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Back-Porch Praise porch facing another sleepless night. One heating pad was wrapped around my calf. Another was wrapped around my thigh. Each was held on by t was turned as high as I could get it. But nothing seemed to help—I was still lying there on my back crying. I didn't feel very grateful. I certainly didn't look very grateful. Right in the middle of all that pain, though, the Spirit of God dropped it in my heart to begin shouting out my gratitude for all my heavenly Father had done for me. "Oh, Father, I'm so grateful to You! I'm grateful that my other leg doesn't hurt. I'm so grateful my arms aren't hurting, my fingers are all working well, and my head doesn't hurt—it is sleepy, but it doesn't hurt!" In the midst of all that pain, by an act of obedience I expressed gratitude to God…by faith! More Praise—Less Pain Being grateful by faith. Not by feeling. Not by temperament. But by a deliberate act of faith, I did something I'd done many times before. That night on the porch I decided I would no longer talk about the way I felt, my flesh or its condition. Instead of focusing on the pain and hurt, I filled my thoughts and mouth with gratitude for my life, my family, for all the years I've been in ministry, and for every other good thing that arose in my spirit. I started praising and thanking God and the more I praised Him, the less pain I had in my leg. A nd as I was e x pressing my gratitude to Him, God began talking to me. e more He talked, the better I felt. Each day I progressed; not one day was as bad as the day before. There were a number of things that brought me to the place where complete healing manifest in my body. Šousands of my Partners; many believers from Spirit-Žlled churches; faith-talking, true healing- believing doctors; my family and friends; all added their faith to mine. Not h ing, however, had more impact than what began that night on the porch. Še moment I began thanking God for all that was going right in my life, I was on my way out of the problem. Redirected Focus If you'll think about it, we only have two real options in times of extreme pressure. Šose options are to focus either on the problem…or the gratitude. You cannot do both at the same time. For instance, what happens if you have one sore finger? You may have nine f ingers, toes, arms, ears and numerous other body parts that are working perfectly, but that isn't your focus. No. All you can think about is how you are going to get that one finger healed. You begin confessing healing scriptures and try to decide what else you need to confess or do, to stop the pain. But if you don't water t hose c o n f e s s i o n s w i t h p r a i s e a n d thanksgiving, your focus on the one sore finger—or whatever problem—will continue to dominate your thinking. If you don't redirect your focus, the problem can consume you. So start giving God thanks for everything that is working right. Praise Him for all the good things He has done in your life. As you do, you'll come to a place where you can release your faith and receive your answer. "Yeah, but Brother Copeland, you don't know what has happened to me." You're right, I don't. But I do know you're breathing—not pushing up grass! So just start thank ing God for your life! Remind yourself that no mat ter what your circumstances are—it could be a whole lot worse. You're not dead yet! And this principle applies to far more than just receiving healing. Expressing gratitude by faith will change everything around you. It will change the whole complexion of your life. Shouts Silence the Devil I'm not saying the challenges will be over when you start Žllin g the atmosphere with shouts of praise and thanksgiving. In fact once you begin praising God with purpose, you'll become a prime target for the devil. Why? It'll scare the daylights out of him when you begin operating in B V O V : 3 continued on pg. 7 + watch Learn more about the life-changing power of a grateful heart!