Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Amplified Bible (AMP). The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Warner Books Edition

Copyright © 1997 by Joyce Meyer

All rights reserved.

Warner Faith

Time Warner Book Group

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

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The Warner Faith name and logo are registered trademarks of Warner Books.

First eBook Edition: February 2003

ISBN: 978-0-446-54901-1

INTRODUCTION: THE WORD OF GOD

♥ He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.

PSALM 107:20

The Word of God heals us and rescues us. It also changes us and our lives.

The Word of God will change you.

In Psalm 1:1–3 David wrote that the person who meditates on the Word day and night will become firmly planted like a tree, and that everything he does will prosper.

To be firmly planted is to be stable. You can be stable, and everything you do can prosper. The way to do that is by meditating on the Word of God.

To meditate on the Word means to roll it over and over in your mind, to ponder and think on it, and to mutter it to yourself, as the Lord commanded His servant Joshua:

♥ This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

JOSHUA 1:8

In Deuteronomy 30:14 we are told, ♥ “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.”

In Isaiah 55:11 the Lord promises us, ♥ “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

In 2 Corinthians 3:18 the Apostle Paul teaches us that as we behold the glory of the Lord, in His Word, we are transformed or changed. Part of beholding the glory of the Lord is seeing the glorious plan that He has for us and believing it.

God loves us, and He has a good plan, a glorious plan, for our lives. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul says that God devised the entire plan of salvation through Christ in order to satisfy the intense love with which He loved us.

That means God loves you, and He has a wonderful, glorious plan for you and for your life. You need to believe that and confess it.

The devil has tried to ruin God’s plan. He has labored all of your life to make you feel worthless. Why? Because he does not want you ever to believe that you are loved dearly by God. Satan knows that hearing the Word of God over and over and allowing it to become part of your inner life, part of your thought system, will change you. And he does not want that to happen.

That is why I have written this book. It contains Scriptures that I believe will change your self-image, thus changing both your present and future.

According to the Bible, you are created in God’s image. (GENESIS 1:27.) Believing what God says about you changes your attitude and opinion of yourself. Ask yourself, “What do I think of myself? What is my opinion of myself?” Then ask yourself, “What does God think of me? What is God’s opinion of me?”

What God thinks and says about you is found in His Word. The Scripture confessions in this book will bring you into agreement with God instead of with the enemy. Perhaps the devil has lied to you all of your life, and you have believed him. Now it is time to believe God.

In John 17:17, Jesus said that God’s Word is Truth, and in John 8:32 He said that it is the Truth that will set us free. Not only will the Word of God, the Word of Truth, set us free, it will also change our very outlook and nature. That is why you need to read it, study it, and meditate on it, allowing it to get down on the inside of you.

In Christ you can be confident, full of joy, an over-comer, faithful, a friend of God, one who seeks God’s face.¹

Confess over yourself what God says about you in His Word. As you do so, God will begin to work in your life. He will change you from being brokenhearted, wounded, and afraid to being His faithful friend whom He loves and who loves Him very much.

In Isaiah 61:1–3 we read:

♥ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.

To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion—to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit—that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Yes, God is changing you. He is changing your character. He is changing your life. God loves you. You are a special person. The enemy does not want you to feel loved. But God does.

In the following pages you will learn not only how to be assured of the love of God, but also how to be sure of your future, how to know your righteousness (who you are in Christ), and how to overcome the fear that would rob you of all of the blessings which God desires to pour out upon you as part of the wonderful life He has planned for you.

God bless you as you learn to speak forth His Word that will not return to Him void but will accomplish His will and purpose in your life!