We can believe and receive, or doubt and do without.

The Bible says, "As a man thinks, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]. When we think negative thoughts, it definitely creates what we think. We can bring things about, by just thinking about them. People don't realize that but we create our environment and our future, even by what we think, and how we think about it. For example, my lifelong friend, Patty Faye, had it fixed in her mind, that just because her grandmother and her mother died at the age of 35, then surely, she would follow suit, and die, as well, at that age. I want her not to do that because I knew that words are alive and they can come to pass, so please I told her, don't ever say that again. But her mind was set and she didn't believe me. The "key" here is, she believed it. She set the stage. She believed it and therefore manifested it in her life. She was healthy as a horse, but she had it set in her mind that she was going to die at 35, just because her mother did. That's superstition. And guess what. Patty's mother also believed that she was going to die at 35 because her mother died at 35. Then she told Patty Faye, "Us women, only live till 35, in our family." What she had done, was speak death over herself and her life, and she received what she believed. Words are alive and really do mean something. Your body and mind will program, what you believe to be true, as you are in charge. It will follow, what you program it to believe. It prepares itself. She was [b]so sure[/b], she would only live till she age 35, and that, she did. That's what she wanted to believe and so her body said, "Okay...then that's what it's going to be! Coming right up!" and she developed cancer, and died at 35, just as she predicted. "As a man thinks, so is he." Proverbs 23:7. We have so much power and control over our minds and bodies, you would not believe. And it all has to do with attitude and belief.

You know how athletes get hurt and they go to the doctor and he says I'm sorry man, you're not going to be able to walk again and you'll never play sports again. And what happens? Those who say oh no oh no you don't set my destiny! I'm going to walk and I'm going to get back on that field! Those are God believing teams. They pray before a game. They know from where their help comes. And guess what. They get back in the game! You can believe and receive, or you can doubt and do without! Absolutely! There [b]is[/b] no limit, as to what we can do. That's the truth. I know because I have had bone on bone in both knees for the last 12 years. It got to the point where I was in so much pain and crying out during the night and everything and one morning when I woke up and I put my feet down on the floor oh my it hurts so bad I could hardly even touch my feet to the floor it hurts so bad because I was diagnosed with severe degenerative osteoarthritis and severe arthritis all over my body, but my knees are what was really bothering me, and I could not walk. I just could not walk and I thought, how am I going to get to the bathroom? And I said to myself, "I'll get there with God's help, [b]that's[/b] how I'll get there!" I mean I had to hold on to the bed and furniture and I mean I could barely barely barely walk. Every step I took hurts so bad and with every step I said, "I CAN DO [b][c=BF0000]ALL[/c][/b] THINGS THROUGH CHRIST, WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!" Every single step I took I said that and do you know though it was hardest could be I started walking and each day I got better but by the grace of God I did it and I was walking again! That is the power of your mind over your body and Over Matter! If it's gonna be, it's up to ME!! And when you pray to God he gives you that extra strength that you don't have but he can provide! Never underestimate the power of God! What we can't do, HE can do! Where there seems to be no way, God provides a way every time! When I ask for a miracle, there's no ifs or maybe in there. Those are not allowed. You do not fail. There's no such word. With Christ by your side you can do anything. There's no such word as [b]can't[/b]! People just THINK they can't, and what you believe will definitely manifest. It is nothing to do with wishful thinking. What you believe is what you will get every time. What your brain believes, it will manifest itself through your whole body and life. I do the very best I can, and what I can't do, God takes up the slack! I'm living proof. You can believe it!

Just look what God did when he created the Earth. Did he think it into existence? Oh, he [b]could[/b] have, but that's not what he did. What did he do? He exercised his faith and he spoke things into existence! Why? Why did that work? Because he knew he could. He exercised faith, and what you believe and speak over yourself or a situation, you are initiating faith and faith comes to life, there's power in your words.

Words are not just words. God showed us that. Our words are alive! What we believe and tell ourselves, comes to pass. We have more power than we even know. There's so much power in the tongue, in our words in other words. The Bible says, watch this, watch this.... this tells us how much power we have and how much power is in our tongue and in our words. The Bible says, "LIFE and DEATH are IN THE TONGUE!" Jesus's words were life! And there's life and Power in the tongue, in what you speak! Absolutely! If you say I really feel bad today, you're going to feel bad that day. You can bring on headaches, depression, you name it because what you speak over yourself has power and there's power in those words that you speak. They give you life or they give you death. There is no in between. Believe and receive, or doubt and do without. Words are power and they are life and they give life.

Now notice again what I said above. Further up in the paragraph. What did I say?

"I was diagnosed with severe degenerative osteoarthritis and severe arthritis all over my body."

I said it that way for a reason and it wasn't for attention nor sensationalism. What we speak we become. I said I was [b]diagnosed[/b] with severe degenerative osteoarthritis. Notice I did not say I [b]have[/b] severe degenerative osteoarthritis. There's no way I'm going to claim that to myself. I refuse it and I rebuke it in the name of Jesus. I do not accept that. I do not accept failure. My motto has to do with life, not the past and not death. I'm not going that way. Instead I'm going to switch that around and I'm going to say to myself, "Never give up!" The power of those words through Jesus Christ, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me! It is not only me that receives power through Jesus Christ, but through him I can do all things because I trust in him and when I trust in him, faith activates action on God's part, then we see the result of our faith, manifested. It gives God permission to start working on our behalf, the minute we put our trust in him and him alone. There are many things that I can do. That's not the problem. But those things I cannot do myself that I would like to do, I can do through Christ who strengthens me and loves me, just like he does you. There are no limitations with Christ and we cannot and must not, underestimate him, his power, or his desire to help us. He WANTS to do things for us, that are in our best interest. He turns our whole life around. He transforms us by the power invested in him and His Holy Spirit that he sends to dwell in a person that accepts him as their personal Savior.

Jesus wants to do things for us but when we ignore him, we tie his hands to do anything for us. That doesn't mean we take advantage of him and use him as our personal Genie to succumb to our every whim and wish. No. Commitment to God is a personal relationship. It's not a one-way street. And that's why most don't get what they pray for. They don't want to believe. They only want to receive. Prayer is the key to what we need, but it is faith that unlocks the door! Without faith, nothing happens. There's no power connection when there's no words of faith, and prayer to the Lord. You are giving him the go-to power, when you believe and trust that he will do what he said he will do. And what else can he do, when he gave his promises that he will answer our prayers and guide us through life. That is a promise and God never breaks a promise. If he broke a promise, then he could not claim to be God and he is no liar! What does that mean then? It means he will do as he said he would do. He will help and he will make a way where there seems to be no way, guaranteed. We can believe it and receive it, or doubt and do without. And with each and every step I took as I held on to furniture, I repeated these three verses:

[i]I can do all things through Christ to strengthens me!
Nothing is impossible with God!
By His stripes, I am healed![/i]

And I started walking and I have been walking for 12 years with bone-on-bone in these knees and I'll be 77 years old in December. I am walking without a walker. Now I am older, and unfortunately, I did not take that great of care of myself. I was too busy taking care of the family, so naturally I'm going to reap what I sowed! My body can only take so much, yet faith can do wonders! Never limit nor underestimate God. Faith does help heal the body and especially the mind. Alone, there's no power behind our words. But when we exercise our faith in Jesus and mix it with his power and strength, he gives us, we plug into the Direct Power Source that brings victory. There's Victory in Jesus and there Is Power in the Blood of Jesus. When we have, and exercise our faith and trust in jesus, that activates his power to work on our behalf and help us. Unless you plug that lamp into the wall, it's not going to work, because you've not plugged into the main source of power. You've got the right equipment, but it's nothing, without the power. There is wonder-working power in God. There is power in the name of jesus. So much so, that the devil trembles when he hears his name. James 2:19. You activate God's Power through faith.

We can wish until we go home to be with the Lord, but without His life-giving power, without jesus, we are just spinning our wheels. So it's not wishful thinking that works. It is faith that opens the doors of Heaven and God's heart, which starts God working on our behalf. And it doesn't matter how much time it takes before we see our prayers manifested. It's not about time. It's about trusting God, not getting ahead of him, having patience while we are in God's waiting room, thinking about and learning from our experience while we are waiting, and not just realizing our knowing, but knowing who God is, we know he is no liar and we know we can expect what we prayed for. God will answer our prayers in his time, not ours. It is his timing that counts because then things will happen in the order they are supposed to happen and not before. If we get ahead of him and try to fix things ourselves, that doesn't work because we have gotten ahead of God and his timing. Timing is very important. If we try to do things ourselves and get ahead of God, we're not trusting God. He doesn't need our help. Really. He can handle things all by himself and is perfectly capable of doing that.

All He asks us to do, is one simple thing....have faith. Trust, like you did as a child, when you went to your dad and asked him for help, and you had faith and trust that he would, because you knew he loved you and he wanted good things for you and you knew he kept his word because he loves you. You just knew he would do as you asked. That's faith, and you ran along and you just waited until Dad came to help. There's no difference with your father in Heaven. He knows your needs, you are the most special to him, he loves you with the love that passes all understanding, and when you trust him, you know as your heavenly father, he will do everything in his power to help you. You know that you can trust him to not lie and keep his word, but the difference is , your heavenly father has no limitations . He cannot lie and so he will keep his word. Your dad has a lot of power no doubt about it and he could do many things, but in his mortal body, he is limited and he's not perfect. He can't do near what God can do, who is infinitely more powerful than our earthly dad's. And the bonuses are, God can see into your future. He already knows what's best for you, because he can see ahead, down the line, and he can steer you in the right direction, instead of blindly going through life on your own efforts and limited vision.