Aviation has always been a part of Kenneth Copeland’s life. From his days as a private commercial pilot, to serving as Oral Roberts’ pilot when he was a student at ORU, to the present day, Kenneth has studied almost everything to do with flying airplanes. Naturally then, particularly when he was a new believer, God showed him that just like there are fundamentals of flying that apply to every kind of aircraft, so there are fundamental laws of faith that apply to anything we need to receive by faith including salvation, healing, finances, restoration or a miracle.
Hebrews 11:1-3 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (NKJV).
By faith. That’s how we receive. Hebrews 11 shows us so much about this, including how so many of the Old Testament saints lived and received by faith. Note these examples from the New King James Version.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (verse 8).
“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (verses 9-10).
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised” (verse 11).
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac” (verse 17).
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come” (verse 20).
“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped” (verse 21).
“By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones” (verse 22).
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command” (verse 23).
“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy thepassing pleasures of sin” (verses 24-25).
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (verse 27).
“By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (verse 28).
“By faith [the children of Israel] passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned” (verse 29).
And on Hebrews 11 goes, so much so, that the Scripture later says, “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (verses 32-34).
Never Let the Devil See You Sweat
It is by faith we receive, and if we are believing God to receive our healing, then this is how we are going to receive it. Therefore, it’s essential that we develop the measure of faith God has given each one of us (Romans 12:3).
So how do we develop our faith? We strengthen it with the Word of God; we read and study everything God says about our faith and receiving our healing by faith (Romans 10:17). We put God’s Word in our hearts and in our mouths (verses 8-9). We say it and declare the end from the beginning (Matthew 8:8; Isaiah 46:10). And, as God taught Kenneth, we never let the devil see us sweat.
He learned this years ago when he was a student at ORU and was putting into practice listening to the Holy Spirit in preparation to pray for people to be healed. One time, he and Gloria had driven home to Fort Worth for a visit with family, and no sooner had they arrived, than Kenneth’s mother received a call that they needed to come to the hospital quickly because his great-aunt Eiley was dying.
His mother said immediately that they needed to hurry, to jump in the car and go. But Kenneth didn’t have the same sense of urgency. He had been learning to turn inward and listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit, just like he’d learned in aviation to “stop and wind your watch.” That’s an aviation phrase pilots use to express what to do if something starts to fail with an aircraft. The meaning is that if systems start to fail, instead of panicking and fearing that the plane will fall out of the sky, which it won’t, pause and maintain your composure, begin to think of your checklist, and go through it.
In a spiritual sense, to stop and wind your watch is to turn inward and listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit for what course of action to take; because, after all, He is our helper (John 14:26).
“Kenneth,” his mother pressed, “if we want to see her, then we need to get there quick.”
But he told his mother, “I need to go change my shirt.” As he went into the bedroom and began to change his shirt, he turned to the Lord for direction and as he said, “Lord,” he immediately heard the Lord say, “Don’t ever let the devil see you sweat. You get over there and I’ll tell you what to do.”
When they headed out the door to leave, Kenneth told his mother, “You drive, and drive slowly, please.”
“Kenneth!” she exclaimed.
When they arrived, a family member was already making funeral arrangements on the phone. Kenneth went on over to the bed and said, “Aunt Eiley, open your eyes.”
“Kenneth,” she responded, “what are you doing here?”
“I came to pray for you,” Kenneth told her.
About that time, Kenneth’s mother said, “Look at that thing. That’s what’s choking her to death.”
And Kenneth declared, “Well, no, not anymore,” and he went on to pray what the Holy Spirit told him to pray.
The result was that Aunt Eiley was healed, and she continued to live alone for two more years!
Here’s the point: Kenneth hand learned to stop and wind his watch, spiritually speaking. He had developed his faith by feeding his spirit with the Word of God, particularly all the verses that teach us how to live by faith, release our faith, declare our faith, and use our faith to receive. He had developed his faith to believe for healing—for himself, for his family and for anyone else who wanted to be made whole.
It’s a lesson for us all. How important it is when we hear a difficult report and are standing in faith to receive, to stop and wind our watch. To turn inward and listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit so we stay in faith, keep walking by faith, and continue to respond with faith.
10 Scriptures To Build Your Faith for Healing
Sometimes, when we’re focusing so hard on receiving and, in particular, receiving our healing, we need to give equal attention to developing our faith, because it is by faith that we receive. To help you build your faith for healing, consider the following verses on faith. Memorize them. Personalize them. Say them daily. And watch faith rise up on the inside of you.
- “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]” (Hebrews 11:1 AMPC).
- “Have faith in God [or have the faith of God]…. You can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart” (Mark 11:22-23).
- “You can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
- “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV).
- Faith works by love (see Galatians 5:6).
- “So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:16).
- “Then Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen’” (Matthew 21:21).
- “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4).
- “At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name” (John 16:23).
- “(As it is written, ‘I have made you [Abraham] a father of many nations’) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17, NKJV).
It was Smith Wigglesworth who said, “I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m moved only by what I believe.” Let’s remember this as we build our faith to receive our healing.
