Author Archives: Shirley Martinez

Strengthen your prayer life by learning How To Pray Powerful Prayers Using the Name of Jesus.

Have you ever prayed and then wondered if your prayers are being effective? You might feel as if your prayers are just “hitting the ceiling,” meaning you feel as if they aren’t getting to God. There could be many reasons for this, including unforgiveness or the devil lying to you. But another reason could be that you simply don’t know how to pray powerful prayers according to the Word of God.

God took care of everything and put together a plan for you to overcome any adversity in this life, by sending Jesus to the earth, then giving you His Name. God elevated Jesus “to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

The Name of Jesus is above every other name in heaven and on earth; that covers everything in your life! What is the “name” of that adversity in your life? Write it down on a piece of paper. Whatever difficulty you are facing, you can apply the following 3 steps and learn How To Pray Powerful Prayers Using the Name of Jesus.

Step 1: Find out what the Name of Jesus will do.

“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” –Acts 4:10 (NKJV)

The Name of Jesus will make you whole—in every area of your life. For you to exercise faith in the Name of Jesus and pray powerful prayers, you have to find out what the Name of Jesus will do. If you are saved, you already know that the Name of Jesus will save you. Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

What else does the Name of Jesus do? The Name of Jesus will heal you. Acts 3:16 tells us that “faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.” You can exercise faith in the Name of Jesus for your healing.

The Name of Jesus will protect you. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong” (AMPC). You can run to the Name of Jesus for protection against evil. In addition to salvation, healing and protection, the Name of Jesus will also baptize you, give you authority, answer you, deliver you, give you boldness and help you in every area of your life. As you find out what the Name of Jesus will do, you can pray powerful prayers that will avail much (James 5:16).

Read 10 Ways You Can Call on the Name of Jesus HERE

Step 2: Believe on the Name of Jesus

“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before.” –Acts 3:16

Once you have identified what the Name of Jesus will do, you can believe on the Name of Jesus when you pray, just like you did when you were saved. The Apostle John, writing to believers, said, “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23). Believing on the Name of Jesus is not a one-time thing at the moment of salvation; believing on the Name of Jesus happens every day in a believer’s prayer life.

Your prayer life should include faith in the Name of Jesus. After all, powerful prayers aren’t prayed by wishing and hoping. Powerful prayers are prayed in faith, believing on the Name of Jesus to change the situation to line up with the Word of God.

Learn more from Terri Copeland Pearsons about Using God’s Word to Pray

Step 3: Speak the Name of Jesus

“Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” –Acts 3:6

Paul spoke the Name of Jesus to a lame man and he went away walking, leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8)! As a believer, you have access to speak the Name of Jesus over your life; God gave you that access and privilege when you were born again. Speaking the Name of Jesus will make tremendous power available in your prayers.

To understand the rights and privileges you have as a believer to speak the Name of Jesus, it’s important to look at an example of those who tried to use the Name of Jesus but had no relationship with God; they were not born again.

In Acts 19, “a group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!’ Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, ‘I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?’ Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered” (verses 13-16). The evil spirit knew Jesus and knew Paul, but didn’t know who these men were; they were not believers.

Jesus made it clear when He said, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18, NKJV).

Throughout the book of Acts, men of God who believed spoke in the Name of Jesus and healings, miracles, signs and wonders occurred. Peter spoke to a man in the Name of Jesus and he got up and walked (Acts 3:6). Philip preached about the Name of Jesus, and as a result, many men and women were baptized (Acts 8:12). Paul cast a demon out of a girl in the Name of Jesus (Acts 16:18). When you know who you are as a believer, and that the Name of Jesus has been given to you to overcome any adversity in life, you will speak that Name boldly in prayer, knowing that every evil spirit has to bow to the Name of Jesus. They recognize who you are in Christ, and they recognize the power you have to speak the Name of Jesus!

Watch How to Release the Power That’s in Jesus’ Name:

Now that you’ve learned How To Pray Powerful Prayers Using the Name of Jesus, look back at that piece of paper with the name of the problem on it. Whatever name is on it, the Name of Jesus is higher. God has made a way for you to be effective in your prayers by giving you the Name of Jesus, which is above every other name (Philippians 2:9). As you stand on God’s Word in the Name of Jesus, you can pray with confidence knowing that your prayers are effective in Heaven’s throne room.

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Evangelist Daniel Kolenda of Christ for All Nations shares how KCM Partners have impacted millions of lives in Africa.

Fifty crusades. Fifty cities. One continent.

A target of 100 million documented decisions for Christ. Seem impossible? It’s not! And you have a part in it. Read on to find out how!

Christ for All Nations

The year was 1974 when evangelist Reinhard Bonnke had a dream: the continent of Africa, washed in the blood of Jesus from south to north; from west to east. A voice cried, “From Cape Town to Cairo, Africa shall be saved!”

As a result of that dream, a global evangelistic association was founded: Christ for All Nations, with a heart for the continent of Africa.

Fast forward to 1984, and a partnership was born. Kenneth and Gloria Copeland sat in a small trailer across from evangelist Bonnke. They were in South Africa, and it was the start of a beautiful relationship that still stands today. “Kenneth Copeland Ministries has been the number one supporter of Christ for all Nations since its inception,” according to evangelist Daniel Kolenda, the current President and CEO of CfaN. During that time, there have been over 90 million documented decisions for Christ!

Watch this video to hear evangelist Daniel Kolenda share the story of Reinhard Bonnke and Kenneth Copeland Ministries first partnering together:

A dream in the night: “Africa shall be saved!

In the early days, evangelist Bonnke was a missionary to a very small, landlocked African nation in southern Africa called Lesotho. Sometimes he would travel a whole day to reach a village; when he arrived, only a handful of people would show up. According to Bonnke, even they didn’t want to get saved. He would pray, “Lord, this cannot be all there is to the glorious gospel.”

He had a dream in the night where he saw the continent of Africa being washed in the blood of Jesus, from south to north, from west to east. He heard a voice in that dream cry, “From Cape Town to Cairo! Africa shall be saved!” It was around that time that evangelist Bonnke met Kenneth Copeland in South Africa. Copeland knocked on the door of Bonnke’s RV and prophesied over him that he would see 1 million people saved in one meeting.

In those days, that number was unthinkable for evangelist Bonnke and his ministry, because they hadn’t even seen a total of 1 million people saved during their ten years of ministry. However, that prophecy came to pass a few years later, in the year 2000, when CfaN saw over 1 million people saved in a single meeting!

Millions of people saved every year

Christ for all Nations is now seeing millions of people saved every year. Since they began counting in 1987, they have seen nearly 90 million documented decisions for Christ. In 2024, the 50^th year of their ministry, they are doing something unprecedented: They are doing 50 crusades in 50 cities; beginning in Cape Town, then moving north through the continent, ending in Cairo, just like in the dream evangelist Bonnke had all those years ago. Evangelist Kolenda believes that in 2024 their ministry will surpass the landmark of 100 million documented decisions for Christ.

Training More Evangelists

CfaN has been working over the past several years to put a strategy in place in which they not only do the crusades themselves, but they bring other evangelists alongside them. They “train them up, then launch them out,” as Kolenda stated it. This program has been happening since 2017.

In the past, they used to do about seven crusades in a year. At that time, seven crusades in one year was a high mark for them. Now, they can do eleven crusades in two weeks because of the multiplication of workers.

See how Christ for all Nations has impacted this KCM Partner’s personal vision and calling:

A Partner’s Journey to Finding Vision

Your Partnership Support Is Making a Difference

According to Kolenda, Kenneth Copeland Ministries is the number one supporter of Christ for all Nations, since their inception 50 years ago. For 40 of those years, KCM has faithfully supported CfaN, since Kenneth Copeland and evangelist Bonnke first met.  Said Kolenda, “I can honestly say that we could not have done this without the generosity of [KCM] and we owe [KCM] a debt of gratitude. I will always love Kenneth Copeland and, more generally [KCM], for that generosity and that faithfulness.”

Partner, because you pray and because you give, you help make the preaching of the gospel to millions of people possible.

Full interview:

Related Article:

Remembering Reinhard Bonnke and Looking Forward to the Future

Words have power, so follow these 3 Steps to Change our Destiny for the better with those words!

The old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” used to be something that parents taught their children, in the hopes that they would respond with indifference to an insult, rather than fight. It may be a catchy phrase, but it is not true; anyone who has been the recipient of an insult knows that words do hurt!

Words have power. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (NKJV). You will experience the fruit of your words, whether good or bad. The good news is that no matter what anyone has said to you, or even what you have already said about yourself, you have the ability to change the trajectory of your destiny today. Follow these 3 Steps To Change Your Destiny for the better with the words of your mouth.

Step 1: Put Right Words Into Your Heart

“What you say flows from what is in your heart.” –Luke 6:45

From the very beginning, God created the world with words. “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Romans 4:17 says, “…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (NKJV). God not only created the world this way, but He also expects you to shape your world this way.

Read The Power of First Words

You don’t have the ability to change the way God set up the system of the world—that the world responds to words. But you do have the ability to choose what words you put into your heart. Galatians 6:8 says, “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (NKJV). You can’t watch movies or spend your time on social media all day and expect to fulfill your destiny. Instead of sowing to the flesh, you can sow to the spirit by taking the time to put the right words into your heart.

How do you get good words into your heart? You spend time with your heavenly Father by reading the Bible and listening to good faith teachings. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). And whatever is in your heart in abundance is going to come out of your mouth. When you choose to put right words into your heart, you are changing your destiny to line up with God’s perfect will for your life.

Step 2: Choose To Speak Right Words

^“I tell you the truth, 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 11:23

Contrary to what many people think, you can’t just speak empty words and expect something to happen. Your words must be filled with faith. And the way you get faith into your heart is by listening to and meditating on the Word of God. Whatever you put into your heart is what will come out of your mouth. Matthew 12:34-35 says, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.”

Even when you know the truth about speaking the right words, choosing to speak those words can sometimes be difficult. Jerry Savelle, a renowned minister of faith, used to compare it to paddling upstream. The whole world is going in one direction; it’s drifting downstream in a negative direction where people are sick and broke and eventually die. He says you have to build yourself a spiritual canoe with God’s Word. You have to grab your faith oars, get yourself turned around, and start rowing the other way.

Watch Jerry Savelle share about faith-filled words:

You will have what you say. Your words have authority to create every time you speak. The Lord told Charles Capps, another minister of faith, “I have told My people that they can have what they say, and they are saying what they have.” Start today by saying what you desire to happen in any situation you’re facing today. Choosing to speak the right words by making everything you say agree with what God says, will usher God’s wonderful destiny into your life.

Step 3: Don’t Change Your Confession

“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” –James 1:6-7

Make the decision that you are not going to change your confession of faith. This will require you to cast down any thoughts that are contrary to what you are believing. “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5, NKJV).

Satan has one tactic in mind—to get you to doubt the Word of God. He wants to trick you into saying something contrary to what you are believing. James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resist his thoughts and suggestions.

Choose not to waver like a wave of the sea. If you waver, you won’t receive. With your words, you either resist or comply with Satan’s demands. With your words, you either resist or comply with God’s Word. It’s your choice. You are in charge; the decision is yours. If you stay steady and don’t change your confession of faith, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, you will see your God-ordained destiny unfold before your eyes.

Read 10 Confessions to Change Your Destiny

God’s destiny for you lies within your heart and your mouth, and by following these 3 Steps To Change Your Destiny, you are moving your life in the right direction, and your words are setting your future—your destiny—in motion (James 3:1-12). Instead of speaking the doubt-filled, fear-filled words you may have heard growing up, or the familiar sayings and phrases of your family, you can choose to fill your heart with the Word of God, speak out in faith, and not only change your destiny but the lives of those who come after you!

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Thanksgiving is more than a holiday in America for the believer— it’s a way of life. Learn How To Live a Life of Thanksgiving by showing gratitude for what God has provided for you through Jesus Christ every day.

What are some memorable traditions you have at Thanksgiving? A common Thanksgiving tradition that occurs in many families is to go around the dinner table and share something for which you are thankful. This idea of gratitude and thankfulness has recently become popular in our world. Many people have gratitude journals or some mantra they speak about being thankful for each day. But really, the idea of being thankful in our culture has been around since what is known as the first Thanksgiving, which happened before America was founded.

The First Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday began in the early 1600s, when two important people groups collided—and then collaborated for the glory of God.

The first group was the Wampanoag Indians led by Squanto. Squanto was taken from America and transported to Spain where he was enslaved, put in a cage, and displayed as a “savage from America.” After being grossly abused, Squanto managed to escape to a monastery where he was given refuge. There he became fluent in English, began reading the Bible, was saved, then baptized in the Holy Spirit. In time, Squanto made it back to his native home and people in America, where God had a mission for him—a mission that would set the course for an entire nation—to one day form an annual holiday to pause their busy lives and give God thanks.

The second group of people was the English settlers—colonists who were God-fearing and Bible-believing people, who wanted nothing more than a land where they could worship freely and give thanks to God without fear of reprisal. But when the English pilgrims began arriving and naturally conflicting with the Indians, it was Squanto who could speak their language—and build a bridge of peace. As the English struggled to survive, Squanto convinced his own people and the settlers to work together for their common welfare.

To celebrate their successful collaboration and the harvest that followed—and to thank God—the native American Indians and English settlers came together for three days to eat, play games, tell stories and get to know one another better. Since then, it has been recognized as the very first Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is more than a holiday in America for the believer— it’s a way of life. Just as these two groups came together in thankfulness to God and each other, you can learn How To Live a Life of Thanksgiving by showing gratitude for what God has provided for you through Jesus Christ every day.

1. Give Thanksgiving for Jesus

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.” –1 John 5:1

The mission God had for Squanto was clear—God rescued him and then used him to save others. Just as Squanto was instrumental in bringing two groups of people together, Jesus’ mission on the earth was to bring every person back in fellowship with God through Himself.

Second Corinthians 5:19 says, “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the word reconcile means “to restore to friendship or harmony.” God reconciled the world to Himself by sending Jesus, so everyone who believes on Jesus is restored to friendship and harmony with God Himself (1 John 5:1).

You may not realize it, but when you believed on Jesus, you became a child of God and thereby gained access to the full redemptive work of Jesus. He provided freedom from spiritual death, freedom from poverty, and freedom from sickness. Knowing the benefits of your salvation can help you live a life of thanksgiving for Jesus and be fully satisfied in your relationship with God.

When you sit down at your Thanksgiving table this year, be sure to pause and give thanksgiving for Jesus and all the many ways He has blessed your life this past year.

2. Give Thanksgiving for Freedom From Spiritual Death

“And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” –Romans 8:2

One benefit of your salvation is the freedom from spiritual death, which is separation from God. Every person is born with a spirit that is separated from God. Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Jesus came and paid the price for your sin, so you could live free from the bondage of it. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When you believe on Jesus, you are no longer separated from God. You have a relationship with Him on the earth and the assurance of living in heaven with Him for eternity; you can rejoice and give God thanksgiving for freedom from spiritual death.

If you feel trapped in a particular sin, be quick to confess Romans 8:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:21, reminding the devil that the Spirit of God has set you free from every sin, and you have been made right with God. Thank God you have been set free from spiritual death!

Watch Kenneth Copeland explain spiritual death HERE.

3. Give Thanksgiving for Freedom From Poverty

“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” –2 Corinthians 8:9

Poverty is not a blessing. People who are in poverty suffer lack and want, unable to provide for their families or give to others. According to Deuteronomy 28:15-31, poverty is a curse of the Law. Jesus came to redeem you from the curse of the Law. Galatians 3:13 says, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” Because of Jesus, you can give Him thanksgiving for freedom from poverty.

If you struggle in the area of finances, give thanks to God for supplying all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to you in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Ask God to help you apply Matthew 6:33— putting God’s kingdom first— and expect that God will take care of you. Then, praise God that Jesus has redeemed you from lack of every kind!

Read From Poverty to Prosperity: The Story of God’s Miracle City HERE.

4. Give Thanksgiving for Freedom From Sickness and Disease

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” –1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)

God thought of everything! In addition to freedom from spiritual death and poverty, God also provided freedom from sickness through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (NKJV). When Jesus hung on the cross, He not only took the sin of all mankind, but He also took the sickness and disease of all mankind. Giving thanksgiving for freedom from sickness is something you can do not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day!

If you have symptoms in your body, apply the Word of God by reading and meditating on healing scriptures. Give thanks to God by saying, “The healing power of God is working in my body now to effect a healing and a cure, because I have been redeemed from sickness and disease!”

Read The Keys That Unlock Healing HERE.

It’s not hard to learn How To Live a Life of Thanksgiving when you remember everything Jesus has done for you! This Thanksgiving, as you sit down at your table to enjoy some turkey and dressing, remember how the holiday originated with the native American Indians and the English settlers coming together. Give thanks to God for your freedom from spiritual death, poverty and sickness. And when someone asks why you’re so thankful, be ready to share the wonderful benefits God has served up for them through Christ!

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