Strife will cause the grace of God to fail in our lives. Strife, unforgiveness, being critical—these things restrain the Holy Spirit from moving on our behalf. He will be hindered in blessing
and favoring us, because the Spirit of God ministers grace through our obedience.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). We are to love as Jesus loved. If we don’t walk in love, we won’t be able to walk in the manifested grace of God on a day-to-day basis. If we fail to keep this commandment, the work of God’s Spirit is greatly hindered in our lives.

If you have been praying for some specific needs, but have not been getting results, check your love life. Are you loving the people with whom you come into contact? If not, the power of God is restrained in your life because you are walking in disobedience. Until the love of God begins to operate in your life, the Holy Spirit will be unable to minister unhindered to you to accomplish in your life the good that God desires.

The Bible says when man subverts his ways, his heart frets against the Lord (Proverbs 19:3, The Amplified Bible). Many times we go about living the way we want and simply expect God to fill in the gaps when we get into trouble.

When trouble comes, we say, “God, why did You let this happen to me?”

God did not let it happen to you. You let it happen to you by being disobedient.

You might say, “Well, I didn’t know any better.” Then you need to become more knowledgeable. You cannot stay in ignorance and stay in blessing at the same time. Satan will cram defeat down your throat as long as you will stand there and take it.

The word grace means “free, undeserved favor.” The Greek word for grace is charis. When Christians believe in the gifts of the Spirit, they are called charismatics. What are the gifts of the Spirit? They are simply gifts of God’s grace shed abroad in our midst. We don’t deserve them. We can’t earn them. They come at God’s will. They are a manifestation of His grace. Many times a person who receives a gift will not even be standing in faith. (In this situation, someone’s faith is active, but not necessarily the one who receives.) God just comes down by His grace and distributes the gifts of the Spirit as He wills. Why? Because God is good. The gifts of the Spirit are gifts of grace. God lavishes them upon us because of His goodness and His mercy.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Galatians 5:4 in Wuest reads: “You are without effect from Christ, such of you as in the sphere of the law are seeking your justification. You have lost your hold upon [sanctifying] grace.”

They were no longer seeking after the Spirit; they were seeking after keeping the law for their justification. They had lost their hold upon sanctifying grace.

What does the word sanctify mean? “To set apart.” Paul was saying to them, “You have lost your hold upon the grace of God by the Spirit of God that sets you apart from the world.”

Most Christians have never entered into the fullness of grace in daily life because their understanding and expectation of grace stops at the new birth. They only have known enough to get born again. Most Christians do not even know enough to walk in divine health. But when they die, they will go to be with the Lord.

Galatians 5:5 in Wuest reads: “For, as for us, through the agency of the Spirit, on the ground of faith, a hoped-for righteousness we are eagerly awaiting....”

We allow the Spirit of God to minister grace to us on the ground of faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith gives us access into the grace of God. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What is faith? Hearing and obeying God’s Word—the written Word and His Word in our hearts. Faith demands action. We must hear the guidance of the Spirit and obey it, and that obedience opens the door and gives us access to grace—the wonderful favor of God. To walk in the grace and favor of God is to walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

As we cooperate with His Spirit and be obedient, grace overtakes us and we walk in the goodness of God. The moment we begin to seek Him, the Holy Spirit begins to minister grace in our lives. We would never be able to become mature sons and daughters of God without the grace of God. He could have given up on us, but His grace continued after us. He lovingly waits for us to receive that grace. He wants to bring to pass in our lives everything Jesus bought and paid for on the cross. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. He destroyed Satan’s kingdom. We have already absolutely been made free in every area of life.

Our obedience to God—obeying His voice and keeping His commandments—causes us to live in the earth like we were already in heaven. How can that be? Because heaven is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us. He is the earnest of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). Wherever the Holy Spirit is given dominion in the life of a believer, the kingdom of God—the dominion of God—is manifested.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

You must reach the place of trusting the Holy Spirit to fulfill His ministry. As you trust Him, He will be able to lead you. The promptings of the Holy Spirit in us will prevent us from going in the wrong direction and will enable us to go in the right direction.

The Holy Spirit ministering grace reveals God’s plan for our lives. If we never walk in the Spirit, we will never walk in God’s perfect will for our lives. We will just be walking in the dark, bumping against the walls of life.

The Apostle Paul in Galatians talks about our falling from grace. He is writing to the Church, to born-again people. When he writes about their falling from grace, he does not mean they are going to hell. He is referring to their falling from the position of being ministered to by the Holy Ghost on a day-to-day basis. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (Galatians 1:6).

We are called to live and dwell in the blessing and grace of Christ Jesus Himself. We are joint heirs with Him. He has given us the keys to His kingdom.

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:1-5).

Let’s look at Galatians 5:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.... Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith (Galatians 5:1, 4-5).

Here Paul said that Christ had become of no effect. What did he mean? All the wonderful things Jesus bought and paid for in redemption were having no effect in their lives, because they were no longer going after the Spirit. They were going after law, following after another gospel. They fell from the state of dependence on the Holy Spirit—they fell from grace. The Spirit of God was unable to minister to
them all the blessings of redemption, all the things God had prepared for them because they were not depending on the work of the Holy Spirit. He was unable to minister grace—divine favor and blessing—to them.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Hard times demand that you take time to be with faith up.

Once you have determined to know God—to become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him—your second step is to spend time with Him. That’s always the bottom line, isn’t it? Whenever we
start pressing in, desiring to win more victories in the Spirit, desiring more power, we’re always directed back to that precious time with Him.

Look again at what Paul said, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him...And that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection...” (Philippians 3:10, The Amplified Bible).

Think about it. If you spend an hour with God every day, that’s 365 hours a year. Don’t you think coming into His presence for an hour every day will do something for your life? Even if you just spent 15 minutes a day, that would be 90 hours a year of prayer and time with Him. An hour is just what the Lord led me to do. Follow your own heart. But see to it that you give the Father time to impart His strength into you.

Do you want Jesus’ resurrection power to flow in your life? Then get to know Him! The more you fellowship with Him, the more you’re going to look like Him, act like Him and talk like Him.

That’s not surprising, really. It’s a fact of life. When you spend time around strong people, you begin to take on their way of talking, thinking and even their mannerisms. When you spend time with Jesus, you’ll do exactly the same thing.

So, if you spend your time watching secular television and filling your mind with the world’s news, what do you think will happen? You’ll end up being like the world and living in fear instead of faith.

What you give your attention to is what’s going to be on the inside of you. And what’s inside you will determine the outcome of your situation. Your future is stored up in your heart. (See Matthew 12:34-35, New International Version.)

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Just as Paul ran his race—his life’s course—there’s also a race marked out for you. God has charted that course and only you can run it. Only by pressing in to win your race will you see the fullness of God’s provision in your life.

And let me add: God didn’t choose you for that race based on your ability, intellect, or anything you could do in the natural. He planned to empower you with His ability to do the job that He prepared for you. It’s in the weakness of your natural ability that He can show Himself strong. Don’t be deceived into thinking someone else can run your race. No one can run another person’s race.

If we knew the races marked out for everyone ahead of time, we’d probably choose other people to run them. We would think, Not that person—they’ll never make it!

Let me tell you how God picks people for their tasks: He looks at the heart. He doesn’t always choose from the greatest universities. It’s difficult for Him to use those who think they can handle situations in their own wisdom and strength. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). In this verse, perfect means “devoted, consecrated, dedicated, loyal, faithful.”

I want to tell you something that will take a lot of pressure off you and will release faith action: The race you have been chosen to run is impossible to finish on your own. Everything we’re chosen to do is impossible because God wants it done by faith.

It took a lot of pressure off me when I realized God never intended for us to know how to do what He tells us to do. He never intended for me or Ken to know how to go on television. He intended to do it through us. He knows how! We just have to do what we’re told.

Our part is to maintain our fellowship with Him. His part is to do the work through us. When you’re in God, you’re in over your head all the time. Get used to it and keep on pressing in.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Those kinds of supernatural experiences don’t come to you when you’re squalling and bawling, yielding to the devil’s henchmen. They don’t come to you when you can be bought off with a two-bit rush of emotion called grief. They come to you when you’re willing to fight the devil and live by faith, yielding to the Holy Spirit. They come when you refuse to give in to sorrow—even when the devil puts the pressure on. Can you see how we’ve been robbing ourselves by playing the devil’s deadly game?

Several months after Stanley left, while Gloria and I were in a meeting, a woman who had a prophetic ministry came and spoke to Gloria. “I don’t know what this means,” she said, “but a fellow told me to give you this message.”

Then she explained that she’d been praying and interceding recently when, in a vision, God had caught her away to heaven. She found herself standing in a huge dining room, having a discussion with someone. Their discussion had nothing to do with Gloria and me. Yet while she was there, a young man who had been setting places at the big table nearby came over to her. He said, “Tell Gloria, Stanley wasn’t in the truck.”

Do you see? This stuff is real! Real, you understand? It’s a lot more real than this death game we’ve been playing!

My friend, we can’t afford this devilish game of grief and sorrow anymore. It is killing us—it is stealing the real and powerful experiences God wants to give us, and destroying us in a far deeper way than we ever imagined.

So don’t give in to it anymore. When the devil tries to burden you with grief and sorrow, resist him. You may have to walk the floor all night long. But instead of worrying and crying, walk the floor and quote the Word until that sorry spirit leaves and the real rush and overflow comes—the joy of the Lord, which is your strength.

Remember who you are! You’re the one who shall obtain gladness and joy. You’re the one sorrow and grief shall flee away from. You’ve got no business singing the blues. You’re the redeemed of the Lord.
Don’t you think it’s about time you started saying so?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“But, Brother Copeland,” you may say, “aren’t grief and sorrow just natural emotions?”

Yes, they are. That’s what makes them so dangerous. We’ve seen them as such a natural part of life that we haven’t even questioned them. As believers, we’ve just opened the church door and let them come right in.

Most people don’t realize it, but those sorrowful old hymns we’ve sung on Sundays aren’t much different from the secular blues songs I used to sing years ago. It was a shock to me when I first came out of the beer joints and into the Body of Christ to hear church folks singing songs written by guys I’d known in my earlier days.

By their own admission, they didn’t know Jesus and didn’t plan to know Him. But they sure knew how to write sorrowful, gut-wrenching music. So they threw in a few Bible phrases, called it gospel music, and started peddling it among believers.

We bought it, too! We swallowed it hook, line and sinker. We didn’t even question the source. It just seemed natural.

Some believers will even fight you for the right to be sad. When I was teaching a series of meetings on prayer in Oklahoma, a woman was there who was grieving over the death of one of her children. Although it had been several years since the child had died, she was still deep in sorrow and grief when I met her.

After one of the sessions, she came up to me to tell me how she’d prayed and prayed over that child and it hadn’t done any good. She was crying as she spoke. Again and again, she sobbed, “My baby died...my baby died....”

When I opened my mouth to reply, the Spirit of God came on me and I said to her, “God didn’t take your child. You let the devil beat you at the game of life, and he’s still whipping you today.”

Suddenly, she was furious. She wasn’t about to let me or anyone else take her grief away from her. Her husband had to take her out, she was so mad.

The next night, however, she came back with a smile on her face. Something had obviously changed. “Brother Copeland,” she said, “please forgive me. How can I ever thank you? For all these years I’ve been so caught up in grief that I’ve failed my family. I haven’t been a wife to my husband or a mother to my children.

“When I got to thinking about what you’ve been teaching on prayer, I remembered all the unbelief we cried and prayed over that baby. We thought it was prayer, but there wasn’t any real prayer to it. We just all agreed she was dying and kept hollering about it. We didn’t release any faith to keep it from happening.

“I did let the devil beat me, back then, and he’s been beating me ever since. But I’m telling you this: I will never let him do it again.”

If you’ve ever been seduced by grief, like this woman was, you’ve experienced an addictive kind of agony. You’ve found that even though the sorrow hurts, there’s something in it that makes you reluctant to let it go.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” You must believe you are healed before you see the results in your body. You can’t wait until your body looks and feels healed before you believe it. If you do, you’ll never receive by faith. You can’t get faith’s results without exerting the force of faith. Faith is believing you receive whatever you ask before it can be seen or felt. Your evidence is the Word of God, not the sought-after result. The Word is your evidence that you have it now.

You have exercised your faith in God’s Word. Now let patience have its perfect work. The force of faith is at work, undergirded by the power of patience. Your faith connected with the Father the very moment you took His Word as the evidence of your healing. Now, confess with your mouth that it’s yours, and by your actions show that it’s yours. You must talk healing and act healing. Patience began to work from the time you believed you received, and it must be allowed to work until the last symptom leaves your body. The voice of patience says, “I know God’s Word is true. I will not be moved by what I see or feel. I will only be moved by the Word of God. I patiently rest on the truth of God’s mighty Word!”

The experience of the answer is inevitable.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

As you put God’s prescription for health to work in your life, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. Although many times healing comes instantly, there are also times when it takes place more gradually.

So don’t let lingering symptoms cause you to doubt. After all, when you go to the doctor, you don’t always feel better right away. The medication he gives you often takes some time before it begins to work. But you don’t allow the delay to discourage you. You follow the doctor’s orders and expect to feel better soon. Release that same kind of confidence in God’s medicine. Realize that the moment you begin to take it, the healing process begins. Keep your expectancy high and make up your mind to continue standing on the Word until you can see and feel the total physical effects of God’s healing power. Really, you are “treating” your spirit which is the source of supernatural life and health for your physical body.

When the devil whispers words of doubt and unbelief to you, when he suggests that the Word is not working, deal with those thoughts immediately. Cast them down (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Stop right where you are and say out loud, “No. I cast you down, you evil imagination. Devil, I rebuke you. I bind you from my mind. I will not believe your lies. God has sent His Word to heal me, and His Word never fails. That Word went to work in my body the instant I believed it, so as far as I am concerned, my days of sickness are over. I declare that Jesus bore my sickness, weakness and pain and I am forever free.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“But, Kennteh, it bothers me to say I’m healed when my body still feels sick!”

It shouldn’t. It didn’t bother Abraham. He went around calling himself the Father of Nations for years even though he was as childless as could be. Why did he do it? Because “he believed...God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). He was “fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able also to perform” (verse 21).

You see, Abraham wasn’t “trying” to believe God. He wasn’t just mentally assenting to it. He had immersed himself in God’s Word until that Word was more real to him than the things he could see. It didn’t matter to him that he was 100 years old. It didn’t matter to him that Sarah was far past the age of childbearing and that she had been barren all her life. All that mattered to him was what God said because he knew His Word was true.

If you don’t have that kind of faith for healing right now, then stay in the Word until you get it! After all, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Read, study, meditate, listen to tapes and watch videos of good, faith-filled teaching, watch our Sunday and daily television broadcast every day until God’s Word about healing is more real to you than the symptoms in your body. Keep on keeping on until, like Abraham, you stagger not at the promise of God through unbelief, but grow strong in faith as you give praise and glory to God. (See Romans 4:20, The Amplified Bible.)

Notice that last phrase there doesn’t say you give praise to God because you’re strong in faith. It says you grow strong in faith as you give praise to Him. I like that particular translation because I’ve found it to be true. Praising God for your healing is one of the most powerful things you can do.

In fact, Psalm 103 commands us to do it. It says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (verses 1-3).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries