God has a plan for your life, whether you fully understand what it is right now or not. Jeremiah 29:11 promises, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” God’s plan for you is good and it is for your good, because it’s full of His goodness. What’s more, God is more than willing to help you discover what it is, and how to walk in it throughout every season of your life.
One of the best ways to begin stepping into the future God has for you is to learn how to go to Him in prayer, hear what He has to say, and then obey what you hear Him tell you to do—even when it makes no sense, or doesn’t seem possible. After all, all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26). If the idea of all this seems daunting to you, keep reading, because it’s actually much easier than you might think—mostly because when you talk to God, He talks back.
God Speaks His Plans and Purposes
One of the most powerful times in Kenneth Copeland’s life was early in his ministry when God told him to do something he hadn’t necessarily planned on doing—but it opened the door to all the plans God had for Kenneth’s life and for the life of his Partners and the staff that were yet to come. It all began when Kenneth had the necessary legal paperwork drafted for his ministry to be based in Tulsa, where he and Gloria were living at the time—when he was still working for Oral Roberts as a pilot.
God had a different idea, though, and one morning, He said to Kenneth, I’m ready for you now. I want you to go back to Fort Worth because the greatest part of your destiny is there. To which Kenneth replied, “LORD, You know what happened to You in Your hometown” (referencing Luke 4:16-30). “I don’t want to go back…. OK! I’ll go.”
When Brother Harold Nichols called from Grace Temple Church in Fort Worth to ask Kenneth to preach for the church, it served as confirmation. And when the calls kept coming, with more invitations to preach, it was evident that it was time to move. God had so much in mind for Kenneth and Gloria, and obedience was the key to it all happening. But first he had to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit…and trust that He would speak!
God Keeps Speaking His Plan
Not long after moving back to Texas, Kenneth was flying into Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth when he heard in his spirit the booming words of a radio announcer: “Coming to you from The Revival Capital of the World.” Kenneth says he heard it audibly, so much so that he looked down at his audio panel to check if it was indeed in the off position—and it was. He thought, Well, I know where the political capital of the world is, Washington. I know where the entertainment capital of the world is, Hollywood. And the country-music capital of the world is Nashville. So where’s the revival capital of the world? I don’t know. Still, those words stayed in Kenneth’s heart: “Coming to you from The Revival Capital of the World.”
Just a few days later, a board member called Kenneth and said, “There’s a piece of property northwest of town (Fort Worth) that I think you need to see.” Having graduated from high school in Fort Worth, Kenneth knew about the property before he ever stepped foot on it. The 1,520 acres were once home to an airbase, long since abandoned.
When Kenneth and Gloria first visited the property of what is today the headquarters of Kenneth Copeland Ministries and Eagle Mountain International Church, there was nothing left but the airstrip and acreage surrounded by a barbed wire fence. As Kenneth pulled a strand of the barbed wire for Gloria to step through and he stepped over it to join her, he immediately heard the Lord speak to his spirit: This is The Revival Capital of the World and you’re going to build it.
This was what God had declared when he was flying into Fort Worth. And in the natural, Kenneth and Gloria had nothing to build such a thing with, but in the spirit they did—because they had seed in good ground! For the previous few years, they had prayed, believed, confessed and sowed seed for their future. They were believing for the plans and purposes God had for their lives and for all the people they would help. This was the start of the harvest of that seed!
God Always Has Next Steps
Since it was evident that God wanted the property for His plans and purposes for Kenneth and Gloria, so that they could declare His glory, Kenneth’s next step was to find out who owned the land. It was owned by a man named Mr. Puitt. When Kenneth prayed regarding Mr. Puitt, he said, “LORD, I’m not going to see Mr. Puitt until You say so.” And, just like the previous word he heard, “Coming to you from The Revival Capital of the World,” he left the completion of this word with the Lord.
It was quite some time before he heard anything else from God regarding Mr. Puitt, but in the meantime, Gloria, Pastors George and Terri Copeland Pearsons, and other members of their family continued to pray over that word and what God had in mind for their futures.
Then one morning as Kenneth was shaving, the Lord said, Go see Mr. Puitt and tell him I have need of that property.
Kenneth knew to trust God and to obey what he’d heard God say. With God’s direction and the specific words to say, Kenneth went. Mr. Puitt was 89 years old, had never married, and was in the oil and gas business. When Kenneth told him what God had said—that He had need of it—Mr. Puitt said, “Well, it’s for sale.”
Later, when Kenneth explained to Mr. Puitt that he didn’t have the money, and that he didn’t believe it was right to borrow the money, either, Mr. Pruitt said, “I’m going to see you through this thing. You got anything against renting?”
What do you do if what God told you seems impossible? If we’ll obey and do what God has instructed us, God will be faithful to help us walk out His plans and purposes for our lives.
Mr. Puitt devised a plan to divide the land into four quarters, with the idea that the ministry would rent and pay for the land one quarter at a time. When someone else suggested the ministry mine gravel from the land first and sell it to a cement company, the income from the gravel began a flow in while the ministry Partners continued to sow toward the purchase of the land, and together, it paid for all the property. The land was never broken into quarters. There was no need!
Isn’t that just like God? All God ever asks us to do is to pray and ask Him for His plan, then obey what we hear Him say to do. He will always be faithful to help us keep walking out His plans and purposes for our lives. That’s what God did for Kenneth and Gloria, and that’s what He will do for you.
Doubt and Fear Will Try To Separate You From God’s Purpose for Your Life
Don’t let this good news fool you into believing there won’t be some opposition, some difficulty or some hurdles to overcome. You may not experience them in this earthly realm, but you will be in the realm of the spirit—in the realm of your soul where you win or lose the battle against fear, doubt and unbelief.
To stay in faith, we will always have to stay in the Word. When fear becomes greater than our faith, we will most likely sidestep the plans and purposes of God. For that reason, God wants us to be diligent about staying in faith—by staying in His Word.
What has God told you? What are the key verses you’re standing on and speaking into existence? Stay the course so that doubt and fear do not separate you from God’s plans and purpose for your life.
God Will Always Have More Plans
When the ministry was about 30 years old, God opened the door (and technology became available) to access the natural gas on the KCM/EMIC property. Kenneth asked God, “LORD, why did it take so long?”
And God answered, Anyone can preach prosperity with a bunch of gas wells flowing. The wells had to be a product of the message, instead of the message being a product of the wells.
God will always have more for us—more plans, more purpose, more wisdom, more to learn and more to grow. And just like Kenneth experienced, it will all always begin with prayer. From the beginning, Kenneth prayed, heard and believed God; and he and Gloria stepped into what God had for them—and they’ve never stopped. That’s the same process God has for you because God Has a Plan for YOU!
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