Today's Question: I am a minister in Oklahoma who has recently been studying the various aspects of Word of Faith Doctrine. I successfully navigated my way through the fear-mongering and altered my theology in regards to the sufferings of Christ.

At this point I am on a personal quest in trying to find all that I can on what the heresy hunters call the "little gods" doctrine. I have done a lot of study in the Word and am at the doorway to full acceptance of this. What I want to do now is seek Godly counsel (most of what I have read on your site is right on target) before I delve full on into the fight. Could you give me your perspective on this doctrine? I'd like to have a full amount of ammunition to defend the faith.

The secret of answered prayer is very clear in Scripture. Note how simple the Bible is on this point:

• "Have faith in God. For everily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith, Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them [believe that you have received them], and ye shall have them." - Mk 11:22-24.
• "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" - Heb. 11:6.
• "If any of you lack wisdom [or any thing else], let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him, but let him ask in faith nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." - Jas. 1:5-9

The central thought in all these passages is: "Believe that you have got it and you shall have it." Believe that it is already yours. See yourself with it. Believe that you have got it already whether you literally see it or not.

John Chapter 15 should give every Christian pause.

I won't quote the whole chapter here, you can read it in your very own Bible, but be warned - God says what He means and means what He says. Theologians may try to "explain it away" but the message in John 15 is very clear.

Every believer in Christ is referred to by this illustration beginning in John 15:1 or the scripture is meaningless. If the believer is fruitful he is purged to produce more fruit. If he is fruitless he is taken away or removed from being part of the vine.

The Father does this, not man. No man is able to pluck one branch from God's hands, but if we say that God cannot cut off any branch that is fruitless, then we limit God and make the dead, fruitless, and useless branches to be more powerful than He is.