April 2012 Partner Letter
Dear Partner,
What do you do when you or your loved ones are facing a desperate situation? How do you hold on to your faith in God when hard times come and all hope seems lost?
I’m not asking a hypothetical question. I’m talking about where the rubber meets the road… I’m talking about what you need to know and do when hard times come your way…
Right now, I feel an URGENT need to help you to be rooted and grounded in God’s Word, so you can be strong in the Lord. I have seen the prayer requests that have been coming in to the Abundant Life Prayer Group. So many people are crying out to God for help in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances. They’re telling me…
“I know God has His timing, but I need a financial miracle, and I need it now…” “Pray for my mother—she has cancer, and she is scared and tired of fighting…” “Lord, please give my marriage another chance and let us be a family again…” “I dread another night of insomnia. I have cried out to God and feel very depressed…” “My daughter is fighting breast cancer that has gone into the bone. She has two little girls. Please pray for healing so they will have their mom…”
Partner, maybe you or your loved ones are facing something just as desperate right now. But I have a word of HOPE and LIFE from the Lord for you… He is not the source of sickness, disease, lack, poverty, depression, or any other wicked thing that may try to rise up against you. No—He is a GOOD GOD, and He has something GOOD for you!
Don’t let painful circumstances hinder you from seeing God for who He really is—the Lord who saves, delivers, heals, and provides for you. What He has to
give you is so much better than anything the world can offer. He wants you to…
KNOW the depths of His love and be filled with His fullness (Ephesians 3:17–19).
BE TOGETHER with Him, not separated from Him by anything (Romans 8:38–39).
HAVE VICTORY over every weapon formed against you and every lie told about you (Isaiah 54:17).
BE FREE FROM WORRY, praying for your needs and having His peace in your heart and mind (Philippians 4:6–7).
RECEIVE all you need, lacking no good thing (Psalm 34:10).
BE HEALED of every sickness and disease that would try to attack your body (1 Peter 2:24).
You may say, Richard, I really want to believe God. But my situation looks so bad. The problem I’m facing has already defeated everyone else I know. So, how can I believe God that I’ll escape from it? That doesn’t seem possible…
But the Bible says, With God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). He is greater than your situation! Remember, your circumstances can change, but His Word is forever settled in heaven—it’s a sure and stable foundation for you to rely on during hard times. So, whatever you may be facing, it’s crucial to keep your eyes on God and His Word instead of on your circumstances.
Remember, God’s power to turn things around for you is UNLIMITED! He can do the impossible…the miraculous…the unusual…
I am reminded of the story of the Apostle Paul on the Isle of Malta (Acts chapters 27–28). Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and was being sent by ship to Rome to face trial. God had told Paul, “Don’t worry, because you will preach for Me in Rome.” But during the journey, a terrible storm came up, and it lasted for many days. It looked like the ship would sink and they would drown. But God intervened and kept them alive, in keeping with His Word to Paul.
(Maybe you feel like you’re about to drown under the weight of your circumstances…but God can rescue you, just as He rescued Paul from the storm.)
Eventually, Paul’s ship ran aground at Malta and broke apart, but everyone miraculously made it to shore. Paul survived the storm, but then another attack came. (That’s just like the devil, isn’t it? You may feel like that’s happening to you too…attack after attack…but don’t give in to fear and doubt, because God has a plan for you, just as He had a plan for Paul. Look at what God did next…)
Everyone was wet and cold, so they built a fire. Paul gathered sticks, but there was a snake hidden in the bundle. As he put the sticks in the fire, the snake jumped out and bit him. And it wouldn’t let go! It fastened on to Paul’s arm and continued to pump venom into his body. Paul shook the snake off, but everyone saw what happened. They knew the snake was poisonous, and they expected Paul to die. It seemed impossible for him to survive.
It reminds me of the devil and the sicknesses he tries to put on us… He wants to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to give us abundant life, according to John 10:10! Like Paul, we must refuse to give in to the devil’s attack. We must shake off any doubt and fear, resisting the devil and submitting to God…
That’s what Paul did… He shook off the attack, making up his mind to believe God that the snakebite wasn’t going to stop him. He sat by the fire and warmed himself. He didn’t collapse… He didn’t get sick… After a while, everyone realized that Paul wasn’t going to die. This miracle from God led to a revival on Malta as Paul shared the Good News of Jesus, and many people were healed.
We might be tempted to think of Paul’s deliverance from the snake poison as unusual. But it was no more unusual than the time that Elijah told Naaman the leper to dip seven times in the Jordan River, and the leprosy would leave his body, and his flesh would become like that of a little child (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman did it—and he was healed!
It certainly wasn’t more unusual than for Jesus to say to Peter, “Let’s go fishing. Take your rod and reel. You don’t need any bait. Just throw your hook in, and the first fish you catch will have money in its mouth, and you can pay your taxes with it” (Matthew 17:27). Peter did it—and he received the money he needed to pay his taxes!
Partner, miracles happen today, just as they happened in the time of Jesus and Paul and Elijah… It reminds me of the time I preached in Jos, Nigeria. A young man of about twenty, by the name of Abdul, was there. He couldn’t walk. He crawled on the ground, pulling himself along. His parents carried him to the post office each day to beg for money. Everyone knew him as “the beggar of Jos.” He had never taken a step in his life…
But I didn’t know that! All I knew was that God gave me a word of knowledge: “Someone crippled in their legs is being healed right now. Rise up and come forward.”
I gave that word, just as I do on television and in my healing meetings, as the Lord leads me. Pretty soon I saw the crowd part, and they began to cheer. A young man was walking toward me. He looked normal. He made his way to the platform and began to run and jump. I said to my interpreter, “What is going on?” He told me Abdul’s story.
Abdul, the beggar of Jos, took that word from the Lord and made a critical decision to believe God! And he walked up on that platform—totally healed! The Jos newspapers carried the story of his healing on the front page. The next night, more than 100,000 people came to hear the Word of God. Thousands gave their heart to Christ, and many were healed by His power.
Miraculous? Yes! Impossible? Unusual? Not for God…
Now, here’s what this means to YOU… God has called me as an evangelist in the healing ministry, and He has called us to be partners together in sharing the Good News that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to restore our relationship with Him—to save us, heal us, and provide for us. It’s my job as your partner to pray and believe God’s Word in agreement with you for your needs to be met. And I believe He is giving me a word for you in this letter, just like He gave me a word in Jos, Nigeria, for Abdul, the beggar who was miraculously healed by God.
Let me ask you this… What unusual thing do you need right now? Are you ready to put your faith in God to turn around those situations that have seemed impossible to solve? He’s done it for other partners of this ministry… Look at what He has done lately for people just like you…
Karen from Pennsylvania wrote: “I sent in a prayer request for my son so he would turn from the downward path he was on. I put my faith in God for a miracle. Within a day or two, my son told me he was done with the drinking and drugs, and he was turning away from that way of living. Thank you for your prayers… We have been praying for him for a number of years.”
It is NOT impossible for God to set a person free from years of drug and alcohol addiction!
Ami in California emailed: “I called for prayer for my son, who was being tested for blocked arteries due to congestive heart failure. None was found. He’s back at work. What’s more, he has changed his diet and is exercising. I have prayed for 30 years for this lifestyle change, and I am so grateful that he is doing so well. Praise God! Thank you for praying!”
It is NOT unusual for God to heal a person and help him change his lifestyle after 30 years of bad habits!
Alfred from Singapore shared this praise report: “Thank you for your television program, The Place for Miracles. Having the words of Jesus ministered to me has provided me support during the days when I am down. To everyone behind the television program—Thank you!”
It is NOT unusual or impossible for God to reach people with a word of encouragement and hope at the exact moment when they need it!
Kirk in Arizona gave this testimony: “I was having major anger at a business associate yesterday and asked for agreement in prayer for God to remove the anger and resolve our conflict. Those prayers were answered, and we’re back on track. Thank you so much.”
My friend… It is NOT unusual or impossible for God to free you from anger and resolve problems in your relationships! And what God has done for others, He can do for you, because He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).
Remember, God has the supernatural power to turn around what seems to be an impossible situation. And He can do it in an unusual way if that’s what it takes! As you obey Him, He can work behind the scenes in your situation to bring about good for you and those you love.
So, trust Him and do what He tells you to do. When He tells you to pray, then pray and keep praying until you receive the answer. When He tells you to share with others the life-saving message of what Jesus has done, do it and expect signs and wonders to follow. And when He tells you to give, then give cheerfully, believing that He will meet your needs!
I want to pray and agree with you, believing God with you for His victory over your circumstances and for your needs to be met abundantly, according to 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, which says, Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Take time RIGHT NOW to fill out your Prayer Response… Let me know what areas in your life need God’s grace and abundance… Tell me how I can pray for your specific needs and how I can pray for your loved ones. Let’s stand together and believe God for GOOD things to happen to you and those you care about—in abundance!
As you prepare to send in your Prayer Response, ask the Lord what seed He would have you sow right now into this healing ministry. Your seed doesn’t buy you a miracle… God answers prayers in response to your faith, not your money. But when you sow in faith to Him, you tap into His sufficiency and His abundance.
It is crucial that you understand the power in your seed-sowing! Remember, God ordained the principle of seedtime and harvest (Genesis 8:22). When you plant seed as He directs, it will grow into a harvest in due time (Galatians 6:7,9).
Today, it is more important than ever to plant your seeds in God’s Kingdom, where it is protected by His unlimited power until it produces the harvest you need. The world’s economy is in turmoil…
But God’s economy is safe and secure! You can trust Him to care for your seed, grow it, and use it to give back to you just as He has promised to do for you in Luke 6:38, which says: Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
When you sow into the good ground of this healing ministry, remember that you are supporting the Abundant Life Prayer Group. Our prayer partners are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to pray and believe God with you when all hell seems to break loose in your life. And we’re here to rejoice with you when God answers those prayers and brings about a mighty deliverance for you and your loved ones.
As your partner, I’m believing with you for a good harvest from every seed you sow to the Lord through this ministry… I’m honored to pray and agree with you for miracles, blessings, God’s goodness, and His ideas, concepts, and insights for every area of your life. He has such good plans for you, and I’m glad that the Oral Roberts Ministries is a part of what He is doing for you.
I am expecting to hear from you very, very soon!
Your partner for miracles,
Richard Roberts
PS. Partners like you change the world every day! Remember, the outreaches of this healing ministry are paid for by your giving. But we must ACT NOW to reach as many people as we can with God’s saving, healing, and delivering power. Don’t miss the chance to increase the impact of your seed-sowing… Sign up for monthly automated giving, or increase your monthly automated giving…and choose one of the special offers we have for you on the Prayer Response form! Your every gift makes a difference in the lives we reach together through this healing ministry.
