"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS, and then thou shalt have GOOD SUCCESS" (Josh. 1:8).

Why does meditating on the Bible bring success? Because the Bible contains God's thoughts, and we need His thoughts. Our thoughts are small, weak, and limited to what we've learned and experienced in life. Our thoughts can actually hold us in bondage!

Many times our thoughts can be inaccurate because we don't know the whole matter. They can also be filled with fear and failure. But if we are in Christ, there is no need for us to have any fear!

Study the great men and women of the Bible. Every time these great faith giants of God stayed with God and made His thinking their own, they prospered. But every time they began to think their own thoughts and became fearful, they got into trouble.

You see, our human thoughts are limited. But God is not limited in knowledge, wisdom, foresight, understanding, or experience. He knows everything, so He's not limited in any way!

Therefore, we need to lose our negative thinking, and get the mind of Christ! Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." When we have the mind of Christ, we are thinking God's thoughts. And as we think God's way according to His Word, our lives are changed.

We live beneath our privileges in Christ when we continue to think our own thoughts - thoughts of fear and failure! But we stop living beneath our privileges in Christ when we begin to realize what belongs to us in God. That's why we need to let God's thoughts saturate our minds in every area of our lives.

Many Christians are good natural thinkers, but God wants us to be supernatural thinkers. Yes, we live in the natural. But because we are born again, we can also think supernaturally. So lose your carnal, worry-filled natural thinking and become a success in God!

According to Joshua 1:8, it's only as we meditate on God's thoughts that we become successful. Thinking like God does brings us into prosperity in every realm of life! I want you to notice something else about that verse. It says that you are the one who makes your own way prosperous!

So if you want to be prosperous, think like God does! When you start thinking God's thoughts, you'll even get rid of attitude problems.

Lose your small thinking and get God's big thinking. Lose your negative thoughts and get God's positive, faith-filled thoughts. The mind of Christ is not something impossible to attain.

As you begin to meditate in the Word, your thinking will be transformed. You'll begin to think big just like God does. Change your thinking, and you'll change your life!

Source: From a Pastor's Heart by Kenneth E. Hagin. Jr.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications