Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer

be steadfast. He kept praising and giving glory to God. The Bible states that as he did so, he grew strong in faith.
    You see, when God tells us something or asks us to do something, the faith to believe it or to do it comes with the word from God. It would be ridiculous for God to expect us to do something and not give us the ability to believe that we can do it. Satan knows how dangerous we will be with a heart full of faith, so he attacks us with doubt and unbelief.
    It is not that we don't have faith, it is just that Satan is trying to destroy our faith with lies.
    Let me give you an example. It concerns the time when I received my call to the ministry. It was an ordinary morning like any other, except that I had been filled with the Holy Spirit three weeks earlier. I had just finished listening to my first teaching tape. It was a message by minister Ray Mossholder titled "Cross Over to the Other Side." I was stirred in my heart and amazed that anyone could teach for one whole hour from one Scripture and that all of his teaching would be interesting.
    As I was making my bed, I suddenly felt an intense desire well up in me to teach God's Word. Then the voice of the Lord came to me saying,
    "You will go all over the place and teach My Word, and you will have a large teaching tape ministry."
    There would have been no natural reason at all for me to believe that God had actually spoken to me, or that I could or ever would do what I thought I had just heard. I had many problems within myself. I would not have appeared to be "ministry material," but God chooses the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV.) 
    He looks on the heart of man and not the flesh. (1 Samuel 16:7.) If the heart is right, God can change the flesh.
    Although there was nothing in the natural to indicate that I should believe, when the desire came over me, I was filled with faith that I could do what the Lord wanted me to do. When God calls, He gives desire, faith and ability to do the job. But, I also want to tell you that during the years I spent in training and waiting, the devil regularly attacked me with doubt and unbelief.
    God places dreams and visions in the hearts of His people; they begin as little "seeds." Just as a woman has a seed planted into her womb when she becomes pregnant, so we become "pregnant," so to speak, with the things God speaks and promises. During the "pregnancy," Satan works hard to try and get us to "abort" our dreams. One of the tools he uses is doubt; another is unbelief. Both of these work against the mind.
    Faith is a product of the spirit; it is a spiritual force. The enemy doesn't want you and me to get our mind in agreement with our spirit.
    He knows that if God places faith in us to do a thing, and we get positive and start consistently believing that we can actually do it, then we will do considerable damage to his kingdom.
    KEEP WALKING ON THE WATER!
    But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch [between 3:00-6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
    And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright.
    But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!
    And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
    He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.
    But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!
    Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
    And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Matthew 14:24-32
    I emphasized the last verse because I