Do Your Natural Actions Line Up With Your Faith? - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Do Your Natural Actions Line Up With Your Faith?

 2/17/2016 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma magazine

If something stands in the way of your victory over trials and tribulations, declare your faith in the name of Jesus! (iStock photo )

Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Jesus said when healing the blind man, "What do you want Me to do for you?" (Mark 10:36).

I believe Jesus is modeling the power of our words. All through the Bible it talks about the spoken word. The Bible tells us to speak to our mountain (Mark 11:23), that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21) and to call things that are not as if they are (Rom. 4:17).

We need to align our words and actions with our faith. When Jesus went to heal a man, He said, "Stretch out your hand" (Mark 3:5). That man did a prophetic action. He aligned his faith with a natural action by stretching out his hand. Jesus was putting this man's faith to action, a prophetic action.

Another time Jesus went to heal, he made the man speak out what He wanted. The blind man said, "That I may receive my sight." The words "that I may receive my sight" were a declaration. He was declaring and speaking into the spiritual atmosphere what He wanted to see manifest in the natural realm. There is power in our words!

The Word says, "You will also declare a matter, and it will be established unto you" (Job 22:28). I believe that will happen when it is in alignment with God's will, and we can see what His will is by reading the Scriptures. The blind man didn't say, "Please pray for my eyes. I want to see." He declared out what he wanted: "that I may receive my sight!"

This reminds me of a time I was diagnosed with needing a root canal and a crown. I thought, "Really, God, I know of a better way to spend $2,000 of Your money." I stood in faith for a few months to receive my healing. In fact, when the dentist diagnosed it, I said, "How long do I have?" He said, "What?" I said, "How long do I have, because I am going to pray and my God is going to heal me." I declared and spoke to my mountain, which was my tooth and commanded it to be healed in Jesus' name.  

I did go up to receive healing prayer one day, but instead of asking for prayer, I spoke out as a declaration what I wanted. I said, I have been diagnosed as needing a root canal and I am expecting God to heal me so that I don't need the procedure. I claimed what I expected to see manifest. I laid hands on my mouth and said, "Root be recreated, and inflammation, go in Jesus' name." I spoke to every element associated with my diagnosis and believed by faith I would see the manifestation of my healing.

I did receive my healing, verified by three tests and one x-ray that said I didn't need a root canal! Glory to God! I had to take the prophetic action and speak it out, like Jesus made the blind man.

Speak out! What do you want Jesus to do for you? Where do you need a miracle? What do you need to believe God for? Where do you need to take an action in the natural to have it line up with what God wants to do for you?

Put your natural circumstance into a prophetic proclamation and believe for your situation to change.

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries, a prophetic ministry releasing the love and power of God, igniting people in the prophetic and releasing people from emotional bondage. She's passionate about teaching people the power of prayer through declaring. She speaks at conferences and travels hosting evangelistic love tours. She has written her own prophetic and deliverance training manuals in order to assist other ministries. She is the founder of Change into Colorless, an anti-racism corporation and co-pastors a church. Kathy is the author of Spiritual Warfare Declarations, A Worship Woven Life, Time to Set the Captives Free, and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Prophecy: 2016 Will Be the Year of the 'Re' - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA NEWS

The coming year will be one for God to refurbish many lives, if only we allow Him to. (iStock photo )

Prophecy: 2016 Will Be the Year of the 'Re'

01/3/2016 KATHY DEGRAW   CHARISMA NEWS

I was spending time in prayer and the presence of God when in my spirit I began to experience words such as replant, rebuild and refurbish being released. I felt that the Spirit of the Lord was telling me 2016 was going to be a year of "re" words including, recreating and rebuilding. I couldn't help but think revival also begins with "re." 

Refurbishing an item is stripping it down to its bare material and repainting it. It requires much work sometimes to take off all the layers of old paint, to sand it down, smooth it out and prepare it to be painted and beautified. It is a perfect analogy of what our Father does to His people in order to get them ready to be useful and productive for His Kingdom.

An old item can still be used such as a crate or a chair before it is sanded down and town apart. It may be chipped and peeling, some pieces may be falling off, but after it is chipped away at, the old paint scraped off it can be varnished or painted again, not only beautiful this time, but radiating a beauty that everyone now wants that product.

Our master Creator can do that with us too. He can scrape away the pieces that don't beautify us or represent His name well. He can chip away at us through conviction, instruction and directions. His Spirit can reveal to us where we need to put away the old and take on the new.

I am hearing 2016 is a year of newness. Things you thought were lost, had no hope for anymore, or were washed away to the sea will be rebuilt and replanted in your life and it begins with the refurbishing.

A piece of furniture doesn't have a choice whether or not to be refurbished, but God gives us free will. He gives us the choice whether or not we will allow ourselves to be recreated. What will your choice be?

Our God has made the word so beautiful with all the different kinds of trees and shades of green. He made the lakes and oceans, beautiful bodies of water and created the sounds of the waves to crash up against the shore for your enjoyment. He made the stars to glisten at night, so as you gaze out into an open sky you can see the beauty of his wondrous works of his hands.

Imagine for a moment an item being refurbished. It has some bare wood showing and paint now paint peeling off. Now envision the product done, painted with a new coat, perhaps some designs on the top layer. God was creative when He made this world, with the trees, oceans, mountains, and all the natural beauty He gave us to enjoy. How much more would He choose to recreate you, His very own child, into someone magnificent for His glory and the representation of His name?

As we are recreated, replanted, and rebuilt, we will be beautiful. Just as someone may not want the old box or chair, once it is refurbished, all of a sudden it becomes a cherished, valued, wanted item. You are all that to God even without the refurbishing! You are cherished, valued, wanted and loved greatly by Him. Don't you want to allow Him to come in and take those wounds, the hurts, pain, unfairness and areas of your life where you are uncomfortable and allow Him to refurbish them? He can do it; the question is will you allow Him?

With 2016 upon us, it will be a year of restoration of restoring things that were once lost, of repurposing those who felt they have no purpose and recreating people to be all they need to be for the master Creator and His Kingdom.

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries, a prophetic ministry releasing the love and power of God, igniting people in the prophetic and releasing people from emotional bondage. She's passionate about teaching people the power of prayer through declaring. She speaks at conferences and travels hosting evangelistic love tours. She has written her own prophetic and deliverance training manuals in order to assist other ministries. She is the founder of Change into Colorless, an anti-racism corporation, and co-pastors a church. Kathy is the author of Spiritual Warfare Declarations, A Worship Woven Life, Time to Set the Captives Free, and Flesh, Satan or God.  Connect with Kathy at www.degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

There Really Is Power in the Name of Jesus - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA NEWS

Would you call upon the name of Jesus if placed in a life-or-death situation? (iStock photo )

There Really Is Power in the Name of Jesus

11/29/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma news

I always believed if I ever came upon in a situation where danger was imminent, I would shout out the name of Jesus to save my life. But when actually confronted with such a situation would I—could I—actually do it?

My question was, "Would I remember to do it?" When confronted with immediate danger, you don't have time to pray. That may sound different coming from a Christian, but it is truth! God's Word tells us to, "Speak to our mountain," (Matt. 21:21) and "Death and life are in the power of the tongue," (Prov. 18:21).

When we study God's Word, it teaches us about the spoken word of God.  It talks about what we, "say." It is the words we speak out that are powerful! The strongest word we can possibly speak out is the name of Jesus. One word. One name—the name of our Lord and Savior.

In Proverbs 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

The name of Jesus saves! Not just as our deliverer and redeemer, but as our protector (Ps. 91). As I have loved studying from the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), I read that translation and love it for this verse. Proverbs 18:10 in the CJB reads, "The name of Adonai is a strong tower; a righteous person runs to it and is raised high [above danger]." 

The name of Jesus does raise us high above danger when we call out His name! I have read Destined for Dominion, a book on power and authority. It speaks of our power and authority in the name of Jesus.

In the past, I have and I am sure some of you have heard people calling on the name of Jesus as a rapist was about to attack them, as a child was about to get in an accident, as a robber was approaching them and other times where violent attacks, crimes or accidents were attempting to invade their lives. But when confronted with such a situation would you remember or act on the name of Jesus, or would you freeze up and forget what to do?

The name of Jesus heals, sets free, saves, delivers and much more. The name of Jesus can cast out a demon. It can take an evil spirit that has invaded someone's life and by the name of Jesus that spirit has to disembody the person! That is a miracle to be able to cast out a demon of a person. That is the power of Jesus' name. The power of His name creates miracles.

As we were driving in treacherous road conditions on the way to a ministry trip in Nebraska, we found ourselves in unfavorable road conditions. My friend Carolyn (50) and I (46), at the time, had never driven in such perilous conditions. As we were driving on snow and ice with snow continually coming down and poor visibility, all of a sudden a semi-trailer began to jackknife right in front of us. With the road conditions, slamming on brakes was not an option. As we saw this semi turning sideways on the highway and spreading out over all 3 lanes, we did not know if we would be able to stop in time and miss hitting him. We knew we were in trouble and started shouting out the name of Jesus. 

We didn't pray! We didn't have time to pray, "Oh Father please save us, come to your children and so on" I am not saying there is anything wrong with praying. I do pray daily. But in this case, we simply did not have time. We had time to call on the name of Jesus, like a strong tower, to run into his righteousness and save us! Carolyn, decreed out the words, "God protect us."

There was a parked police car on the side of the highway and the semi headed directly for the driver door with the police officer in his car. All of a sudden I called out, "I send angels to that police car right now, in the name of Jesus" and I kept speaking out the name of Jesus into the atmosphere.

As those angels went forth and the name of Jesus was being released into the atmosphere, suddenly we saw something that amazed us. The semi, which was partially jackknifed and directly in front of us, straightened out and missed the police car 2 feet away from it. Carolyn maintained control of the van while each vehicle—ours, the semi and the police car—received no damage. No one even stopped.

The name of Jesus lifted us high above danger! Praise God!

I believe I was able to call out the name of Jesus in that incident because I knew the power of Jesus' name. I had heard stories and testimonies of the power of His name. I had read books on my identity in Christ and, when He died and descended to hell for me and then on the third day ascended into heaven, He transferred His power of attorney to me. That's right. His Word says in Luke 10:19, "Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you."

He has given me power and authority. He has given you power and authority. We have to know the power and authority we have been given in His name. Like a person who awards power of attorney to another person to make decisions and act on his behalf, Jesus Christ has given us power of attorney and power and authority to operate in His name. 

Knowing the name of Jesus, the power and authority it holds and how we are to use it comes from knowing our identity in Christ. We must know our identity in Christ. You must know who you are in Christ, that you are valuable, that you are of the kingdom, that you are from a world that cannot be shaken. In Acts 2:25, it says, "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.'" We must know the name and power of Jesus. 

We must know our authority. There will be times in our life when we will need to call on His name.

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries. She is a prophetic deliverance minister who is passionate about releasing the love and power of God. She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books that educate, empower and equip people, including Spiritual Warfare Declarations and Flesh, Satan or God-Who Are You Hearing From? To learn more about her ministry visit degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

How to Get Yourself in a Place to Receive God's Instruction - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Receiving God's instruction requires the discipline and obedience of the cross. (Lightstock)

How to Get Yourself in a Place to Receive God's Instruction

11/20/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma magazine

Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Do you walk in obedience at your convenience or do you walk in strict obedience to our Father?

Obedience requires sacrifice. It requires us sacrificing what we think is important and what our flesh wants. It sometimes requires us sacrificing the easy way out. It requires us to get rid of our fleshly tendencies. Obedience requires discipline. Discipline to be adamant about following His orders, obeying our prophecies and directions that He has given directly to us.

Some of us would say we are obedient to God. We go to church, pray and worship, but this is not the obedience I am talking about. The obedience I am talking about is following His instruction.

How closely and attentively do you follow His instruction? Do you write down His instructions? Do you remember His instructions? Do you ignore His instructions or do you listen to His instructions? We don't all like to be told what to do, even by our Heavenly Father. I assure you, we do need His instruction.   

How do we get ourselves in a place to receive that instruction and act on those instructions? It is by allowing God to instruct us in all areas of our life, big and small. We look for God's direction in big things, but when we hear His direction in the small things, often we don't think it is God and that we don't need to obey in the "little things." It is obedience in these little things that the Father uses to instruct us how to have obedience in the greater things. When we hear these instructions and obey, we will learn to hear more clearly as a result of our obedience.

As you look at your life, do you consider yourself an obedient person? Would you be obedient if God told you to give away a piece of your jewelry? What if He told you to buy a person's meal? Now let's go a little further, what if there was something you really wanted to do badly and He told you not to do it? Could you be obedient? What if there was a situation that you really had to walk by faith and not by sight? Could you be obedient? What if you thought, oh it's no big deal I will do it anyways?  That is not obedience! Doing something contrary to what He has instructed you to do is nothing but disobedience.

Obedience comes in all forms, shapes and sizes. Our Heavenly Father is requiring us to be obedient in all things—all things, not just some things, but all things. This requires us crucifying our flesh, our wants and our desires for His. Our life is not our own; it belongs to the One who sits on the throne! We must get to the point where every thought, every action is in obedience to Him, is in relationship to Him. 

We must examine our past instructions from the Father and ask ourselves, are we completing them, are we living them out? We need to go back into the past and say what has the Father told me to do, what have I written down, what did He tell me to start or complete that I am not doing. We need to make sure the things of the past, present and future are under the guidance and leading of the Father and that we are heeding His instruction willfully, obediently and quickly.

There is much more we can be doing for the kingdom if we will take the time to repent, confess, submit and take a huge step forward in complete obedience. No matter what it feels like or looks like, will you take that step forward with me in complete obedience? Remember our life is not our own; it belongs to the One who sits on the throne.

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a ministry releasing the love and power of God.  She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours.  Kathy enjoys writing several books that educate, empower and equip people, including A Worship Woven Life and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at www.degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Discerning God's Voice: Does He Usually Speak to Me This Way? - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA MAGAZINE

(Lightstock)

Discerning God's Voice: Does He Usually Speak to Me This Way?

11/6/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma magazine

Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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You just received discernment and believe it is from the Lord. Your concern is: "What do I do next?" My concern is what you didn't do next.

The next step is not taking action on the discernment you received, but testing it. Ask yourself questions such as: "Will this bear fruit and glorify the name of Jesus Christ, or will it distract and detour me from my godly assignment?"

When receiving discernment that you believe is from the Lord, you should stop and verify it is from the Lord, and not your flesh or the enemy trying to distract you. It is wisdom to verify the word (not analyze it) before you take action. Taking the word at face value without seeking confirmation and direction can detour you from the will of God.

We can prematurely act on a word because we feel it makes sense and we have comfort proceeding. We think, "I can do this." We are comfortable because it makes sense to us in the natural, but the question is: Do we have peace proceeding forth in the spiritual?

We are not natural people; we are spiritual beings. Moving forward with an idea because of our natural comfort is one of the main ways the enemy and our flesh can cause us to proceed in a wrong direction.

When you receive revelation, a prophetic word or an answer to prayer, take the next step. Discern it. Dissect it. Don't overthink and don't analyze. Test it. Bring it back to the Holy Spirit through prayer and test it against the Word of God.

We hear from three sources. We can hear from the Spirit of God, our own thoughts and the enemy. We hear God more clearly than we think. The challenge is sometimes we hear Him so clearly that we doubt what we heard and then we ask a person their opinion—leading to confusion. The enemy can send thoughts, which are lies, into our minds to confuse and distract, and our flesh can get involved by being analytical and letting our imagination take over.

God's Thought Downloads

God speaks to us through thoughts dropped in our spirit. When God speaks to us, we need not try to figure out the revelation, but rather receive the revelation He is giving.

You may have heard God's voice before saying, "Don't do that," "Take this road instead today" or "Give this much as an offering." You have heard God as you have prayed and felt you received your answer. However, don't just feel you have received the answer. Rather, know you have received the answer.

When you receive discernment, ask yourself, "Is this the way God usually speaks to me?" Verify it. He may speak to you in different ways, but He usually speaks to you the same way for a season. Ask God, "Why do you want me to head in this direction?"

Test the Scriptures to confirm if the revelation aligns with or contradicts God's Word. God will not tell you to do something that is against His Word. I once knew a woman God had been convicting regarding giving. She felt led to write an offering check for $5,000. She wrote the check in advance of a business transaction that was being completed. The deal fell through and she ended up in debt! That contradicts God's Word. If she would have tested the discernment, she would have stayed out of debt.

The Flesh Blocks Revelation

Our flesh gets involved in receiving revelation because we think about it instead of pray about it. When thinking about whether a thought is from God, we tend to overanalyze it and get impatient waiting on God for an answer.  

Analytical people can plan out the answer instead of praying and receiving the answer. During prayer time, analytical people have difficulty shutting down their minds to receive from God. When analytical thoughts come into your mind, transfer those thoughts to your heart, to the place of love, where the Father is.  

When you receive discernment and you are unsure about it, or even when you think you are sure of its source, ask yourself, "Is this the way I would think?" You may think you heard from God when really what you heard were your own thoughts.  

Deceptions and Distractions

The enemy speaks to us with thoughts such as: "They don't like you; they are over there talking about you," or "You'll never lose weight; you can't do it." We have all heard the lies of the enemy. If you pay attention, you will be able to discern when and how the enemy speaks to you. When he speaks to me, I will hear, "Listen to me," in the sentence. God knows I hear His voice and doesn't have to say, "Listen to me."

If confusion is present in times of discernment, it is from the enemy. "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. 14:33).

The enemy will attempt to distract. When we don't pray about things in advance, it leaves the enemy an open door to sidetrack us.

Testing the Spirits

When testing the spirits, ask yourself if you are feeling convicted or condemned. Conviction from the Holy Spirit is quick and calls you to action. He presses you until you confess or act. Condemnation is from the enemy and makes you feel numb. Feeling heavy and bad about yourself produces complacency.

When you are confused, under pressure, scattered, stressed, oppressed and going through heavy trials and tests, your soul is highly activated and you could be experiencing demonic opposition.

As spiritual warfare occurs, you cannot automatically assume that you can hear God with the same clarity as in other times. All of us have heard wrongly at one time or another, and have regretted the decisions we made in the flesh.

In 1 John 4:1, the Word of God instructs us to test the spirits. If we are instructed to test the prophetic words given by prophets, then shouldn't we also test our own words and discernment?

There are times our flesh gets involved in the outcome. Increase discernment and cast down your flesh by being in the Word, praying and being around prophetic people who know how to test the spirits—people whose discernment produces results that are evident through the fruit of their ministry.

When you receive revelation from God, keep it in front of you and consistently pray it through.

Ask for His will to be further revealed and for Him to give you the spirit of revelation, knowledge, wisdom and understanding (Is. 11:2).

Be in tune and sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading.

You can and do hear from God. You just don't know how simple and clear it really is.

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Kathy DeGraw is passionate about releasing and empowering people to share the love and power of God. She is the founder of DeGraw Ministries, a prophetic healing and deliverance ministry. DeGraw has written several books, including Flesh, Satan or God?: Who Are You Hearing From? Follow her on Facebook or online atdegrawministries.org.

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Kathy DeGraw teaches you how to declare and decree your prayers so you can unleash the power of God through faith at degraw.charismamag.com.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

When the Enemy Speaks, Fight With the Word - KATHY DEGRAW, CHARISMA MAGAZINE

The best way to fight the enemy is with God's Word. (Lightstock )

When the Enemy Speaks, Fight With the Word

10/30/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma magazine

Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Can the enemy speak to us? The fact is, most of us have already heard the enemy in our mind.

Have you ever stopped to consider that some of the thoughts that have been stirring around in your mind were from the enemy? Think about the years you heard in your mind things that were not edifying, encouraging or exhorting. Thoughts such as:

• "You will never amount to anything."
• "Why don't you take that knife and cut yourself?"
• "Why don't you run your car into a tree or off that road?"
• "Your spouse doesn't love you."
• "They are talking about you."
• "Nobody will ever love you."

We have all heard these thoughts in our mind. They have rolled around in our mind and unfortunately some of these thoughts have taken us captive and we have believed them. The thoughts are produced from lying spirits that attack us, our thought process, our feelings and our emotions. They attack the very core of our soul. We find ourselves thinking suicidal thoughts, getting depressed, worrying if our spouse really does love us or if they are cheating on us. Can you relate to any of these?

When these thoughts are rolling around in our mind and we start believing them. They become part of us and who we think we are or we perceive them as reality of what is going to happen to us. These thoughts can become torment as we keep thinking about them, but there is something we can do about our situation.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4-5).  We need to take our thoughts captive and bind our minds to the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16 and Phil. 2:6). 

It can be difficult to conquer our past. We do conquer our past through the Lord Jesus Christ, however now we have to conquer the behavior patterns and habits of automatically allowing our thoughts to go in the wrong direction. The enemy knows this and he sends tormenting and lying spirits forth to attack us. 

Jesus recognized the voice of the enemy. Satan spoke to Jesus in the desert. If Satan spoke to Jesus won't he surely speak to us? In Matthew, Satan tempted Jesus and spoke to Him several times (Matthew 4:3-11). Jesus heard from Satan and kept quoting the Scriptures to Satan. We need to do that! As a thought comes in our mind, we need to speak out loud the Scriptures against these thoughts. As we take hold of the Word of God, believe it and speak it, nothing is impossible for us to accomplish. 

When I was being attacked with mind-binding thoughts years ago, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Kathy, if your mind is full, stuffed and crammed full of the Scriptures, there will be no room for the doubts and lies of the enemy to come in and take a foothold." That was an awesome word from the Lord! When the lies began to attack, I immediately started quoting Scripture. Jesus modeled this for us by immediately taking hold of the Word and if we are supposed to be like Jesus, and we are, than we need to follow in His footsteps.

We are in a battle and the battle begins in the mind. We need to immediately give no place to the devil (Eph. 4:27) and use the Word of God as our great weapon against the enemy. We need to be building ourselves up in the Word of God. We can't quote Scripture if we don't know the Scripture. Feed yourself, feed your spirit man, and give yourself an arsenal of equipment by filling yourself up with the Word of God.

The first way to conquer the lies the enemy is telling you is to acknowledge how he speaks to you. If you can recognize how the enemy speaks to you, then you have just exposed him. When we expose the enemy, we begin to take our authority over the enemy. Exposing the enemy is the beginning of ending the spiritual warfare he is trying to afflict on us. If you can't recognize when the enemy is speaking to you, spend time seeking the face of God. Discern and self-examine with God's help.

When the enemy tries to give you direction don't listen to it, don't take it in, rebuke it (which means take authority over it) and cast it away. Instantly, purge it from your mind, as it is a distraction and assignment from the enemy.

In order to be able to discern more clearly ask yourself the following questions:

• "How does God speak to me?"
• "Where am I when God speaks to me?" 
• "How does the enemy speak to me?"
• "Can I hear God's voice?"
• "Do I know the difference?"

We need to take authority over our thoughts and change the way we think. We need to take our thought and ask ourselves does this line up with God's Word. When you discover it is not lining up with God's word, dismiss it and move on. The battlefield is in our mind and we need to get the power back into our mind that God gave us, because His Word says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind," (2 Tim. 1:7).

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a prophetic healing ministry releasing the love and power of God. She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books including Flesh, Satan or God—Who Are You Hearing From? (from which a portion of this article was adapted). Connect with Kathy at www.degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Can We Help Someone Pray in Tongues? - CHARISMA NEWS

Should we try to help people who want to speak in tongues? (Lightstock )

Can We Help Someone Pray in Tongues?

10/25/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma news

When you have been raised in religion and legalism most of your life, transitioning into living a life in the Spirit can be challenging. One of the common questions is, "Can and should everyone pray in tongues?"

Yes, tongues is for every believer, but sometimes we have to overcome old mindsets and teachings in order to flow in the Spirit.

When desiring to pray in tongues, we are often our own obstacle. Church, pastors, people and religion have said that tongues has ceased and is not for today, but the gifts of the Spirit are in full activation today. How do we overcome our own obstacles to get a prayer language that is powerful, releases our destiny and breaks down strongholds?

We move forward by studying the Scriptures and what the word of God says about tongues. The best place to start is in the books of Acts and Corinthians. You can discover the scriptural evidence for tongues which will assist you to renew your mind, so as you try to speak out in tongues you don't doubt what is happening.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon people some will instantly pray in tongues and their prayer language will be released, but for some, their mindsets—possibly being scared, uncomfortable or unsure—can prevent their prayer language from manifesting. What do you do then? How can you assist someone to overcome their hesitancy to release that which is such a powerful gift and asset in our Christian walk? 

As a past healing room and prayer director and as I currently travel the United States, I've had plenty of opportunity to lead people to the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I have seen instantaneous, powerful manifestations of the Spirit as well as times when people are longing and desiring for it, but nothing comes out of their mouth.

I believe there are some simple exercises that can assist them in getting their mouth moving, voice box activated and tongue going. These exercises will lead them to speaking out their prayer language.

Try these simple steps the next time a friend or brother or sister in Christ asks you for assistance, you are ministering to them or they are frustrated that they have not spoken in tongues.

Pray with them and ask the Holy Spirit to fill them to overflowing from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet.  Call forth the empowerment and gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Have them invite the Holy Spirit (out loud) to fill them and come upon them.

Anoint or pray over their throat/mouth and command their tongue to be loosed.

If they are still not experiencing any manifestation of tongues, try having them do any or all of the following exercises. By participating with them in these exercises you are simply trying to get their voice, tongue and mouth moving. People think tongues is just going to come up by standing there with their mouth closed and no physical action, but most of the time, it will not happen that way. You need to get the person actively participating so that their fear and discomfort diminishes, the doubt leaves and their mind gets off their old teachings.

By having them co-labor with you and the Spirit of the Lord, their mind will shut down and close off the worries and doubts, and their prayer language will flow because they just activated their faith through prayer.

Here are some simple exercises to assist a person to get their voice, prayer and faith activated:

Have them praise God out loud in English. Get them praying not their wants and needs, but entering into His gates with thanksgiving and entering into His courts with praise. Have them say, "Praise You, God. Thank You, Jesus. I love You, Lord." Get their mouth and heart moving with praise and adoration to the Lord.

Are they a singer, worshipper or music leader? Have them start singing. Some people can sing in tongues easier than praying in tongues.

Sing in the Spirit if you can and have them try to sing with you. This will again activate their faith and get their vocals going to allow something to manifest.

Ask them if they speak or pray in a foreign language. If so, then while you pray in tongues, have them pray in their foreign language. By activating their faith and getting them to pray and words coming out of their mouth, usually the tongues will activate and take over.

Gather some people around them that pray in tongues and have you all pray together. This will encourage their faith and they won't feel awkward at what is releasing. Remember, society has told us this is not acceptable, therefore a little encouragement from believers who enjoy their prayer language can help.

When first starting to pray in tongues, people don't know what to expect. Questions can race through their mind on how I do this. How do I start? People won't necessarily speak what they are thinking.

Therefore, upon their filling of the Holy Spirit and the ministry time you give them, ask them if you can assist them, if they would pray with you. Don't leave them to figure it out on their own, Jesus said to make disciples. If we don't assist them when needed, some people will give up and won't press in to release what the Spirit has already given them.

People won't talk to another person about it and can feel stuck and frustrated as they try. Help them on their way to one of the best assets we have as believers: the Holy Spirit co-laboring with us in prayer.

Charisma News Editor's Note: The opinions of this writer are not necessarily those of Charisma Media.

Love For His People Editor's Note: I pray in tongues every day and strongly encourage you to also. Steve Martin

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a ministry releasing the love and power of God. She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books that educate, empower and equip people, including A Worship Woven Life and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at degrawministries.org.

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How to Reject the Spirit of Rejection - Kathy DeGraw

Don't let the spirit of rejection bind you. (iStock photo )

How to Reject the Spirit of Rejection

9/6/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma news

I feel a real stirring in the Spirit realm. There is a strong presence of the Lord manifesting and I feel the unction for deliverance.

I prayed, Father, what do you have for your people? I couldn't ignore as I started my day that I felt the Lord wanted people delivered. This is the hour, this is the time. He was revealing to me that the rejection has to be rooted out of us, if we are to root the rejection out of others and help them in these final hours before the Lord comes.

The Lord is appearing in the splendor of His glory. He is going to manifest, but first He needs us to make a difference; He needs us to make an impact; He needs us to exude the love of God. How can we exude the love of God when we are filled with rejection? 

Rejection leads to bitterness and offense. When we feel rejected by someone, we build bitter feelings and offense toward them.

God wants us to leave the bitterness behind. He wants us to move forward in a newness like the fresh morning rain. He has more to give us. He desires to bless us. He wants us to remove those things from our lives that hinder us, that make our heart sore and sour inside of us. He desires for us to be upright, forgiving and loving. He desires for us to release people from the offenses they have committed against us.

Our minds need to be bound to Christ's way of thinking and to the Word of God. Several times a day the enemy plagues our minds with negative thoughts and our flesh rises up. These thoughts must be taken captive (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Each and every thought must be taken captive and cast down. Rejection builds up when we take those thoughts in and take ownership of such thoughts. Instead of casting the thoughts down we take them in and allow them to build strongholds in us. Each time we own a thought and don't cast it down, it is part of a platform that we build inside of ourselves. We build up that rejection with each and every thought that comes our way. 

We must take ownership not of the thought, but of removing the thought. We have something to do about our situation. The choice, the decision, is ours. 

What choice and decision are we going to make? We must not believe the lies, but instead believe what the Word of God says about us. We are chosen, loved and favored! We sit high up in the heavenly things, have access to the throne room of God and have authority over the thoughts in our mind!

Rejection manifests because we don't take captive thoughts and dismiss them for what they are: lies and distortions of who we are. The Bible says who we are and whose we are. Do you believe you are seated in heavenly places? When we renew our minds, when we close the doors to the lies and know we are accepted by God, then and only then will we not allow rejection to penetrate our heart and mind. We will keep our heart and mind connected to Christ Jesus and what He says about us.

Will you hear him? Will you hear the voice of your Beloved or will you hear the voice of the evil one and your flesh rising? Don't listen to people and what they say about you. Listen to the voice of the Lord, because He is calling you out of destruction, out of the darkness and out of the spirit of rejection into victory. You have the victory of Christ Jesus inside of you, start living out and walking out that freedom by taking each rejecting thought and dismissing it for the lie that it is!

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a ministry releasing the love and power of God.  She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books that educate, empower and equip people, including A Worship Woven Life and Flesh, Satan or God.Connect with Kathy at degrawministries.org.

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