Sid: My guest Jennifer LeClaire is red hot for the Messiah; she’s not only successful in ministry she is Editor of News at Charisma Magazine. She has a bestselling secular book tell me about that book Jennifer.
Jennifer: I’ve written six books, the four dummies books, you know the books with the Yellow and Black covers that’s where I got my start in book publishing was producing these secular books on everything from technology to real estate. And it’s funny how God used me in Egypt; trained me in Egypt and then brought me over into the world of ministry to do the same sorts of things. And all along it was a matter of believing in myself.
Sid: That’s what I was going to say; there are many people that are listening to us right now and they have a lot of doubt about “Can they ever get it?” They’re like in a trap but you were in that trap if you will I mean you had lost your job, you had no money, you had a child, you had no child support. I mean I can just picture you pulling your hair out at that time. How did you get from where you were to where you are? Talk to some of these people with this self-doubt.
Jennifer: Yeah it’s such a big big problem with believers and nonbelievers alike this self-doubt because it paralyzes you. I mean if you don’t believe in yourself you’re not going to pursue your dreams. I never graduated college I mean you mentioned I’m a single mother, but I’ve never doubted myself; I never looked at myself the way the world might look at me. I’ve looked at myself the way God looks at me, and that’s really the key is having faith in who God says you are in Christ. We’ve got to be able to battle our insecurities and listen we all have insecurities; we all have little things about ourselves that we wish were different but we have to look past that look at again to what God’s Word says about us. For example I published 6 books Christian books on my own because I believed in the gift of God working in me. And everyone listening God has put a gift in you a unique and special gift in you and what He wants you to do is put a demand on that gift in you; the gift He gave you and it will produce fruit in your life you just have to believe in yourself and moreover you have to believe in Him. So I published these 6 books on my own no backing it took me several years, I wrote them all and published them. It turns out as we talked about in the last broadcast I end up getting two back to back book deals with a major Christian publisher. But all along the way I had plenty of people telling me “Oh why are you writing these books?” You know what’s the point? You know you’re going to have a limited audience, but I didn’t doubt myself despite the naysayers around me I didn’t doubt myself. Doubt is a dream killer and we’ve got to root that out if we’re ever going to walk in the fullness of God’s plan for our lives.
Sid: Okay Jennifer once you get rid of this self-doubt what do you do from there?
Jennifer: Well then you can really go after your dreams then your faith will really work for you at a much higher level because that self-doubt really hinders you. But when you get rid of that and you begin to move in faith in who you are in Christ; when you begin to understand and get the revelation really by meditating on God’s Word that all of His promises are yes and amen. That He has a good plan for your life you begin to pray with more confidence because only faith can break this cycle of unanswered prayers. And you know a lot of time the Lord gave me a revelation on asking. Seeking and knocking; that this whole idea of persistent prayer. Sometimes we ask and we just ask once and we think well that’s enough but sometimes it is enough but it’s not always enough. The Lord showed me that after we ask then we need to seek. When we ask Him for something we know that if it’s His will He’s going to hear us and we know that if He hears us then He’s going to give us that which we asked for. And so once we’ve asked Him for it in faith nothing wavering we should begin to seek it; we should begin to look for that prayer answer. We should begin to look for that open door. But then so we’ve asked and we’ve seeked and now we have to knock. Once we find that open door and we can see it and we can say “We know that this is God.” You’ve been praying for a job; you’ve been seeking a job and now you’ve got a job offer, once you’re convinced that’s God you need to knock on the door because the Bible says in Revelation 3 and 8 that “God opens doors that no one can shut.” And so it’s this attitude of persistent faith of not just being passive because again we talked about before “Faith without works is dead.” So once we ask we need to take action, we need to begin to seek; and once we find what we think is God we need to begin to knock. And we can be assured that God at the appointed time will open the door; and that holds true whether you’re looking for a job, whether you’re looking for reconciliation in a relationship whether you’re looking for healing for your body, whatever promise of God your standing on if you’ll take an act of faith a persistent faith and go after that thing nothing wavering, no doubt, no fear just pure faith you will see the promise of God manifest in your life.
Sid: Alright give me an example like when you were believing God for a condo.
Jennifer: You know Sid I believe in the power of confession, I also believe in taking action according to the wisdom of God. I had for years since 2005, about 2005, I began confessing this “I have an ocean front condo and it is paid for.” And it was the desire of my heart you know I have with it a long list of confessions that are based on the word, but this was a desire of my heart I wanted to live in an ocean front condo. But the prices were just exorbitant I mean this was at the height of the real estate market it was $300, 400, $500,000. I couldn’t see how it would happen but I just kept confessing I live in an ocean front condo and it is paid for. And so this is where you also rely on the wisdom of God we don’t want to get ahead of God just because we’ve been confessing something just sort of go for it out of His jurisdiction. I waited and I waited and I confessed and I prayed and I saved my money. And eventually 2010 rolls around it’s the bottom of the real estate market, I hook up with a real estate agent and I said “Let me just see what’s out there.” And I had saved my money, I began looking at properties and the Lord shored me here you go, here’s your ocean front condo. And it’s paid for, I paid cash for it at the bottom of the market and that’s where the wisdom of God comes in you know you have your confession you get your rhema word, this is a now thing and the wisdom of God comes in and you do it God’s way and now I am completely debt free. I live in an oceanfront condo, I’m looking out at the ocean right now and the boats in the water and I’m just amazed at God. And if you put His principals to work if you believe with your heart and you confess with your mouth God’s will over your life, it will come to pass.
Sid: Jennifer you had a chronic ankle problem but you were believing God. Tell me what you did and what happened.
Jennifer: Yeah, I had rolled my ankle pretty severely and it took a long time to heal it took about a year to heal a very frustrating experience having seen so many breakthroughs a lot of fast breakthroughs in my life I had to really exercise my faith muscle and continue to believe God despite the fact that this was a slow healing. But what was worse was that every summer I would go out on the mission field in Central America and it seemed like every summer I would sustain some sort of injury and often times it was around my ankle it was this sort of old enemy that would continue to harass me at a very inconvenient time where I’m out on the mission field and it’s very hot and I’m having to walk long distances. And I remember one time in particular, when the Holy Spirit said and this goes back to obedience we were talking about another program but we need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. He told me you know don’t go down those steps and I didn’t know why all I knew was that everyone else was coming up and down the steps unloading their baggage from the cars and I didn’t listen. And it’s so dangerous not to listen to the Holy Spirit, I didn’t want to see me like I wasn’t a team player that I was too good to come and move the bags. So I went down the steps and just stepped on something just slightly turned my ankle and I was to where I had my foot up; it was wrapped I couldn’t walk and I was so frustrated. But the Holy Spirit is so gracious and He already saw this coming before I did it and He said to me He says “You know what, how would you act if you were healed?” And again faith without works is dead, and how would you behave, how would you talk, how would you act? And I thought to myself, “Well, I would be happy, I would get up and I would walk around and I would not complain and I would have nothing to complain about. And so that’s what I did I said “You know what I’m just going to go about my business I’m going about my ministry I’m not going to let the enemy stop me. The word says “I’m healed.” I repented to the Holy Spirit, I repented to God for walking down those steps after He told me not to I asked Him to forgive me, I asked Him to heal me, and then I acted like I was healed. I walked right around I went through the rest of the trip no pain, completely free and I’ve never had a problem with that ankle since then and that was many years ago.
Sid: Okay, out of curiosity when you first determined “I’m going to just act as if I’m healed, did your ankle hurt you?
Jennifer: It did, (laughing) it continued to bother me I guess for about a day and the pain gradually went away; it wasn’t instant. So many things with God we want them to be instant it’s not always instant but if you’ll be persistent you will see the breakthrough.
Sid: What other principal did you learn from that?
Jennifer: You know beyond persistence I learned that the battle was reinforced in me that the battle really is in your mind. We have to guard our hearts because what happens is well meaning believers, well-meaning Christians they saw that I rolled my ankle, they knew that I had issues with my ankle of course everyone runs around me and you know I’m so sorry and asking you well, how’s your ankle? Well I don’t want you to ask me how it is because really I don’t want to be disingenuous my ankle was hurting I didn’t want to confess that. And so you have to be careful you know what you even say; who you tell you know what you confess. You don’t want to be less than truthful if you’re sick you’re sick, but you don’t want that to be your confession. I learned how to balance that by saying “Well you know it’s still hurting but praise God I believe I’m healed and that pain is leaving now in Jesus Name.” And just continue to declare God’s Word despite the circumstances that are manifesting.
Sid: What about you do you have a cycle of answered prayer, is there something like a disconnect going on. Well most people don’t understand how to fight those enemies that are blocking your faith and the enemies are doubt and unbelief.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth