Abraham…Moses…David…Solomon…why did God bless
these men? Why have so few men found the blessings of God
in finance? We need to renew our minds to God’s reason for
financial blessings. In the book of Deuteronomy, we see the
predominant rule to remember in living a prosperous life: “And
thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath
gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God:
for it is he that giveth thee the power to get wealth, that he may
establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this
day” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

The predominant rule: God gives the power to get wealth.

Why? To establish His covenant.

Let’s read further from Deuteronomy 9:5-6: “Not for thy
righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to
possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord
thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform
the word which the Lord swore unto thy fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth
thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for
thou art a stiff-necked people.” In other words, Moses was saying,
“God didn’t drive those people from their land because of
your righteousness. He did it because He promised to do it. He
had made an agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Now
the people did everything they possibly could to keep Him
from it. They broke the covenant in every way, but God instituted
the priesthood to offer sacrifices for their sins. They had
no righteousness to rely on, so God gave them a way out. He
went to great lengths to establish the covenant even among
unrighteous people!

Deuteronomy 29:9 says, “Keep therefore the words of this
covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.”
According to this, we should be prosperous in everything we
do, but we must keep the words of the covenant.

God gave instructions along these same lines to Joshua
during the most critical situation in his life. Moses was dead
and Joshua was to take over leadership of Israel in his place,
a very difficult job to do. Moses…the man who talked with
God face to face…the man who produced water from a rock
in the middle of the desert. Moses walked in prosperity!
When he needed water, God gave him the ability to get it.
The power of God brought the water, and it was priceless!
This is real prosperity!

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

1 Peter 2:24
KJV—Who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree, that we, being dead
to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed.

Amp—He personally bore our sins in His
[own] body to the tree [as to an altar and
offered Himself on it], that we might die
(cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness.
By His wounds you have been healed.

Moffatt—He bore our sins in his own body
on the gibbet, that we might break with sin
and live the good life; it is by his wounds
that you have been healed.

NEB—In his own person he carried our sins
to the gibbet, so that we might cease to live
for sin and begin to live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 54:8-17
KJV—In a little wrath I hid my face from
thee for a moment; but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the
Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters
of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah should no more go over
the earth; so have I sworn that I would not
be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy on thee.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest,
and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy
stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations
with sapphires. And I will make
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of
carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant
stones. And all thy children shall be taught
of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of
thy children.

In righteousness shalt thou be established:
thou shalt be far from oppression;
for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for
it shall not come near thee. Behold, they
shall surely gather together, but not by me:
whosoever shall gather together against
thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have
created the smith that bloweth the coals in
the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument
for his work; and I have created the
waster (that) destroys.

No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord, and their righteousness is
of me, saith the Lord.

Amp—In a little burst of wrath I hid My
face from you for a moment, but with age enduring
love and kindness I will have compassion
and mercy on you, says the Lord,
your Redeemer. For this is as the days of
Noah to Me; as I have sworn that the waters
of Noah should no more go over the
earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry
with you or rebuke you. For though the
mountains should depart and the hills be
shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness
shall not depart from you, nor shall
My covenant of peace and completeness
be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion
on you.

O you afflicted, storm-tossed and not
comforted, behold, I will set your stones in
fair colors—in antimony [to enhance their
brilliance]—and lay your foundations with
sapphires. And I will make your windows
and pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies,
and your gates of [shining] carbuncles,
and all the walls of your enclosures
of precious stones. And all your [spiritual]
children shall be disciples—taught of the
Lord [and obedient to His will]; and great
shall be the peace and undisturbed composure
of your children.

You shall establish yourself on righteousness—
right, in conformity with God’s will
and order; you shall be far even from the
thought of oppression or destruction, for
you shall not fear; and from terror, for it
shall not come near you. Behold, they may
gather together and stir up strife, but it is
not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against
you shall fall away to you. Behold, I have
created the smith who blows on the fire of
coals, and who produces a weapon for its
purpose, and I have created the devastator
to destroy.

But no weapon that is formed against
you shall prosper, and every tongue that
shall rise against you in judgment you shall
show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness,
security, triumph over opposition]
is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
[those in whom the ideal Servant of the
Lord is reproduced]. This is the righteousness
or the vindication which they obtain
from Me—this is that which I impart to them
as their justification—says the Lord.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Malachi 4:2
KJV—But unto you that fear my name shall
the Sun of righteousness arise with healing
in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stall.

Amp—But unto you who revere and
worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in His wings
and His beams, and you shall go forth and
gambol like calves released from the stall
and leap for joy.

Moffatt—But for you, my worshipers, the
saving Sun shall rise with healing in his rays,
and you shall leap like calves freed from
the pen.

NEB—But for you who fear my name, the
sun of righteousness shall rise with healing
in his wings, and you shall break loose like
calves released from the stall.

Philippians 2:13
KJV—For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Amp—[Not in your own strength] for it
is God Who is all the while effectually at
work in you—energizing and creating in you
the power and desire—both to will and to
work for His good pleasure and satisfaction
and delight.

Moffatt—For it is God who in his goodwill
enables you to will this and to achieve it.

NEB—For it is God who works in you,
inspiring both the will and the deed, for his
own chosen purpose.

John 10:10
KJV—The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that
they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly.

Amp—The thief comes only in order that
he may steal and may kill and may destroy.
I came that they may have and enjoy life,
and have it in abundance—to the full, till
it overflows.

Moffatt—The thief only comes to steal, to
slay, and to destroy: I have come that they
may have life and have it to the full.

NEB—The thief comes only to steal, to kill,
to destroy; I have come that men may have
life, and may have it in all its fullness.

Isaiah 53:4-5
KJV—Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But
he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.

Amp—Surely He has borne our griefs—
sickness, weakness and distress—and
carried our sorrows and pain [of punishment].
Yet we ignorantly considered Him
stricken, smitten and afflicted by God [as if
with leprosy]. But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt
and iniquities; the chastisement needful to
obtain peace and well-being for us was upon
Him, and with the stripes that wounded Him
we are healed and made whole.

Moffatt—And yet ours was the pain he bore,
the sorrow he endured! We thought him suffering
from a stroke at God’s own hand; yet
he was wounded because we had sinned,
’twas our misdeeds that crushed him; ’twas for
our welfare that he was chastised, the blows
that fell to him have brought us healing.

NEB—Yet on himself he bore our sufferings,
our torments he endured, while we counted
him smitten by God, struck down by disease
and misery; but he was pierced for our
transgressions, tortured for our iniquities;
the chastisement he bore is health for us
and by his scourging we are healed.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

The second great hindrance to prayer is the lack of knowledge
of our right-standing with God. Most people do not understand
what God actually did in Christ Jesus at Calvary. Jesus
became our sin so we could become the righteousness of God
(2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteousness is right-standing with God.

Your righteousness is vitally important in the field of prayer. We
saw in Ephesians 6 that righteousness is a breastplate.
Your right-standing with God gives you the right to
approach God in prayer without a sense of guilt,
sin or condemnation. There is a confidence you
experience, knowing you will receive when you ask
in faith, believing.

Romans 3:21-23 says, “But now the righteousness of God
without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith
of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there
is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” The Apostle Paul said the right to expect God to
answer your prayers is upon all and unto all them that believe.
No man on earth deserves God’s righteousness. But when he
receives Jesus as Lord, he is placed in right-standing with God.
He is made the righteousness of God by grace through faith.

The Word says God is not holding sin against the world
(2 Corinthians 5:17-21). He sent Jesus to take your place. If
you recognize this and let Him be your righteousness, God
will answer your prayer as if Jesus Himself prayed it. When
you realize that, you have your breastplate of righteousness
working for you. Something priceless is working in your life.

You may think you are the worst sinner the world has ever
seen. Any man who considers himself so far gone God cannot
reach him, must think that he is bigger than God. Through
the new birth, Jesus has made us the righteousness of God
through His sacrifice at Calvary. No sin Satan could dream up
is big enough to change that!

Romans 5:17 says, “For if by one man’s offence death
reigned by one….” (That, of course, was the offense committed
by Adam in the Garden of Eden. It brought death into the
earth.) “…much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.” As born-again believers, we have been made
the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore, we have been
given the ability to reign in this life. We must take advantage
of our right-standing relationship with God. We will then see
the results we desire in prayer.

James 5:16 says, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much.” You may have read that verse of
scripture and thought, You know, if I were just righteous….
Jesus died for you! The righteousness He bought for you at
Calvary is more than enough to make your prayers effective.
Romans 5:17 says righteousness is a gift and Romans 3:22
says it is “unto all…them that believe.”

God is moved when a man believes His Word. If you are
believing, then James 5:16 says your prayer will avail much.
Faith qualifies you for answered prayer!

You have a God-given right to expect God to answer your
prayer. Don’t let the devil deceive you into thinking God will
not answer. Jesus said whatsoever you shall ask the Father
in His Name, He will give it to you. As long as you can pray,
believing, you will not be defeated. If you know your right standing
with God, you will not be overcome.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland