of the home. Some women need their men to rise up and be real men, and I believe that means to be a man who seeks God regularly and leads his family in righteousness and godliness. Many fine men are doing that, but many need to make progress in this area.

I encourage women to pray for their husbands, that they will indeed take their place as the spiritual head of the home. I also encourage women to let men do that without opposing them. Some women say they want their husbands to be the head of the home, but resist them when they try.

Lord, Your counsel to me is always good. I embrace it, and I ask You to bring clarity as to how I live this out today. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Wherever He Leads

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Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion, as one loves the Father]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” —John 21:15

In today’s verse we see that Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” In fact, Jesus asked Peter this same question twice more. By the third time, Peter was grieved that Jesus kept asking the same question. He said, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.”

Then, in John 21:18, we discover the reason Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him: “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, when you were young you girded yourself and you walked about wherever you pleased to go. But when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will put a girdle around you and carry you where you do not wish to go.”

God challenged me with this Scripture because I had my own plan and was walking in my own way. If we really want God’s perfect will, He may ask us to do things we do not want to do. If we really love Him, we will do what He tells us to do and let Him have His way in our lives.

When Jesus spoke the words from John 21:18, I believe He was showing us that when we were young Christians, and less mature than we are now, we went wherever we pleased. As baby Christians, we did what we wanted to do. But as we mature, we are to stretch out our hands and surrender ourselves to God. We must be willing to follow Him to places we may not want to go.

Let’s be quick to follow Him, wherever He leads us.

God’s word for you today: Will you say an eternal “yes” to God today, even though you don’t know where it may lead you?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – It Costs Nothing to Believe

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Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]—blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he. —Proverbs 29:18

Those with a sad past need to be able to believe in a bright future. The writer of Proverbs says that where there is no vision, people perish. A vision is something we see in our mind, “a mental sight” as one definition puts it. It may be something God plants in us supernaturally or something we see on purpose. It involves the way we think about ourselves, our past, and our future. It does not cost anything to believe.

Some people are afraid to believe. They think they may be setting themselves up for disappointment. They have not realized they will be perpetually disappointed if they don’t believe. I feel that if I believe for a lot and even get half of it, I am better off than I would be to believe for nothing and get all of it. I am challenging you to start believing good things. Believe you can do whatever you need to do in life through Christ.

Don’t have a “give up easy” attitude. Let your faith soar. Be creative with your thoughts. Take an inventory. What have you been believing lately? An honest answer may help you understand why you have not been receiving what you have wanted to receive.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Anointed to Bring Deliverance

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Joyce meyer

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed one, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound]. —Luke 4:18–19

Almost every time I finish speaking at a meeting, people come to me with sad stories of abuse and pain. I understand and often I hurt with them. I understand because I’ve been there. In my book Battlefield of the Mind, I referred to some of that dysfunctional background.

I point that out because in the past, I have used my background as an excuse for not growing, for living in defeat, and for allowing Satan to control my mind.

“What else can you expect? Look where I came from.” I’ve heard people talk that way. Perhaps it comforts them to think that whatever their past held will determine their present and their future. They have that choice if they want to believe that lie of Satan.

“Don’t you know that God loves you, and that Jesus wants to deliver you from your past?” I ask. “Don’t you realize that where you were is only the starting place? You can determine where you want to go and how you live your life.”

I can say those words because of my background, the truth I’ve found in God’s Word, and the Lord’s deliverance that I have experienced.

From the first public appearance of Jesus recorded in Luke’s gospel, I learned something powerful and significant. Jesus went to the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, the leader handed Him the scroll of Isaiah, and Jesus read the words printed above. What the people there didn’t understand was that what He was reading to them was describing Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me . . . to announce release to the captives” (v. 18).

Isn’t that what Jesus did then? Isn’t that what Jesus does now? He said God had anointed Him for just that task. If that’s true—and I don’t doubt it for a second—do I really honor Jesus by remaining a captive? If Jesus received the anointing to deliver me, there can be only one of two possible results: He sets me free or He doesn’t.

This is the battlefield of the mind, as I’ve been pointing out again and again. Jesus says, “He has anointed Me!” The devil asks, “Did God really anoint Jesus?”

Your deliverance (and mine) depends on which voice we listen to. If we listen to Jesus and believe Him, He says that deliverance is not only possible but it is a reality. If God anointed Jesus for that purpose, it means God empowered Him. Jesus came to open prison doors and set the captives free. You and I can’t be set free until we start to believe it’s possible. If you believe that God loves you, wants only the best for you, and has a perfect plan for your life, how can you doubt?

You may have had a terrible, sad, and abusive past, as I did. Thousands of others have worse childhoods than you had, but they received healing. The fourth chapter of Luke tells of another synagogue where Jesus went and “. . . there was a man who was possessed by the foul spirit of a demon” (4:33). Jesus set him free. Jesus did that because that’s what the Lord does—He sets the prisoners free, and He’ll also set you free.

Lord Jesus, You have been anointed to set me free. Forgive me for listening to Satan’s voice that makes me feel I’m beyond help. You are the Deliverer. In Your holy name, I ask You to deliver me from everything that holds me back from fully and totally serving You. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Can Pass the Test

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Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well developed, not deficient in any way. —James 1:2-4 The Message

When life is filled with tests and trials, you sometimes feel like throwing in the towel. You are tempted to think God doesn’t know where you are and what you’re going through . . . or that He doesn’t care. But God permits tests in your life so He can bless you. And if you are faithful, you will see good results.

If you want to enjoy your Christian life and be used by God to help others, you must maintain a godly attitude during the time of testing. So cooperate with God and display an attitude of faith, and you will pass the test with flying colors!

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – No Matter What

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For you shall go out [from the spiritual exile caused by sin and evil into the homeland] with joy and be led forth [by your Leader, the Lord Himself, and His word] with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. —Isaiah 55:12

Peace is not dependent on circumstances. Our peace and joy are found in the Holy Ghost. Jesus said: He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive (John 7:38–39).

No matter what is going on today, you can drink from your own well of joy through the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Sons and Daughters of God

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You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? —Hebrews 12:7

If we want to be led by the Spirit of God, we must be willing to grow up and become mature sons and daughters of God. We must not allow our fleshly desires, our natural appetites, the devil, our friends, our emotions, or merely what we think to lead us; we look only to God’s Spirit for leadership and direction.

The more we know God’s Word, the more we understand that He will not lead us astray or direct us into anything that is not good for us. Even things that may seem uncomfortable in the beginning will ultimately turn into great blessings in our lives if we will simply follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Learning to follow Him is part of spiritual maturity.

The Bible sometimes refers to us as “children of God” and sometimes as “sons of God.” There is a difference between children and mature sons and daughters. Though all are equally loved, mature sons and daughters enjoy liberties, privileges, and responsibilities that children are not yet old enough to have.

We come into God’s Kingdom as babes; we go through a time of being children; and then we learn how to behave as sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Christ. God wants to do wonderful things for us, but we must grow up in Him in order to receive them. I encourage you to do everything you can to pursue spiritual maturity. Begin today to ask Him to help you in this process.

God’s word for you today: Be willing to grow up into maturity in God.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Decide to Be Second

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Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. —Romans 12:10

Giving preference to others requires a willingness to adapt and adjust. It means to allow them to go first or to have the best of something. We show preference when we give someone else the best cut of meat on the platter instead of keeping it back for ourselves. We show preference when we allow someone with fewer groceries in his cart than we have in ours to go in front of us at the supermarket checkout counter, or when we are waiting in line to use a public restroom and someone behind us in line is pregnant or elderly and we choose to let that individual go ahead of us. Each time we show preference we have to make a mental adjustment. We were planning to be first, but we decide to be second. We are in a hurry, but we decide to wait on someone else who seems to have a greater need.

A person is not yet rooted and grounded in love until they have learned to show preference to others (see Ephesians 3:17 NKJV). Don’t just learn to adjust, but learn to do it with a good attitude. Learning to do these things is learning to walk in love.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Loving One Another

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Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in dark­ness even until now. Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [in Christ] is in darkness and walking ­(living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. —1 John 2:9–11

Hate is an extremely strong and harsh word. Any discussion among believers about hating other Christians would lead most of them to say, “I don’t believe I have ever hated anyone.” If we think about these words of John, however, perhaps he didn’t mean hate as we think of it—feeling great hostility or animosity toward someone. Perhaps our form of hatred today is more like indifference. We don’t really dislike people, but we don’t care enough to help them when they have troubles and problems.

“Most of the loving I see today in the church is based on convenience,” someone told me recently. He went on to say that we will reach out to others as long as it’s convenient or doesn’t demand too much time or effort.

This opens a wide door of opportunity for Satan to separate us from those who most need our love. Jesus commanded us to love each other. In John 13:34–35, He said that people would recognize us as His disciples by our expressions of love toward one another. Perhaps one reason they don’t say that about many of today’s Christians is because too often we’re unwilling to go out of our way to meet the needs of others.

Love is an action verb. If you love others, you do things for them. To hate (in the biblical sense) is to do nothing or to turn away. To make it worse, you judge and criticize others and think, If they really loved God, they wouldn’t be in such a predicament.

You need to see that if you practice God’s “love walk,” you not only grow yourself, but you enable others to grow. The devil can’t do you much harm if you truly walk in loving relationship with others.

In my book Battlefield of the Mind, I shared the story of how I was extremely sick during my fourth pregnancy. When I prayed for healing, God reminded me that I had criticized another woman in our church who was always tired and sick during her pregnancy. Now, here I was in the same circumstances. I realized how wrong I had been and repented. But it took more than repenting—it also became a time of learning for me. God forced me to realize how often I had judged or criticized others because they didn’t measure up to the standards I thought they ought to live by.

All of us make mistakes. All of us have weaknesses. God didn’t call us to point out those weaknesses to the person (or worse, to someone else), but He did call us to care—to show Christ’s love in any way we can. The Bible tells us to be tenderhearted, understanding, and forgiving. That’s how we can win over satanic attacks. Paul says it this way: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30–32).

God used these verses to help me see that being Jesus’ disciple means being kind to others, tenderhearted, and forgiving. I also realized it meant overlooking their weaknesses and shortcomings. If we truly love others as Christ loves us, it isn’t difficult at all.

Lord Jesus, I want to love others, and I want to be kind and caring. I also know that I fail at times. In Your name, I ask You to forgive me, and enable me to forgive others who hurt me or don’t live up to my standards. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Believe in God

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For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on

Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God’s consecrated ones). —Colossians 1:4

Faith is the leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust. That means you need to lean all of yourself on God, believing that only He can accomplish His will and purpose in your life. Your only job is to abide in Him through faith.

John 6:29 says, “This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].”

As you are quiet before the Lord at the end of your day, believe and lean your entire personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Set Priorities

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Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. —Psalm 139:16

Be determined to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus Christ desires for you to have. The devil will always try to set you up to get upset. The busy activities of today’s society can make life seem like a blur. Most people have a lot of stress, continuous pressure, and really too much to do.

Set priorities. Start your day with God. Be determined to follow His lead all day, and you will enjoy every day of your life—not just on weekends, vacations, or sunny days when the weather’s perfect. Walking with God will give you pleasure and relaxation even when things aren’t going your way.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Confrontation Can Be Loving

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If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. —Matthew 18:15 (AMP)

When Dave and I got married, I was a nightmare to get along with. I just wanted to stay in control because I thought that was the only way I could keep from being hurt. Plus I have a pretty aggressive personality to begin with, so that combined with a lot of dysfunction in my background did not make me a very nice woman.

Dave, on the other hand, is a real peace-lover and very easy to get along with. For a lot of years, he went about being happy and didn’t really say too much to me while I acted badly. I believe God gave him extra patience with me because He knew the hurt I had in my life. Sometimes God calls us to put up with some things for a while, while we are praying and waiting on Him. To be honest, if Dave had confronted me in the first month we were married I would have just left him because I didn’t know any better. So there was a purpose in God not asking him to confront me right away. But you need to confront when God tells you to.

After a few years, God showed Dave it was time to confront me. Dave explained to me, “God has dealt with me that I can no longer let you get by with talking to me the way you do and acting the way you do. You’re not going to get everything your way, and things must change.” And they did. It took time, but little by little, I changed.

I was very angry when Dave confronted me. But by then I was loved by Jesus enough and I knew enough of His Word to know that Dave was right—I knew that my behavior was wrong—but if he would have never confronted me, even though I knew that it was wrong, I don’t know if I would have ever changed. So sometimes you are not doing somebody else a favor by not confronting them. It was the right thing for Dave to do for me. And even though I didn’t like it and I got mad, Dave was right to listen to God. And we are doing the work we do today because of it.

Trust in Him: Confrontation is usually not easy for the one doing the confronting, or the one being confronted, but it is an important part of spiritual growth. Follow God’s lead and confront when He shows you it is time, and do it in love!

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Things Unseen

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Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. —2 Corinthians 4:18

As believers, we know the spiritual realm exists and that what happens there affects what happens on earth. We know that there is more to life than meets the eye, and as we grow spiritually, we come to value the things that are invisible more than the things we can see. When we understand that there are invisible, everlasting spiritual realities that affect our earthly lives, we begin to perceive that God is inviting us to interact with Him, to perceive things spiritually, and to partner with Him to accomplish them on earth—and that only happens through prayer.

As we partner with God through prayer, we bring things out of the spiritual realm into our lives. These gifts of God that come from heaven are already stored up for us, but we will never have them unless we pray and ask God for them. He is doing such wonderful things for us, and we receive and enjoy those things through the power and the privilege of prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer says, “Your will be done on earth even as it is in heaven.” When we pray that way we are partnering with God through prayer so that the purposes and plans He has in the spiritual realm will come to pass on earth—in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  Through prayer we have the privilege of bringing heaven to earth!

Loving God Today: Remember that the spiritual realm is real and that what happens there affects your life on earth.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Yes, Lord

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Joyce meyer

For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. —Hebrews 12:6

As we change and grow in God, we won’t always do everything perfectly. As a result, we need to know how to receive God’s loving correction. God corrects us and disciplines us because He loves us. In Revelation 3:19, Jesus speaks this same truth when He says: “Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults . . . . So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].”

As I’ve dealt with my children and with hundreds of employees over the years, I’ve discovered that in order for my correction to be effective, it’s essential that the people I correct know that I love and care about them.

The people who struggle most to receive correction are those who do not know they are loved. Instead of feeling corrected for their own good, they feel punished.

No one can receive God’s correction properly without a revelation of His great love. We may hear the correction and even agree with it, but it will only make us feel condemned or angry unless we know it comes from God’s heart of love and will ultimately bring about the changes needed in our lives.

Next time God corrects you, remember that He “dearly and tenderly” loves you and that He accepts you, cherishes you and welcomes you to His heart. Receive His correction as an act of love and respond by saying, “Yes, Lord.”

Love God Today: When You correct me, Lord, I will welcome it, receive it as an expression of Your love for me and say yes to You.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Like a Child

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Joyce meyer

And He called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them, and said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].—Matthew 18:2–3

When Jesus said we should become like little children, I believe that one of the things He was telling us is to study the freedom that children enjoy. They are unpretentious and straightforward; they laugh a lot, and they’re forgiving and trusting. Children are definitely confident, at least until the world teaches them to be insecure and fearful.

I remember letting our five-year-old grandson Austin come on the platform at a partners conference once and sing a song he’d learned. The next day I was going to sign books and have pictures made with some of the partners. A large crowd was lining up, and his mother, our daughter Laura, found Austin hiding behind a curtain. When she asked him what he was doing, he said, “I am trying to get some rest from all these people.” She said, “Austin, why do you think these people are here?” He said, “Well, to take my picture of course!”

Because of his simple, childlike confidence, Austin automatically assumed all the people were there to see him.

Lord, I ask You to restore the wonderful qualities of a child to my life. Give me the freedom and confidence that comes from simply trusting You to be my Father. Amen.