If only you carefully listen to the voice of the Lord your God…
(Deut. 15:5 AMP)
All through the day, there are two voices that compete for our attention — the voice of faith and the voice of defeat. You’ll hear a voice saying, “You’ll never rise any higher. You don’t have what it takes. You’ve reached your limit.” But if you listen carefully, you’ll hear another voice saying, “You are well able. You can do all things through Christ. Your best days are still up ahead.” You are the one who gets to choose which voice has power in your life. The moment you verbalize a thought, you give it the right to come to pass. When you speak faith, you’re in agreement with God. When you speak defeat, you’re in agreement with the enemy. God-talk brings God on the scene. Enemy-talk brings the enemy on the scene. Why don’t you get in agreement with God today? The negative voice may be louder, but you can override it. You can take away all of its power by simply choosing the voice of faith. Choose to declare favor, blessing and increase over your life so that you can walk in the victory the Lord has in store for you.
A Prayer for Today
Father, today and every day, I choose the voice of faith and victory. I declare that I am rising up higher in You, that I can do all things because You give me strength. I bless You and honor You in everything I say and do in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Joel Osteen is a native Texan and the Pastor of Lakewood Church, which according to Church Growth Today is America's largest and fastest growing church.
On July 16, 2005 after completing $95 million dollars in renovations, Joel moved Lakewood Church into its new 16,000-seat home - the former Compaq Center. It is the largest regularly-used worship center in the United States. Each week Joel delivers God's message of hope and encouragement to more than 38,000 attendees.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Joel is the most watched inspirational figure in America. His weekly sermon is broadcast into every U.S. television market where it is viewed by seven million Americans each week and more than 20 million each month. His weekly broadcast is also seen in almost 100 nations around the world.
In 2004, his first book, Your Best Life Now, was released by Time Warner debuting at the top of the New York Times Bestsellers List and quickly rising to #1. It remained on the New York Times Bestseller for more than 2 years and has sold more than 4 million copies. Most recently, Joel was named as one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2006" and he was selected as the "Most Influential Christian in 2006" by the readers of Church Report Magazine.