My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Proverbs 4:20–22 NLT We all want to live victorious, overcoming lives. And to live right, we need to believe right. But Pastor Prince, how do I begin to believe right? Hearing plays a huge part in right believing. You cannot believe right unless you are hearing right. Man, that was good! I don't want you to miss that.
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Acts 16:6–7 The more areas of your life you involve the Lord in, the more you can experience His protection. You can even ask the Lord to guide you in something as seemingly natural as your travel itinerary. In fact, read the passage above. The apostle Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them at every step.
For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20, AMPC Where is this secret place of the Most High and how do you get there? Before I answer this question, I want you to be careful of preaching and teaching about Psalm 91 that make "the secret place of the Most High" a place that only an elite few can go to, while the rest of us have no access to it because we haven't done enough, such as pray for eight hours.
Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they…Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the Lord: 'Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" 1 Kings 20:23, 28
And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. 2 Timothy 4:18 Psalm 91 ends with the power-packed verse, "With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Many years ago, the Lord opened my eyes to see that apart from the four names of God that we covered in the first two verses of Psalm 91, there is another name of God, a fifth name, concealed in the very last word of Psalm 91.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 Can I show you a beautiful picture of God's love for you found in the story of Daniel? In Daniel's case, the law of the land was violated and, in spite of his love for Daniel, the king had to carry out the law and punish Daniel. If he hadn't, he would have been an unrighteous king. Now, imagine if someone came again a year later to accuse Daniel of this crime and asked for Daniel to be punished again, what would the king do?
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Genesis 39:1–2 Would you consider the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, "a successful man?" Of course not! Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 It is the Lord's manifested presence, His glorious power working in your heart and through your hands that will cause everything you touch to prosper with the Jesus-kind of results. In fact, even your harshest critic will have to conclude that the Lord is with you and is prospering the work of your hands!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 I can still remember what happened when I visited a lady from my congregation in the hospital. Heather had suffered a stroke that completely paralyzed the left side of her body. As I prayed for her, she lifted her right hand in a gesture of prayer. Amazingly, her left hand followed suit, albeit slowly. This was something that she had been unable to do following the stroke. By the grace of God, she was beginning to experience healing in her body, with sensations starting to seep back into her left arm.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30 Beloved, you reign in life through Jesus Christ just by receiving two things from Him: the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:17). God's way is not about achieving, but about receiving. But many Christians continue to live based on the world's system of achievement. The world's system of success is built on the twin pillars of self-effort and diligence. The world tells you that the more you do, the harder you work, and the more hours you put in, the more success you will achieve.
Follow Up
