The faith-filled lifestyle is ordained by God and is the only walk that works. It works by principles and laws that God put into operation.

To live this lifestyle, faith must be in two places—in your heart and in your mouth.

If faith is only in your heart, then it’s not expressing itself and therefore, can’t be applied to the natural realm around you. When you’re in the midst of a struggle, save yourself some time—just look at the opening right under your nose. That’s usually the answer to “What have I been doing wrong?” You’ve been talking the problem instead of the answer. On the other hand, if it’s only in your mouth and not in your heart, then there’s no real force behind it because faith comes from the heart.

Faith is the only force that will change natural things or natural circumstances. It is the only force that can apply itself to the natural realm to change or move a mountain.

But you won’t have that powerful faith if you’re influenced by the world’s goods and feeding on its information. The source you draw from determines what is going to be on the inside of you and what will come out.

You may know God’s promises. But if you don’t take the time to put God’s Word in your heart—even though you might be able to “say” the right things—your words won’t come out in power to move your mountain.

Maybe you are feeding on God’s Word, and yet the situation you face still seems impossible. I know it’s hard to speak words of faith when you’re facing such hard times. But don’t stop feeding on the only thing that can change your situation. Remember, you were born again so that you could accomplish hard things—impossible things!

I think it was a great blessing that Ken and I were in our own impossible situation financially when we first began to hear the word of faith. (I didn’t think it was a blessing then, of course, but I do now!) Our finances were minus zero at that point in our lives. We didn’t have anything but our debts.

We were so desperate we had to believe God. It was the hardest believing we ever did because we didn’t know very much

It was easier for us to believe our way out of the $6 million deficit we faced a few years ago than it was to believe for the little amount we needed back then. But do you know, when it came down to it—when we needed to receive that $6 million—we did exactly the same thing we did the first time we ever believed for grocery money.

We fought the fight of faith. We got aggressive with the Word.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Most people don’t see faith as a violent force. But spiritually speaking, it is! Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12).

Faith is aggressive. It uses the Word of God as a weapon and brings down every stronghold of unbelief and every demonic obstacle in its path!

You must become spiritually aggressive if you want to walk in the supernatural. You have to do it by faith using the Word of God or you won’t do it at all.

People who don’t know about aggressive faith waste a great deal of time. When they find themselves in a difficult situation, they often just sit back and wait for God to rescue them.

But you won’t get anywhere just waiting for God to do everything. He’s already given you the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. He won’t do your part! As one minister says, “The Holy Spirit is
your helper and if you don’t do what you’re supposed to, He doesn’t have anything to help.”

So, don’t just sit there—do something! Fight the good fight of faith! Put the Word of God in your heart and in your mouth every day. Get aggressive. Make it your lifestyle. The Apostle Paul did. He said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

I’ll tell you something else: No matter how much you know or how long you’ve been in the walk of faith, the basics don’t change.

Ken and I have never encountered a problem from which God didn’t deliver us. On the other hand, we’ve never been in a situation that didn’t require us to walk by faith and do all the basic things we learned many years ago. It has never changed. It never will.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

With that foundation laid, you’ll be ready to step out in faith and receive the abundance God has in store for you.

Many people who have lived godly lives have failed to do that, so they’ve missed out on God’s financial blessings. Although they’ve continually applied the principles of God’s Word and become prime candidates for great prosperity, they’ve unwittingly passed it by because religious tradition has taught them that God wants them in poverty. Christians like that have great wealth in their spiritual bank accounts, but because they don’t realize it’s there, they never tap into it!

Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t just build the foundation for prosperity and stop there. Go on and build the whole house. Dare to believe that if you’ll seek first God’s kingdom, His way of doing and being right, all other things (the food, the clothes, the cars, the houses, everything!) will be added to you as well.

Build your foundation, then dare to believe—and you will surely prosper!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

In light of that truth, it’s easy to see why God wants us to increase financially at the same rate we increase spiritually. He wants us to outgrow our fleshly foolishness so our prosperity will bring us blessing and not harm.

“But Gloria,” you say, “I need financial help fast!”

Then get busy growing. Get busy building your foundation for prosperity.

How? By finding out what God says in His Word and doing it.

You see, the foundation of prosperity is a continual lifestyle built on the Word of God. It is doing whatever God tells you to do, thinking whatever He tells you to think, and saying whatever He tells you to say.

Godly prosperity is the result of putting God’s Word—all of it, not just the parts about financial prosperity—first place in your life. It comes when you apply His principles on a continual basis—not just because you want money, but because Jesus is your Lord and you want to follow Him. It comes when you start obeying the instructions Jesus gave us in Matthew 6:

I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life? And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides (verses 25-33, The Amplified Bible).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Here is an example of prayer based on these six steps:

“Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask you for $_______.

“We have this money in our heavenly account and we
are withdrawing this amount now. We believe we receive
$________. As in Mark 11:23-24, we believe it in our hearts
and confess now that it is ours in the Name of Jesus. We agree
that we have $______ according to Matthew 18:19. From this
day forward, we roll the care of this over on You and thank You
for it. Satan, in the Name of Jesus, we take authority over
you; we bind your operation now and render you helpless.
Ministering spirits, we charge you to go forth and cause this
amount to come to us according to Hebrews 1:14. Father, we
praise Your Name for meeting our needs according to Your
riches in glory by Christ Jesus and for multiplying our seed
for sowing in the Name of Jesus.”

When I entered the ministry and enrolled in Oral Roberts
University, my wife and I lived in an old house in Tulsa, Okla.,
and because of business failures, we owed money in every
direction. Then, as we began to grasp the principle of seed-faith
giving and believing God to supply our needs, we decided to
believe God to pay these debts. One night we sat down and figured
what we owed. I got my checkbook and wrote out the
checks that would pay these debts. We laid hands on them and
prayed according to Romans 13:8. “Owe no man any thing, but
to love one another.” I said, “Father, in the Name of Jesus, I am
putting these checks in this desk drawer and am believing You
to get us out of this mess. I am looking to You for the money to
pay all these debts, in the Name of Jesus.” I was not so foolish
as to mail those checks before the money was in the bank. That
is against the law. God will not bless fraud!

We figured to the last penny how much it would take to
operate our household abundantly, even allowing for unexpected
things. We wrote it down and prayed over it in the Name of
Jesus. I made up my mind to be single-minded from that day
forward, and in less than 12 months from that night, we did
not owe anything and haven’t owed a penny since. God did
some miraculous things during that time, and He is still doing
them today! Praise God!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Romans 13:2 says, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to
themselves damnation.” After I read this in the Word, I broke my
bad confession and began to pray for these men. For the first
time in my life, I went to the polls and voted intelligently. No
longer moved by emotion, I began to pray and seek God in voting
as I did in other areas. When my attitude changed, God
began to give me insight into the political affairs of this country.
After approximately two weeks of praying this way, God
showed me some things about the president. You see, I had
opened myself to receive from God by stopping the strife in my
heart. I had been very critical of the government and politicians;
I griped and complained continually, but God changed
my attitude. When I quit begrudging the government, God
could reveal some things to me and I could receive them. This
opened an area of prosperity I didn’t even know existed. The
Bible says these men, our civil leaders, are God’s ministers for
our good, that they are ordained of God. Our lack of prayer
support for them has caused the problems we have seen.

As a guide for you to use in receiving from your giving in
any area, let me share this little formula. It has worked consistently
for us and will work for you if you commit yourself to it.

1. Decide on the amount you need. Be careful not to cheat
yourself. God is not a skinflint. He is a giver. He is a lover. God
is love. For God so loved the world that He gave. Determine the
amount you need and then be single-minded. A double-minded
man can’t receive anything from the Lord (see James 1:7-8).

2. Get in agreement according to Matthew 18:19. This is very
important. The best and most powerful situation on earth is a
husband and wife who can agree together in these areas.
If this isn’t possible in your particular case, then get together
with another believer and have him join with you.

3. Lay hold on it by faith. Use the principles set out in
Mark 11:23-24. Believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth.

4. Bind the devil and his forces in the Name of Jesus. You have
the authority in Jesus’ Name to order Satan out of your financial
affairs. This is your responsibility. Don’t ask God to do it.
You do it in Jesus’ Name. Mark 16:17, James 4:7, Ephesians 6
and the entire New Testament tell you to resist the devil. It is
important for the husband and father to do this. It is their
responsibility as spiritual head of the home.

5. Loose the forces of heaven. Hebrews 1:14 refers to the
angels as ministering spirits “sent forth to minister for those
who shall be heirs of salvation.” The Bible also says that angels
hearken to the Word of God (see Psalm 103:20), so when you
use the Word in the Name of Jesus, they are obligated to follow
your command.

6. Praise God for the answer. Praise keeps the door of abundance
wide open. The channel between you and God is clear so
that you can receive from Him.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “For verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall
believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall
have whatsoever he saith.” Notice the last words, “he shall have
whatsoever he saith.” Faith is released with the mouth. Even our
salvation is based on the confession of our mouths that Jesus
Christ is our Lord (see Romans 10:9-10). You can have what you
say! In fact, what you are saying is exactly what you are getting
now. If you are living in poverty and lack and want, change
what you are saying. It will change what you have!

People continually say to me, “Brother Copeland, I cannot
see what the confession of my mouth has to do with the circumstances
around me.” Well, I didn’t understand it much
when I first found out about it. Only the simple fact that Jesus
said it was enough for me to begin to change my vocabulary.
Since then I have learned the powerful force of the spiritual
world that creates the circumstances around us is controlled by
the words of the mouth. This force comes from inside us.

Jesus Himself said, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). Words
are containers. They can contain faith, love, fear, hate, or they
can be totally empty. Jesus said that we would stand judgment
for idle (or empty, inoperative) words (see Matthew 12:36).
Remember, we said earlier that all the material substance you
will ever need is already in the earth. Everything you need is
already here. The confession of your mouth will cause you to
possess it. God will see to that. Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is
the Apostle and the High Priest of our confession; and Hebrews
4:14 states that we are to hold fast to our confession. We are to
confess what we desire to come to pass. We don’t wait until it
comes to pass and then begin to confess it. In Mark 11:23, Jesus
is talking about saying things that have not yet come to pass.
The mountain had not yet been removed when it was spoken
to. Jesus said for us to believe that those things which we say
will come to pass and then we will have whatsoever we say.
When I learned these facts, it became easy for me to confess, “I
have it now….I can see it through the eye of my faith.” Once I
make deposits in my heavenly account, I can say, I have it and
then it will come to me. Sometimes it comes instantly; sometimes
it comes after it is confessed several times; sometimes it
comes after several days; sometimes it comes after several
weeks. There have been times when it came after months of
confession, but nonetheless, it came! We have God’s Word for
it. It will come to pass!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

For years I knew deep down inside that there was a place in
God where a man could live in victorious circumstances at all
times. I knew there was total victory in Jesus, so I searched for
it; but many of the people I asked about it told me that I would
not be able to live this way until I got to heaven. Thank God,
the Word says differently.

Matthew 18:19-20 says this: “Again I say unto you, That if
two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them.” Notice that Jesus said, “Again I say unto
you.” This was important enough for Him to say more than
once to these men until they realized that if they would get in
agreement with one another and establish a thing, Jesus would
be in the midst of them to cause it to come to pass.

You need someone to be an agreement partner with you.
The most ideal situation is for a man and his wife to be in
agreement. You need someone who will not relent and, once
the agreement is made, will stand firm that it will come to pass.
Jesus will bring even the impossible to pass if two Christians
will agree firmly on His Word and its truth. This is the reason
that in financial matters it is so important to know that you
have made your heavenly deposits. It is easy to agree on the
fact that something is yours when you have already made the
deposits for it.

The prayer of agreement is a powerful prayer, and it will work
when it is put to work. However, so much of the time one person
will agree and another person will hope. I have prayed with people
and when I finished said, “It is done and it will come to pass.”
Then the other person who was supposed to be agreeing with me
would say, “I certainly do hope so, Sister Copeland.” At that
point I am forced to say, “Well, it won’t. I agreed…you hoped.”

When an agreement is made, both parties are firm in the
fact that there is an agreed situation. When you agree with a
person to pay a bill at a certain time and that person says, “I
consider this bill as paid,” and you say, “I certainly hope so,”
then that is probably as far as the situation will go until you are
firm in your committal to that agreement. The other partner
will not enter into it with you. It should be this firm between
two Christians when they come together and believe that what
they have agreed upon in the world of prosperity will come to
pass. Remember, we have Jesus Christ’s Word for it. It will
come to pass if we refuse to relent in our agreement together.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

As we have already seen from Mark 10:30, Jesus promised a
hundredfold return when we give for His sake and the gospel’s.
Using this scripture, I decided to believe for a hundredfold
return when I gave my airplane as an investment in the gospel.
Let me add that I didn’t begin believing for a hundredfold
return overnight. When I started in the ministry, a hundredfold
return was more than I could fathom! I could see it in the Word
of God, and I knew it was true, but it took time for my faith to
develop so that these things would produce in my life. I didn’t
start believing for $5,000 or $10,000 at a time. I began believing
for the return on the first $10 I gave to Brother Roberts. My
wife and I believed for a double return and got it every, single
month. But over a period of time, by meditating in the Word
and confessing it, that “victory portion” of faith came alive in
my heart concerning a hundredfold return.

In October 1971 I gave my airplane to the Lord. I released
it, no longer claiming ownership. Then through the next few
months, I continually confessed with my mouth that the withdrawal
was mine, that it was on deposit in my heavenly account
and would be manifest as I needed it. There were times when I
would wake up in the middle of the night with fear trying to
take over, trying to get me to put pressure on people, trying to
get me to rent or lease or borrow. But I would fall back on the
Word of God and my covenant with Him, thanking God that
His Word is true and full of power. Then in January 1972 the
Lord spoke and told me to whom I was to give the airplane.

At this point, I was in quite a predicament. Arrangements
had been made to produce a television series, and we had no
apparent capital. In addition, we had a busy schedule with no
transportation. In the natural there was no way out, but by this
time, we knew how deeply God was involved! Ten days later I
had in my hands the exact amount I had confessed as my withdrawal.
Someone I didn’t even know said that God had told
them to give the money. I was to put it into the ministry and
not disclose from whom it came. This person wanted God to
receive all the glory and He has. If you borrow from the bank,
you have to answer to the banker, but when you get it from
God, there are no strings attached.

Well, I had spotted another airplane and knew exactly
where it was. I called the owner, and he flew it down to me. He
could hardly believe it! He was a Christian too, and God had
warned him three or four months earlier that he was flying
around in my airplane. But he hadn’t done anything about it
and had not made arrangements for one of his own. He had to
do without transportation for a while! This is an exciting life!
You can do what you want, but for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord!

Withdrawals from the bank of heaven are accomplished
through the power of agreement, the power of confession and
the power of standing expectantly on God’s Word.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Let’s look at Malachi 3:10 once more. There is something
here I want to emphasize. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,
that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me
now herewith, saith the Lord….” God has said in many places
through the Bible, “Have faith…believe Me,” but here in
Malachi He is saying, “Prove Me…put Me to the test!” Many
Christians are looking for a sign from God as proof of His
power, of His willingness to heal and do miracles in today’s
world. The financial realm is the only place where God gives us
an opportunity to look for this sign, and it is the only place we
haven’t been looking! We say, “But I couldn’t tell God what to
do; I couldn’t expect Him to bless me! It wouldn’t be humble!”
But what does God say? “And prove me now herewith, saith the
Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and
pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.”

As I was studying this one day, the phrase windows of heaven
kept coming into my thinking, so I did some research. The
phrase windows of heaven actually means “floodgates.” It is the
same word used in Genesis 7:11 where God opened the windows
of heaven and flooded the earth. God doesn’t use empty
figures of speech. He means what He says! He will open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out an abundant blessing on the
tither. Then the next verse (Malachi 3:11) says:

“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall
not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast
her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all
nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land,
saith the Lord of hosts.”

Now let’s discuss how to receive from your giving.
Ephesians 6:8 says, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any
man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be
bond or free.” Whatever good thing you do to any man, you will
receive the same thing from the Lord. We have just read in
Malachi where God said that He would open the windows of
heaven to us. Therefore, we can expect to receive from God.
However, in Luke’s gospel Jesus says, “Give, and it shall be given
unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again”
(Luke 6:38). From this, we see that we also can receive from
men; so the blessing is twofold. When you tithe, you receive
from God above. When you give, men give into your bosom.
You have it coming from all directions!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries