It takes mindful practice to speak with authority, as if it already were. We apply our faith, and the Spirit of God causes the outcomes that are not yet visible. “Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 — Our Father expects us to pray, to confess faith without ceasing, to believe without ceasing, no matter what we physically see. Confessing our HOPE in what we cannot see — YET — is called FAITH. We have been chosen and called to trust and rely upon the Lord as we confess faith in the things to come. The first followers of the Way asked to be taught how to pray. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” The Father’s will is that we pray and believe that through us, His will shall be done on earth when we pray in faith. Most likely it takes years to develop the faith of John G Lake, or Charles Capps, but as we PRACTICE our FAITH and we intentionally hold captive every thought, we confess the words which we trust that He who is able, will make manifest those things that we HOPE for. We choose to call things as if they already were, with increasing confidence.

Abraham stood in the Presence of God as He called his 100 year old, non-functioning body back into reproductive life. God the Father told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Abe believed God and he had HOPE against all possible odds and believed God. His wife Sara’s 90 year old body got pregnant and Abe and Sara gave birth to a son. “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:17-22 NIV

Listen to the prayers of others, then rightly discern your level of faith in God and His word. Being fully persuaded that prayer works is important to know before you STOP taking your heart medication. “I’ve been praying for ____. However, nothing has changed YET — The will of GOD is that I BELIEVE, OBEY and WAIT on HIM. So I shall wait as my faith develops and trust that God will provide many opportunities for me to exercise my faith in HIM. In our habit of ongoing thinking, speaking, and confessing our faith without ceasing, we continue to BELIEVE, TRUST and CONFESS what we hope for, until He manifests the best for us. Exceedingly more than we could ever ask for is what the Lord desires for us.

Many people respond “I will believe it when I see it.” We are to speak a word of promise “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your FAITH with goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness and brotherly affection.” 2 Peter 1:3-8 HCSB Our Father gave us the same dunamis power that He gave Jesus. God has already done all that He said He would and we claim it by FAITH in what He said. Having HOPE is to have a goal, a desired destination or a belief in the supernatural assistance from the Helper. What do you hope for? What do your HOPE to see manifest in your life?

We are to examine our hearts and the words that proceed from our lips. Do I confess my weakness, or do I believe that I am a child of God with a mind of Christ? Right discernment, wisdom and dunamis power is mine. Therefore, in my prayers I am careful to NOT describe the full problem to my Father who knows all. I mindfully choose to confess IN FAITH the best outcome, which has NOT yet manifested, as I trust God’s Word and His timing. Charles Capps wrote “If Jesus had a car He wanted to sell, He would say “My car is sold.”. The HOPE is claimed as if it already existed. Our earnest, repeated faith confessions move mountains of unbelief as it develops over time, perhaps years of consistent confessing.

Charles Capps also insists that God is not in the credit business. His chosen MUST believe in Him first. We MUST have FAITH up front to lay-away those things that He sees for us. Our Father patiently waits for our faith to develop so that we might see breakthroughs, healings, open doors, transformed souls, as family and friends coming to faith. Did the rich young ruler eventually come to believe in Jesus? Faith is the title deed to the things we hope for. To our Father, our faith has the same VALUE as the thing hoped for. “Whatsoever that you desire, when you pray, BELIEVE that you receive them, and you shall have them.” Mark 11:24 The timing is up to God, but we are commanded to stand firm and capture every thought and hold it accountable to His promise! When we are operating in faith, we MUST BELIEVE in some things that we cannot see in the natural realm, just yet! We MUST speak words of confident faith that our Father hears us.

God has a history of calling things that are not visible yet — into being! It was dark, and God called Light forth. Our Father also calls things that He hates, the evil that exists today, and He calls them nullified. “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of this world to shame the strong; God chose the lowly things of this world, the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

Our Father tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. He tells us to be CAREFUL to do all things ACCORDING to His word. REMEMBER: Death and life are held in the tongue. As we daily practice to confess God’s Word, our bodies, minds and souls prosper. Jesus spoke to the storm and it calmed. He spoke to a rotting dead body and Lazarus walked out alive. Jesus called things that were NOT visible, into reality. Our Lord also said that we would be enabled to do even greater things. BELIEVE and SPEAK truth. “I am of God, and Satan has zero power over me. “For greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.”

I will fear no evil, for my Lord is with me, and His word and His Spirit emboldens me. No weapon formed against me shall prosper, for my righteousness is of the Lord. I am a doer of the Word of God and I am blessed beacause of the Spirit who works through me to heal, by the words of faith I speak. I am an overcomer who is carried over obstacles by the power of God, the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. I am fully persuaded by God’s Word. With whole hearted submission to God, I resist the devil and he flees. I delight myself in the Lord and He gives me the desires of my heart. As I give, it is given onto me; in great measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The Lord is my Shepherd and I do not want because He lavishly supplies all my needs. All that is good testifies to the glory of God.

We can trust God because He is bound to Himself. Hebrews 6:13-18 NKJV “when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.“

Hebrews 4:12-16 “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The living Word works through the Holy Spirit in us — dividing soul and spirit, splitting between joints and marrow— between substance and emptiness—fully surrendered — in our midst He is there. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account … since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess—Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. You can trust God, because our Father is bound to Himself. What IF God is now waking up His church and calling us to Himself by allowing the present doom and gloom?

If we pray hoping that IF the Father wills it, we have missed His intention. The Word says that by His stripes we were healed, which brings us a sound mind, and a strong heart that pumps life giving blood throughout all the organs of the body that we pray for. Our Father depends on us to deliver His message, His word, His gift of salvation and healing to the world. “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9 As the recipient of such abundant grace, every word that proceeds out of our mouths, must be carefully chosen. Being slow to speak and quick to listen, we are more likely to speak words that come forth from the Spirit of Truth that abides in us. As we trust in the Lord with all our heart, we do not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways we acknowledge the Holy Spirit with us, and He directs our path. The Word of Christ dwells richly within those who delight in the Word of God. We ask for wisdom and discernment and our Lord delivers. The Word of God is settled in heaven, therefore, we speak His Word and trust with great expectation that the Spirit of God is moving to bring about miraculous good.

“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law ans judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgement on it. ” James 4:11 Be careful of how you render judfement. To judge, is to make an evaluation as to value, quality, or capacity of another. When we watch people respond in a particular way, we draw a conclusion about why they actsted as the did, and we are judging. If we audaciously presume to know or discern why a person did or said such and such, we dare to compete with God, who is the Judge of all.

What happened to Peter when he jumped out of the boat to walk on water? Peter’s faith needed more time to develop. Jesus did not warn Peter that he was not ready to walk on water yet, because our Lord allows us to practice our faith. Peter stepped out in FAITH, then his eyes focused on the storm, and not on Jesus and he sunk. If our faith has not fully developed to speak healing, it is important that we practice confessing faith for a long while before we stop taking the meds that the doctors prescribe. Pray a consecration prayer: “In the name of Jesus, I bow at the mercy seat of God, that my Lord take me as I am. Lord, make me what I ought to be in spirit, in soul, in body. Annoint me with Thy power to do right. No matter the cost, enable me by Thy Spirit to confess anything that offends Thee. Wash me in the blood of Jesus that I may become Thy messenger, Thy chosen delivery agent on earth. AMEN –

My motivation for reading books by John G Lake, Bruce Wilkinson, Charles Capps are to DEVELOP my faith so that I can SHINE for JESUS and be effective for His purpose. My Father fills my hunger and thirst by His Word and the testimonies of others. We are blessed when we lose our human nature, our developed identities. When we surrender our individual rights to become a citizen of His kingdom, we take on our new idenity. Jesus told the rich young ruler (some say it was Barnabas who later was willing) “Thou lackest one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.” Luke 18:22 Jesus was applying the first principle. The young man turned away sorrowful, he was not ready to do such a sacrifical thing, just yet. After the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Ghost, Barnabas received the call and laid aside his own interests, his own desires and sold his great possessions and laid them at the apostles feet. The missed miracle of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was that the Spirit of God produced an intense unselfish desire within the hearts of all who had received the baptism of the Spirit. They each parted with their money to give as others may need. Our Lord’s consecreation and commitment unto the will of God was unto all righteousness. Bless His holy name for His obedience even unto death. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10