Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
(Prov. 4:23)
Proverbs 4:21 says, “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.” You are to keep God’s Word in your heart.
Then Proverbs 4:23 tells you to keep or guard your heart. How do you do that? By keeping the Word in your heart! How are you going to keep God’s Word in your heart?
By meditating on God’s Word continually. In other words, think deeply about it until it becomes a part of your inner conscience. Don’t just memorize scriptures and forget them.
You can memorize scriptures and say them by rote, and they won’t mean a thing in the world to you. Those verses are just in your mind. But, no, think on them until they get down into your heart. Feed on them. It will take a little time to do that. But, eventually, the scriptures will register on your heart.
God’s words are life unto you and health, or medicine, to all your flesh. I don’t know about you, but I never see myself sick. I always see myself well. If a need arises – whether it’s healing or anything else – the first thing that pops into my mind is what the Bible says about it.
Many people start to panic if something comes along, saying, “Oh, dear Lord, what are we going to do now? What in the world are we going to do now?” They are not guarding their hearts when they do that.
I tell people all the time, “Know your Bible. If you can’t find it in the Bible, don’t accept it. Don’t let it get into your heart. I don’t want your faith to be in what I or another preacher says. I want your faith to be in what God’s Word says. The Word does not fail.”
Confession
Father, I will attend to Your Word. I will put Your Word first. I will incline my ear unto Your sayings. I will not let those words depart from before my eyes. I will keep them in the midst of my heart. I will walk in health and healing. I will walk in the life of God.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
Rev. Hagin was born on Aug. 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, a son of the late Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin.
Rev. Hagin was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. He was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life.
In August of 1934, Rev. Hagin was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of God and the revelation of faith in God's Word. Two years later, he preached his first sermon as pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas.
In 1937, Rev. Hagin was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began ministering in Pentecostal churches. During the next 12 years he pastored five churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, and Van. In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist.
During the next 14 years, Jesus appeared to Rev. Hagin eight times in visions that changed the course of his ministry. In 1966, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he opened a ministry office. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio—on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth W. Hagin, is also heard on the program.
In 1968, Rev. Hagin published the first issues of The Word of Faith magazine, which now has a monthly circulation of more than 250,000. The publishing outreach he founded, Faith Library Publications, has circulated more than 65 million copies of books by Rev. Hagin, Rev. Hagin Jr., and several other authors worldwide. Faith Library Publications also has produced more than 9 million audio teaching tapes and CDs.
Other outreaches of Kenneth Hagin Ministries include RHEMA Praise, a weekly television broadcast hosted by Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hagin; RHEMA Correspondence Bible School; RHEMA Alumni Association; RHEMA Ministerial Association International; RHEMA Supportive Ministries Association; the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center; and a prison ministry.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center USA and in 1976 moved the school and ministry offices to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where they remain. To date, RHEMA Bible Training Center USA has 23,000 alumni, and RHEMA Bible Training Centers have opened in 13 other nations: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Together, the 14 schools have more than 28,000 graduates worldwide.
RHEMA Bible Church, pastored by Rev. Hagin Jr., began holding services in October of 1985 on the RHEMA campus in Broken Arrow and has since grown to become a thriving congregation with more than 8,000 members.
Rev. Hagin's daughter and son-in-law, Pat Harrison and the late Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, founded Harrison House Publishers in 1975 and Faith Christian Fellowship International Church in 1977. Both organizations are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Until shortly before his death in September 2003, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths' Crusades and other special meetings.