Let Patience Have Her Perfect Work

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. -James 1:2-4

Notice in verse 4 that James didn’t say, “Let those tests and trials have their perfect work.” He said, “Let patience have its perfect work…”

You see, tests and trials don’t perfect you. It is what you do with them that counts. You are not perfected because a bunch of problems come along. You are perfected because you stick with the Word of God in the midst of those problems and patiently endure. That’s when patience has its perfect work.

Patience is consistent endurance. When you walk in patience, you remain consistent all the way through situations, no matter what comes along. You aren’t up and down like a yo-yo. You base everything on God’s Word. You don’t get up in the morning and ask yourself how you are. You get up in the morning, open your Bible and tell yourself how you are according to the Word!

I’ve seen people grow in their spiritual walks as a result of using their faith against tests and trials. I’ve seen other people go under when they faced the same tests and trials. It’s what people do with their problems that makes the difference.

Faith thrives in the midst of a trial. That doesn’t mean we enjoy the trial. But when it comes our way, we don’t shrink away from it either! We stand on God’s Word and say, “Thank God, I know and trust the One whom I have believed!” Even when the going gets tough, we just dig our heels in and say, “I don’t care what it looks like, seems like, sounds like or feels like. I believe what the Word of God says!

CONFESSION:

My faith thrives in the midst of a trial. When symptoms come, I tell my body, “You’re healed because Jesus bore your sickness!” I’m not the sick trying to get healed. I am the healed and in Jesus’ name the symptoms have to leave!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Build Your Spiritual Muscles

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. -Romans 8:37

Even though you are not of this world, you still live in this world; therefore, tests, trials and temptations are bound to come your way.

Many people think, Well, tests and trials only come to make me strong. Some have even written songs with that message!

These people may have been taught that sickness and disease come into their lives to teach them something or to make them more pious.

But sickness, disease, tests, trials and temptations will never make you strong. If they did, you’d be Mr. or Mrs. Universe by now! It’s what you do with the tests and trials you face that makes the difference.

Think of this principle in terms of weightlifting. A weightlifter wants to develop his muscles, but he’ll never reach that goal unless he lifts some weights. He certainly won’t turn into Charles Atlas if he just sits in an easy chair reading weightlifting books and thinking, I’m going to be strong! And when he lies on the workout bench, the 100-pound weight lying across his chest won’t help his muscles gain strength unless he lifts up the weight and starts pushing it away from himself.

The same principle is true with tests and trials. You have the capacity to believe God’s Word, but you won’t be strong in faith unless you exercise your spiritual muscles. How do you do that? Every time you push your problems away in the name of Jesus, you gain strength.

People say, “I want strong faith.” But strong faith only comes by exercising the faith you have against something that’s contrary to the Word of God.

We normally don’t look forward to tests and trials. But every time a problem arises, we can say, “Glory to God, here’s just one more opportunity for me to develop my faith muscles and prove that the Word of God works!”

CONFESSION:

I develop my spiritual muscles by using God’s Word every time problems come against me. When my body says, “I’m sick,” I say, “By Jesus’ stripes, I’m healed!” The Word works for me because I work the Word.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Follow the Holy Ghost

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. -1 Corinthians 2:1,4-5

Sometimes God wants to come in and demonstrate His love and compassion for us. He knows we will retain and understand a greater percentage of what we both hear and see.

God will also go out of His way to demonstrate to us that the Holy Ghost flows in many different directions. You see, in John 7:37-38, Jesus likens the Holy Spirit to a river of living water. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Just as no two rivers are alike, neither are any two flows of the Holy Spirit alike. Sometimes God will almost give us a spiritual “jerk,” demonstrating His power in a new way just to show us that He is a God of variety. We need every one of His different directions because we are creatures of habit, who easily get into ruts.

Someone once said, “A rut is nothing but a grave with both ends kicked out of it.” We want to make sure we don’t get into a rut. The best way to do that is to follow the Holy Ghost, because He’s never in a rut!

CONFESSION:

My God moves in many different ways as He leads me into healing and whatever else I need. I stay sensitive to His Spirit so that wherever He leads, I follow His flow!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

God Is True to His Word

God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that He should repent. -Numbers 23:19

When we talk about God’s sovereignty, we aren’t talking about the religious world’s viewpoint of sovereignty. Religious people who don’t know the Word say, “God is a sovereign God. If He wants you healed, you’ll get healed. If He wants you sick, you’ll stay sick. If He wants you prosperous, He’ll take care of you financially. But God may want you sick and broke. Whatever will be will be."

According to that way of thinking, it doesn’t do you any good to believe God’s Word, because you will get whatever God wants you to have. He is sovereign and most likely, He will take your money, steal your health and knock you in the head three or four times a week to keep you in line. That’s just the kind of mood God is in most of the time!

One thing is certain—religious people who think that way don’t know God or His Word!

No, when we say God does something sovereignly, we simply mean God does something according to His Word at His own discretion. He initiates it. But God cannot sovereignly do anything outside the boundaries of His Word, because He has bound Himself to His Word.

Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 say God cannot lie. He doesn’t have the capacity to lie, be dishonest or fail to keep His Word. So just as surely as you can trust that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13), you can believe that “by [Jesus’] stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24)!

CONFESSION:

God’s Word is truth. He says I am healed by the striped Jesus bore. That healing Word is truth in my life because I believe it and act upon it. I am healed!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Initiating Your Miracle

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also bearing witness both with signs ad wonders with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will? -Hebrews 2:3,4

Sometimes people just get healed out of the clear blue. It doesn’t look as if they did a thing to receive their healing. They weren’t standing in faith; they were just healed.

For instance, I heard about one fellow who was walking past a church meeting and decided to step into the church to get a drink of water. (He was inebriated at the time.) He left the church and walked about a block down the street Suddenly he realized he’d been healed of a condition he’d been suffering with for a while. He returned to the meeting and was saved!

That man wasn’t believing for his healing. He wasn’t using any faith. He wasn’t expecting anything He just got healed according to God’s own will.

God’s power is released in two different ways First, He sometimes releases His power by His own sovereign will, allowing His love and compassion to flow forth to set people free. Second, He responds to our faith with His power.

We can move over into the realm of faith to receive our answer. When we exercise our faith in God’s Word, we release the same power and get the same results as when God moves sovereignly. We don’t have to wait for God to pass by to see if He just might do something, because “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). We can have a miracle at our own will.

God wants you healed. But don’t sit back and wait for Him to give you a miracle. God expects you to use your faith to initiate one. Go to His Word and find His will; then stand on His promises by faith. Reach out and take hold of what belongs to you!

CONFESSION:

My God is so good to me. He shows me in the Word how to receive the blessings He’s provided. I receive by faith the healing I desire!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

God Limits Himself to His Word

I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your loving kindness and your truth; for you have magnified Your word above all Your name. -Psalm 138:2

I’ve heard people say, “God is sovereign. He can make you sick if He wants to.” But God gave us His Word, which says He is our healer, and promised He’d never go outside its boundaries.

I’ve heard other people say, “I know what His Word says, but God is still God and He can do anything He wants.” In other words, they’re saying, “God’s Word is one thing, but He is God. He has a title, and that title enables Him to do anything He wants.”

But the Word says, “You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” God is the sovereign God of the universe, but He has elevated His Word above His name. He has limited Himself within the boundaries of His Word.

God is saying He can sovereignly manifest anything promised in His Word through signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. But He cannot sovereignly steal, kill and destroy. That’s the work of the devil. (John 10:10.) But by the decree of His own Word, God is a merciful, loving Father who has only good gifts to give. (James 1:17.)

CONFESSION:

My God is my Healer; and He has magnified His Word above His own holy name. So according to that Word, I believe I receive my healing now!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Everything God Has Is Yours

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found.’” -Luke 15:25.29-32

“All that I have is yours.” This is what God says to His faithful children. So often believers ask, “God why don’t You work a miracle for me?” But God responds, Child, you are with Me. Everything I have is yours. Healing is yours. Don’t wait for me to sovereignly step out and do something for you. Come get it anytime you want. Receive it by faith!

So often we’ve wanted God to do something special for us, but He expects more out of us as His children. He didn’t say, “The just shall live by the gifts of the Spirit or the sovereignty of God.” He said, “The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17).

By faith we find in the Word what belongs to us through God’s plan of redemption. Then we take hold with the hand of faith because everything He has is ours. It belongs to us!

CONFESSION

Everything my Father has is mine. He has provided everything I could ever need, and I joyously receive from Him!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

The Elder Son’s Inheritance

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” –Luke 15:25,28-32

The prodigal son is a picture of the person who has broken fellowship with God, but what about the elder son? He was upset. He’d stayed home with the father and worked in the fields while his younger brother had wasted his inheritance through riotous living. Now his brother had returned home, and his father had gone out of his way to prove his love for his younger son, clothing him with luxurious clothes and killing the fatted calf for a celebration feast in his honor. (vv. 22,23.)

Sometimes Christians feel like the elder son. They see God miraculously heal a backslider who doesn’t have an ounce of faith. This proves to the backslider that believers get upset and say, “Why did God heal that person? I’ve never been backslidden, but He didn’t heal me.”

In essence, this is what the older son said. He had worked and been faithful, yet he’d never had a big celebration held in his honor. But the elder son could have whatever he desired at any time. His father told him, “Son, all I have belongs to you!” And your heavenly Father is saying the same thing to you.

CONFESSION:

Because I’m a child of God, everything my Father has is mine. Healing is mine. By faith, I accept my healing now!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

The Father’s Love

“A certain man had two sons And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me’. So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” –Luke 15:11-13,17,18,20

God performs miracles in two different ways: (1) by sovereignly initiating a miracle at His own will and (2) in response to our faith, initiating a miracle at our will. For the next few days, we’ll see this principle clearly illustrated in Jesus’ story of the prodigal son.

This is the account of the younger of two sons, who left his father’s house to indulge in sin and wrongdoing, wasting his entire inheritance. Later he came to himself and realized the pleasures of sin weren’t worth the price he was paying. He decided he’d be better off back in his father’s house, even if only as a servant. But when this prodigal son returned home, he found his father waiting for him with open arms of love. And the father didn’t stop there. He sovereignly went out of his way to do things for him to prove that he loved him.(vv. 22-24.)

This is really a picture of our loving heavenly Father. Certainly He is always ready to welcome the person who has never known Him. But He also desires to welcome back into fellowship His repentant children who at one time walked away from Him. And often He will sovereignly perform miracles in their lives to show them just how much He loves them.

CONFESSION:

My Father’s compassion toward me moves Him to work on my behalf. I’m so grateful for those times when He works miracles in my life. But I know I can always depend on my Father to perform His Word in me as I walk by faith, because He loves me.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

The Sovereign Side of God

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts; I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any. -Isaiah 44:6,8

 Let’s talk about the sovereign side of God. Sometimes I hesitate to use that terminology, because the sovereignty of God is a subject that has caused great wars throughout the body of Christ.

But God is the sovereign Creator of the universe, the God of heaven and earth! He does have a sovereign side. He can work miracles within the boundaries of His Word anytime and anyplace He wants to—even without our approval.

Just think about your own life. Have you ever received something from God that you weren’t believing for? You probably have more times than you can count. Most of us wouldn’t have lived this long if God hadn’t sovereignly done some things for us along the way. His love goes a long way.

For instance, look at Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to persecute more Christians when “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven” (Acts 9:3). Jesus appeared to Saul that day on the road to Damascus, and Saul was born again.

I wasn’t saved that way. I heard the Gospel preached, believed it in my heart and confessed Jesus as Lord of my life. I never saw a bright light from heaven.

But God has left Himself room to sovereignly intervene in a person’s life, as He did with Saul. Why did God do it that way with Saul? I don’t know, but it sure paid off, because the apostle Paul wrote half the New Testament!

CONFESSION:

Sometimes my Father moves in miraculous or unusual ways to help people. But I don’t have to wait for that to happen. I come to Him in faith, believing His Word, and He takes pleasure in prospering me—spirit, soul and body.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Enter Into Rest

For only we who believe God can enter into His place of rest. -Hebrews 4:3 TLB

When you’re in a difficult situation and you need a miracle, locate what you believe. Do you believe what God’s Word says? Or do you believe what people or circumstances say?

Hebrews 4:3 says, “We which have believed do enter into rest.” Belief produces rest, and what you hear determines what you believe.

So if you see you haven’t entered into the rest of faith, don’t waste your time feeling condemned, discouraged or upset about it. Just realize your belief isn’t yet strong enough to produce rest.

What do you do? Find out what the Word of God says about your situation. Search for Scriptures that cover your case. Feed on the Word at every opportunity because hearing produces belief.

Some people say, “Well, when I have time, I’ll do that.” But if you maintain that attitude, you’ll never have time.

If you need healing, listen to good healing messages again and again. Read good books on healing, such as Christ the Healer by F.F. Bosworth. Don’t just read the books once and set them down; read them from cover to cover several times until you are full of the Word on healing. Then out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth will speak. (Matt. 12:34.) You’ll find yourself saying, “It’s so good to be healed!”

And when someone asks, “Do you feel better? Are the symptoms gone?” you’ll say “I haven’t checked yet, but I know I’m healed because the Bible said it. I don’t care what anybody says. God says healing is mine, and I have whatever God says!”

Remember, hearing produces belief, belief produces rest and the rest of faith produces results!

CONFESSION:

The Word of God is firmly lodged down in my heart, and I enter into rest. God’s Word is greater inside me than what I see with my natural eye. It’s so good to be healed!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

The Rest of Faith

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. -Hebrews 4:2-3

See if this sounds familiar: You’re facing a situation where everything looks bad, sounds bad and feels bad. There seems to be no way out. But for some reason, you can’t work up a good worry about it! People ask you, “Don’t you know how serious this is? But you walk around with this silly grin on your face, saying, “I just can’t seem to get concerned. Everything will be all right.”

“How do you know it’s going to be all right?” they ask.

“I just know.”

That’s called the rest of faith. Everything looks bad on the outside. But on the inside, you sense only a velvety, peaceful rest.

Hebrews 4:3 talks about the rest of faith: “We which have believed do enter into rest.” Now, God isn’t talking here about physical or mental rest. Your mind will probably give you fits when you face a bad situation. But when you enter the rest of faith, a quiet peace prevails deep down inside.

Now consider the second scenario: You’re in a situation that looks bad, sounds bad and feels bad, and you’re endeavoring to believe God. You pray, “Oh, God, this better work!” You scrunch up your face in your intense effort and say, “God, I’m trying to believe, but if You don’t come through, I’m sunk!”

That is definitely not the rest of faith! Well, what’s the difference between the first and second responses to a bad situation? The difference is in what you believe.

So if you need healing in your body but you haven’t yet entered into rest, make the necessary adjustment. Start feeding on healing Scriptures and build up your faith. Then, no matter what the situation looks like in the natural, you can peacefully rest in God.

CONFESSION:

I believe God and His Word, so I enter into rest. I am confident that I am healed, for I know my God has already won my victory.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Head Faith vs Heart Faith

Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. -Acts 27:25

How can we know if we’re really in heart faith and not just head faith, or mental assent? That’s an important question. We have to learn how to locate ourselves in our faith. If we can do that, we can make the necessary adjustments to receive from God.

Head faith says, “I believe the Word—but look at the size of that problem!” Or it says, “I believe by Jesus’ stripes I was healed—but I feel so sick! And let me tell you what the doctors told me…”

Head faith is really “billygoat” faith—It likes to “but”! I believe the Bible, but…” And, of course, your loved ones will help you with some of their own “buts” –“Now I know you’re believing for your healing, but how do you really feel?”

On the other hand, heart faith says, “Yes, I see the problem. I see the symptoms of sickness. But I’m looking to the Bible! I found my answer there!”

Heart faith fixes its attention on the Word. Heart faith always finishes with the statement: “I believe God. I don’t care what it looks like.”

Faith doesn’t deny the symptoms or the circumstances. It doesn’t bury its head in the sand and hope the problem will go away. Faith faces the problem and says, “I know it looks bad, but I have inside information! I’m coming through this as an overcomer in Jesus Christ!”

During a storm when the apostle Paul was in a boat that was about to sink, he said, “I believe God, that it will be even as it was told me” (Acts 27:25). That’s what we have to do as well. Sure, the storms will come. We don’t deny the wind, the waves, the symptoms. But we have something better, something bigger, something higher to believe. We have the Word of God!

CONFESSION:

God’s Spirit-breathed words are greater than any symptom or circumstance. The Word says I’m healed, and I believe it: I am healed, just as He has told me!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Confess, Believe, Receive

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9

It’s so easy to receive from God. God made it easy. He purchased everything we could ever need and then told us, “Just take it.”

Someone may say, “But believing God for healing is so hard” Do you know you’re saved? Isn’t becoming a new creation in Christ the biggest miracle there is?

Well, notice that you don’t hope you’re saved—you know you are. One day you said, “Lord, I believe in my heart Jesus was raised from the dead for me. I receive Him as my Lord and Savior. I’m a new creature in Christ!”

You didn’t have to labor and strain and stand on the Word of God for years to get saved. Neither do you have to get up every morning to see if you still feel saved. You know you’re saved because the Bible tells you so!

Well, if getting saved is the biggest miracle and yet the easiest thing you ever did, would a lesser miracle, such as healing, be more difficult to receive?

No, we receive salvation and healing the same way. They are both part of God’s redemption plan.

You’d be amazed at your results if you simply received healing by faith the same way you once received your salvation. Just say, “Lord, I know in my heart that by Jesus’ stripes I was healed. I receive You as my healer now. Thank God, it’s done!”

Now, don’t check to see if you feel healed. You aren’t healed because you feel better. You’re healed because the Bible says you’re healed. And if you hold fast to your faith, your healing will come to pass!

CONFESSION:

I confess from a believing heart that Jesus is my Savior. I also confess from a believing heart that Jesus is my healer Thank God, I receive my healing now!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Healing Is Simple

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. -Matthew 9:35

God’s Word is simple and easy to understand. He didn’t make it complicated because He didn’t want anyone left out of His blessings.

Yet some people are deceived into thinking it’s hard to receive from God, especially in the area of divine healing They beg, plead, cry, bawl and squall to be healed, but to no avail.

However, it’s easy to receive healing. Why would it be hard to obtain something that already belongs to us? Jesus purchased healing for us with the stripes on His back. We just have to reach out and take what is already ours!

The only reason it has seemed difficult to receive healing is that we’ve lacked a thorough understanding of Jesus’ work on the Cross. Thank God, what Jesus provided for us in the Atonement is simple to receive. Think about it: Was it difficult to get saved? No, we simply found out God loved us, believed in our hearts Jesus was raised from the dead and confessed Him as our Savior. Well, healing is received the same way. We find out healing is God’s will for us, believe in our hearts we receive our healing and confess Jesus as our healer.

It's as simple as that. We are healed by faith just as we are saved by faith. As we learn to appropriate what already belongs to us, we will walk in blessings far beyond what we can ask or think!

CONFESSION:

Healing is simple. I know God wants me well. I know Jesus’ body was broken for me so I could have His health. So right now, I believe I receive my healing.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

The Same Price

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. -Acts 2:21

Who does redemption belong to? It belongs to “whosoever” will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s all through the Bible, God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In John 6:37, Jesus said, “Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” And John 1:12 tells us, “As many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God.”

Jesus died on the Cross for every person. Anyone who believes in Him can freely come into God’s family through His blood. But not only did He provide salvation for all mankind, He also provided peace of mind and physical healing to anyone who wants to receive it. He paid the same price for it all.

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, your spirit can be born again. You can also enjoy peace of mind and a healthy body. First you receive the Healer, then you receive His healing touch (although sometimes God does supernaturally heal the lost to get their attention.)

You see, salvation results from accepting the spiritual side of redemption. Then it’s up to you to walk in the soulish and physical sides of Jesus’ redemptive work. All of it has already been provided for you. Jesus paid the price.

CONFESSION:

I am redeemed, for I have called on the name of the Lord. I am healed. I am peaceful. And I’m so grateful for all my Lord has done for me!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Don’t Carry the Devil’s Burden

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come; with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all having obtained eternal redemption. -Hebrews 9:11,12

Some people think Jesus came to help us carry our burdens. “Oh, Lord,” they pray, “if You could just help me bear this disease until the end, I’d sure appreciate it. Maybe if You carry half, I could carry the other half.”

These people don’t realize what actually took place in redemption. They may understand that Jesus took their sins to the Cross and paid the price for their slate to be wiped clean. They may even realize that God doesn’t want them to take the condemnation for those sins back on themselves again.

But people need to realize that Jesus completed a full redemption for them. Not only did He take on Himself their sin, but their sickness and disease as well.

Just as we have known God doesn’t want us to live in sin, we ought to know God doesn’t want us to live in sickness and disease. Jesus paid the price to redeem us from both sin and sickness. He already carried it all for us. So, He doesn’t want us to carry the burden of our sicknesses any more than He wants us to carry the burden of our sins. Sin and sickness are a part of the devil’s kingdom, and we are citizens of the kingdom of light!

CONFESSISON:

I’ve been redeemed from the curse of the Law. I refuse to carry the burden of sickness, because Jesus already bore my sicknesses and carried my pains. By His stripes, I am healed!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Redeemed From the Curse of the Law

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. -Galatians 3:13,14

Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, which is given in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. The Lord told the children of Israel if they didn’t obey Him, all the terrible curses listed in this passage would come upon them.

Spiritual death is a part of the curse. So are poverty and every kind of sickness and disease. Verse 61 says, “Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee.” These are the curses that result from breaking God’s laws.

But Galatians 3:13-14 tells us the good news: Believers have been redeemed from the curse of the Law through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. That curse doesn’t exist anymore for the believer. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 doesn’t apply to God’s children, because Jesus took that curse upon Himself when He went to the Cross. That’s the Good News!

In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, the Lord gives us the blessing of Abraham. That blessing includes divine health. We have been redeemed from the curse of every sickness and every plague—even those not mentioned in the Law. We have been redeemed from cancer, arthritis, colds and flu. If we can name it, we have been redeemed from it!

CONFESSION:

When I received Jesus as my Savior, He freed me from the curse of the Law. Because He took the curse upon Himself as my substitute. I am now redeemed from every sickness and disease and I walk in divine health!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 Saved and Healed

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. -Romans 3:24

Once believers receive a revelation of the redemption Jesus purchased on the Cross, it changes them. Nothing can stop them anymore! I’m not talking about a mental assent to the truth. I’m talking about people who say from their hearts, “Yes, that’s the truth, and the truth is setting me free!”

Consider how a person is adopted into God’s family. The minute a person finds out Jesus’ blood was shed for the forgiveness of his sins, he can confess Jesus as his Savior, and not a devil in hell can stop him from getting born again! Peace and fellowship with God are available to anyone who receives Jesus in faith.

The same thing happens in the area of healing when people discover the truth that healing is included in the Atonement. Miracles abound when people act on that revelation. As believers proclaim that Jesus redeemed mankind from both sin and sickness, people jump up to get saved and healed at the same time!

As believers, we have to establish the truth in our hearts that just as Jesus’ blood was shed for us, His body was broken for us. Then we will not only be saved, but we will also rise up healed!

CONFESSION:

Jesus gave Himself as the sacrifice for my total redemption from the kingdom of darkness. Therefore, I receive healing from the Father as freely as I received salvation!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

He Already Paid the Price

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. -Colossians 1:12

Jesus went to the Cross and shed His blood for us through His death, burial and resurrection. He forgave our sins, redeemed us, delivered us from the power of darkness and enabled us to become partakers of God’s inheritance.

Yet most Christians have had a very low opinion of what redemption really is. They will say, “Well, Jesus redeemed me from sin.”

That’s true, but there’s so much more to it. Thank God, we’ve been redeemed from every curse in the Old Testament—and that includes sickness!

Now, Jesus didn’t redeem us from all the Old Testament blessings. For instance, healing was a blessing back then, so it’s still a blessing today. Jesus didn’t do away with any blessings; He just added to them.

Look at Isaiah 53:5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” Jesus not only redeemed us from our sins, but He also redeemed us from torment and oppression so we could have peace. He redeemed us from sickness so we could have health.

God’s report says we were forgiven, delivered, and healed. Now we can just reach out in faith to receive any of these covenant blessings. They all belong to us because Jesus already paid the price.

CONFESSION:

I am free from sin and all its effects--from worry, anxiety and fear; from sickness, disease and pain. God’s inheritance affects all areas of my life—spirit, soul and body.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

We’re Already Delivered!

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the  kingdom of the Son of His love -Colossians 1:13

When Jesus redeemed us, He delivered us from the power of darkness. That means every Christian is already delivered. But Christians still run around trying to get delivered all the time.

For instance, one evening a lady came over to me in a meeting and said, “I need to be delivered.”

I replied, “Ma’am you came to the right place. I have good news for you!” Her eyes lit up. Then I asked, “Do you have a Bible?”

She gave me a wary look and said, “Yes.”

I told her to open to Colossians 1:13 and read it, which she did: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

I instructed the woman to read the first part again several times: “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness…” I could tell she was getting angry with me. Then I said, “Well, did Jesus deliver us from the power of darkness, or did He not? Either the Bible is true, or it isn’t.”

She replied, “I know the Bible says that, but you’re not getting rid of me that easy! I want some help, and I want something that works.”

I said, “Ma’am, you’ll never find anything that works any better than that,”

Christians who are running around trying to get delivered ought to read the Bible. If they would, they’d realize He already delivered them from the power of darkness.

When we start praising and thanking God for delivering us, there isn’t a devil in hell that can stay around us. The first words out of our mouths when we get up in the morning should be, “Thank God, I’m delivered! Oh, it’s so good to be free!” If we would do that, we’d be amazed at how quickly we’d begin to walk in our freedom!

CONFESSION:

My God has delivered me from the power of darkness. Sickness and pain have no control over me, because Jesus took my sickness and carried my pain. Thank God, I’m free!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Jesus Bore the Punishment We Deserved

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the  kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. -Colossians 1:13,14

When Jesus finished the earthly ministry God had given Him, He was about thirty-three years old. Only one thing was left to do. Jesus, the Son of God—the One who never sinned, who never made a mistake in His life, who never hurt anyone and always helped everyone—had to die on the Cross.

The cross was a death reserved for criminals. If anyone belonged on that cross, it was you and I—not Jesus.

The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We were the ones who sinned, made mistakes, hurt people. We deserved to go to the place of judgment. But Jesus took our place. He is “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world”(John 1:29),

The Bible says, “Without shedding of blood [there] is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). Someone had to die for us. We deserved death, but Jesus took our death on Himself so we can walk in newness of life.

CONFESSION:

Jesus, my Savior, redeemed me. With the price of His own blood, He became the way for me to be reconciled to the Father. He took my sickness and my spiritual death so I could have His health and His eternal life.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Forever Redeemed

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace -Ephesians 1:7

When Jesus shed His blood on the Cross, He redeemed us. Redeem means “to purchase or buy back.”

For example, several years ago, when you purchased groceries in grocery stores, the store owners gave you green stamps as an incentive to buy at their stores. You were supposed to put them in stamp books. After you had filled several books, you went to a “redemption center.” The center stocked all kinds of nice gifts: radios, stereos, camping supplies and so forth. But you couldn’t buy those items with money. You had to redeem them with green stamps.

Well, Jesus redeemed us with His own blood. You see, when Adam sinned, mankind fell into a state of spiritual death, or separation from God. Along with sin came sickness, poverty, fear and failure.

Man was in the grips of sin under Satan’s control, but God wanted to buy man back. However, only one price could buy man back from the kingdom of darkness. Silver and gold couldn’t do it. The redemption price had to be sinless, spotless blood.

So God sent His only begotten Son to be our sacrifice. Jesus took on flesh and walked sinless among us as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Then He shed His perfect, spotless blood on the Cross, redeeming us from Satan’s dominion.

All we have to do is believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord and that God raised Him from the dead for us. (Rom 10:9,10.) At that moment, we are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light—forever redeemed!

CONFESSION:

I’ve been redeemed from Satan’s control. Sickness no longer has jurisdiction over me. Divine health is a benefit of my Father’s kingdom, and I walk in all the benefits Jesus purchased for me with His blood!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Split the Atonement in Two?

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. –Isaiah 53:5

In the past, many in the body of Christ have tried to split the Atonement down the middle. Then they’ve tried to separate the two halves. They say, “Thank God, salvation is for anyone, anytime. Second Peter 3:9 says, ‘The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ So whoever wants to be saved  may freely come!”

“However,” they continue, “healing is not for today.” Or they say, “God can heal, but He normally doesn’t do things like that. He heals some, but He doesn’t heal everyone.” Or perhaps they rationalize, “God has replaced healing with doctors and hospitals.”

But no one has a right to split the Atonement down the middle. Jesus paid the price for us—spirit, soul and body.

One half of the Atonement is the forgiveness of sin; the other half of the Atonement is healing for the physical body. Jesus Christ not only paid the price for our sins and iniquities, but at the same time He paid the price for our sicknesses and diseases. When the body of Christ grabs hold of that revelation, the sick will be healed, the weak will be made strong and the healthy will stay well!

CONFESSION:

Jesus wants me to be saved and healthy, so He purchased my salvation and healing with His own death on the Cross. His body was broken for me; His blood was shed for me. I receive the salvation and healing He has provided!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

A Promissory Note on Redemption

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” -Matthew 8:17

Jesus gave people healing before He ever went to the Cross. At the Cross, healing was provided as part of God’s redemption plan, but Jesus proved redemption before-hand by giving people part of it on a promissory note. Every time He forgave people of their sins, in essence He was saying, “I’ll pay for it later.” Every time He healed the multitudes, He was saying, “I’ll pay for it later.”

Jesus knew those sicknesses and diseases would be on His own back in a short period of time, but He still let His compassion flow out. He wanted to prove to the world that redemption, freedom, peace and healing belong to everyone.

Jesus didn’t turn anyone down. Matthew 8:16 says, “When the evening had come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.” The people brought the sick and He healed all who came to Him for help.

Jesus didn’t question who the sick people were or where they came from. If redemption belonged to all mankind, it had to be clearly shown that it was available to every person. So to all who came to Him in faith, Jesus delivered a promissory note on God’s redemption plan—a promise He knew He would pay for later.

CONFESSION:

Jesus showed us by His life what God’s will is. I know God wants me well because Jesus healed all who came to Him and paid the price to make healing available to me.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

His Death for Our Life

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16

What is the Atonement? It is the redemptive work Jesus accomplished when He went to the Cross as  our substitute and paid the price for our sins with His blood. He was also chastised for our peace and broken in His body for our physical healing. (Isaiah 53:5.)

The Atonement is the most basic of all Christian trusts—the very essence of what we believe. It isn’t’ complicated theology or church doctrine. Atonement is His death for our life.

If you don’t understand and believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for your sins and was raised again from the dead so you could be born again, His death won’t do you any good. Likewise, if you don’t understand and believe that Jesus bore stripes on His back for your physical healing, His broken body won’t do you any good.

It all boils down to what you understand. Faith can’t operate where the will of God isn’t known; neither can the will of God be known about a subject of which you have no knowledge. The only part of the Atonement that will work for you is the part you understand and believe.

CONFESSION:

I believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for my sins. I believe He bore stripes for my physical healing. By faith I take full advantage of the benefits He paid for.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Jesus Paid for Physical Healing

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—for whose stripes you were healed. –1 Peter 2:24

This scripture is a New Testament portrait of redemption—a picture of what Jesus did for us. One day when I was teaching on this verse, I made the comment, “To me, this Scripture proves healing belongs to anyone who is saved, because it covers both sides of redemption in one verse.”

A person attending the meeting spoke up, saying, “Apparently, you consider the Scripture to be referring to physical healing. But it’s talking about spiritual healing.”

Before I realized what was happening, I heard these words coming out of my mouth: “When you were saved, what happened in your spirit?”

The person replied, “God took out the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He gave me a new spirit.”

“Why did you have to be born again?” I asked.

“Because I was spiritually dead.”

“Well, why would you need spiritual healing then? I asked. “You can’t heal something that’s dead—it has to be reborn.”

You see, when we’re spiritually dead, we don’t need to get spiritually healed. That won’t do the job. We must be born again. The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). God gives us brand-new spirits. And our re-created spirits don’t need healing—our physical bodies do!

So live in the fullness of your redemption—your spirit man reborn, your mind renewed and your body healed by the power of God!

CONFESSION:

I am born again, I have a brand-new spirit, and my body is healed because of the stripes Jesus bore for me. His sacrifice was more than enough to totally redeem me from the dominion of darkness and bring me into the kingdom of light!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Praying in Faith vs. the Prayer of Faith

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. -1 John 5:14-15

Some people think the prayer of faith works for everything, even when they pray for healing for someone else. But there’s a difference between praying in faith and the prayer of faith.

All our prayers must be in faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” When we go to the Father in prayer, we must believe He hears and answers us when we pray in accordance with His will.

But the prayer of faith is what you pray for yourself in order to receive what legally belongs to you according to the will of God. In this prayer, you pray one time; then you believe you receive your answer. You don’t request that same petition again in prayer; instead, you thank and praise God for the answer.

But when you pray for someone else, James 5:16 AMP gives you the guidelines: “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available—dynamic in its working.” Your heartfelt prayers for others may have to continue for a time. Don’t give up—keep praying until you’ve seen God’s power produce results!

CONFESSION:

When I have a need, I pray to my Father once, believing I receive when I pray. When I pray for another’s needs, I continue to pray until I see the answer. My prayers make tremendous power available.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999