14/01/2014 - RECEIVE FULL JOY

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Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

Today I want to talk about something that helped me a lot. One day I had prayed for a blessing and it came almost complete, so I started praying for it to be full. A long time went by and one day, when it seemed that there was no way but to resort to man’s assistance, the Lord reminded me of this verse from the Epistle of John. It made me very happy so I declared that my blessing had already been given and eventually it was!

Jesus did not speak these words at random. They were spoken to people with the aim of admonishing them that they should not accept half-fulfilled promises. What happens is this: by reading the Bible or listening to the preaching of the Word our attention is called to a part that we understand. When this occurs our spirit rejoices, which means the Lord visited us. His visitation happens so that His promise is fulfilled.

Before God’s visit to us our prayers had not gotten to His throne; it is like we had never said anything. But when we understand the Word and our heart rejoices we can ask, ordain and thank Him for having received an answer. So do not accept half or even 99% of a healing. It has to be 100%; it has to come in a total and complete manner.

About five years ago, when I was undergoing a medical checkup, one of the doctors said I had a hernia. As I saw nothing abnormal in my body, I thought he was a quack who was just trying to earn some money with a surgery. Two years later or so I had appendicitis and had to have an operation.

A few days later I asked the doctor who performed the surgery why he did not operate the hernia as well. He assured me that there was no hernia, but I felt a small lump at the right side of my navel. At times I thought it was the result of a laparoscopy I had undergone when I had appendicitis. However, one day while praying during the recording of the Faith Show program in São Paulo, I felt as if the right side of my abdomen was being torn up. At the time, I commanded it to stop, and it really did stop. However, a large lump formed and continued to grow.

I prayed for the Lord to heal me and in October 2012, when I was preaching in the city of Curitiba, Jesus reminded me of this verse in the Gospel of John and when I mentioned it during the service I realized that I just had to believe for my hernia to be healed. So I believed and praised the Lord God and I was healed.  In the following days I continued to feel discomfort in my abdomen, but I held my ground, praising the Almighty for His Word and my joy was full!

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares