What kinds of “evil work” will the devil bring through that open door? Everything from depression to murder. Yes, murder! That was envy’s first recorded act. It was responsible for the first human bloodshed. You can read about it in Genesis 4. There, the Bible tells us:

In course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Able brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, and you must master it (verses 3-7, AMP).

What was Cain feeling? He was feeling envy because his brother had the Lord’s approval and he didn’t.

Now, notice the Lord didn’t say, “Oh, Cain, don’t worry about that. After all, those feelings are only natural. You’re just experiencing a little sibling rivalry.”

No, He said, “Cain, sin is crouching at your door.”

We all need to heed those words. We need to realize that envy is sin. It’s the opposite of love. It is of the devil and if we let it stay in our lives, very soon we’ll be yielding to the evil spirit that governs it. That’s what Cain did, and as a result he “rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him” (verse 8, AMP).

That wasn’t an isolated incident either. You can follow the deadly tracks of envy all the way through the Bible.

Psalm 106, for example, says Dathan envied Moses and Aaron. You know what happened to him, don’t you? He was swallowed up by the earth.

Envy sparked Jacob’s sons to sell Joseph into slavery just to get rid of him. But instead of getting better, their lives grew worse. Finally, they had to go to another country to get enough food to keep their families from starving to death.

In the New Testament, the Pharisees’ attitude toward Jesus was poisoned by envy. Ultimately, we know it drove them to kill Him, for Matthew 27:18 says, “It was because of envy that they had handed Him over to [Pilate]” (AMP).

From Genesis to Revelation, you can see envy doing its sinister work, trying to stop the plan of God.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

1 John 3:8
KJV—For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the devil.

Amp—The reason the Son of God was
made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy,
loosen and dissolve) the works the
devil [has done].

Moffatt—He who commits sin belongs
to the devil, for the devil is a sinner from
the very beginning. (This is why the Son
of God appeared, to destroy the deeds of
the devil.)

NEB—The man who sins is a child of the
devil, for the devil has been a sinner from
the first; and the Son of God appeared for
the very purpose of undoing the devil’s work.

Revelation 12:11
KJV—And they overcame him by the blood
of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Amp—And they have overcome (conquered)
him by means of the blood of
the Lamb and by the utterance of their
testimony, for they did not love and cling
to life even when faced with death—holding
their lives cheap till they had to die [for
their witnessing].

Moffatt—But they have conquered him by
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony; they had to die for it, but
they did not cling to life.

NEB—By the sacrifice of the Lamb they
have conquered him, and by the testimony
which they uttered; for they did not hold
their lives too dear to lay them down.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

1 Peter 2:24
KJV—Who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree, that we, being dead
to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed.

Amp—He personally bore our sins in His
[own] body to the tree [as to an altar and
offered Himself on it], that we might die
(cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness.
By His wounds you have been healed.

Moffatt—He bore our sins in his own body
on the gibbet, that we might break with sin
and live the good life; it is by his wounds
that you have been healed.

NEB—In his own person he carried our sins
to the gibbet, so that we might cease to live
for sin and begin to live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 54:8-17
KJV—In a little wrath I hid my face from
thee for a moment; but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the
Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters
of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah should no more go over
the earth; so have I sworn that I would not
be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy on thee.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest,
and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy
stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations
with sapphires. And I will make
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of
carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant
stones. And all thy children shall be taught
of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of
thy children.

In righteousness shalt thou be established:
thou shalt be far from oppression;
for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for
it shall not come near thee. Behold, they
shall surely gather together, but not by me:
whosoever shall gather together against
thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have
created the smith that bloweth the coals in
the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument
for his work; and I have created the
waster (that) destroys.

No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord, and their righteousness is
of me, saith the Lord.

Amp—In a little burst of wrath I hid My
face from you for a moment, but with age enduring
love and kindness I will have compassion
and mercy on you, says the Lord,
your Redeemer. For this is as the days of
Noah to Me; as I have sworn that the waters
of Noah should no more go over the
earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry
with you or rebuke you. For though the
mountains should depart and the hills be
shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness
shall not depart from you, nor shall
My covenant of peace and completeness
be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion
on you.

O you afflicted, storm-tossed and not
comforted, behold, I will set your stones in
fair colors—in antimony [to enhance their
brilliance]—and lay your foundations with
sapphires. And I will make your windows
and pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies,
and your gates of [shining] carbuncles,
and all the walls of your enclosures
of precious stones. And all your [spiritual]
children shall be disciples—taught of the
Lord [and obedient to His will]; and great
shall be the peace and undisturbed composure
of your children.

You shall establish yourself on righteousness—
right, in conformity with God’s will
and order; you shall be far even from the
thought of oppression or destruction, for
you shall not fear; and from terror, for it
shall not come near you. Behold, they may
gather together and stir up strife, but it is
not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against
you shall fall away to you. Behold, I have
created the smith who blows on the fire of
coals, and who produces a weapon for its
purpose, and I have created the devastator
to destroy.

But no weapon that is formed against
you shall prosper, and every tongue that
shall rise against you in judgment you shall
show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness,
security, triumph over opposition]
is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
[those in whom the ideal Servant of the
Lord is reproduced]. This is the righteousness
or the vindication which they obtain
from Me—this is that which I impart to them
as their justification—says the Lord.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

The second great hindrance to prayer is the lack of knowledge
of our right-standing with God. Most people do not understand
what God actually did in Christ Jesus at Calvary. Jesus
became our sin so we could become the righteousness of God
(2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteousness is right-standing with God.

Your righteousness is vitally important in the field of prayer. We
saw in Ephesians 6 that righteousness is a breastplate.
Your right-standing with God gives you the right to
approach God in prayer without a sense of guilt,
sin or condemnation. There is a confidence you
experience, knowing you will receive when you ask
in faith, believing.

Romans 3:21-23 says, “But now the righteousness of God
without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith
of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there
is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” The Apostle Paul said the right to expect God to
answer your prayers is upon all and unto all them that believe.
No man on earth deserves God’s righteousness. But when he
receives Jesus as Lord, he is placed in right-standing with God.
He is made the righteousness of God by grace through faith.

The Word says God is not holding sin against the world
(2 Corinthians 5:17-21). He sent Jesus to take your place. If
you recognize this and let Him be your righteousness, God
will answer your prayer as if Jesus Himself prayed it. When
you realize that, you have your breastplate of righteousness
working for you. Something priceless is working in your life.

You may think you are the worst sinner the world has ever
seen. Any man who considers himself so far gone God cannot
reach him, must think that he is bigger than God. Through
the new birth, Jesus has made us the righteousness of God
through His sacrifice at Calvary. No sin Satan could dream up
is big enough to change that!

Romans 5:17 says, “For if by one man’s offence death
reigned by one….” (That, of course, was the offense committed
by Adam in the Garden of Eden. It brought death into the
earth.) “…much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.” As born-again believers, we have been made
the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore, we have been
given the ability to reign in this life. We must take advantage
of our right-standing relationship with God. We will then see
the results we desire in prayer.

James 5:16 says, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much.” You may have read that verse of
scripture and thought, You know, if I were just righteous….
Jesus died for you! The righteousness He bought for you at
Calvary is more than enough to make your prayers effective.
Romans 5:17 says righteousness is a gift and Romans 3:22
says it is “unto all…them that believe.”

God is moved when a man believes His Word. If you are
believing, then James 5:16 says your prayer will avail much.
Faith qualifies you for answered prayer!

You have a God-given right to expect God to answer your
prayer. Don’t let the devil deceive you into thinking God will
not answer. Jesus said whatsoever you shall ask the Father
in His Name, He will give it to you. As long as you can pray,
believing, you will not be defeated. If you know your right standing
with God, you will not be overcome.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland