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Derek Prince
Derek Prince (1915 - 2003). British-American Bible teacher, author, and evangelist born in Bangalore, India, to British military parents. Educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where he earned a fellowship in philosophy, he was conscripted into the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II. Converted in 1941 after encountering Christ in a Yorkshire barracks, he began preaching while serving in North Africa. Ordained in the Pentecostal Church, he pastored in London before moving to Jerusalem in 1946, marrying Lydia Christensen, a Danish missionary, and adopting eight daughters. In 1968, he settled in the U.S., founding Derek Prince Ministries, which grew to 12 global offices. Prince authored over 50 books, including Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting (1973), translated into 60 languages, and broadcast radio teachings in 13 languages. His focus on spiritual warfare, deliverance, and Israel’s prophetic role impacted millions. Widowed in 1975, he married Ruth Baker in 1978. His words, “God’s Word in your mouth is as powerful as God’s Word in His mouth,” inspired bold faith. Prince’s teachings, archived widely, remain influential in charismatic and evangelical circles.
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Derek Prince emphasizes the importance of coming under the discipline of God-given ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for believers to attain maturity. He highlights the necessity of not remaining isolated but being part of a growing body of believers. Paul warns that without following God's program for maturity, believers will remain as infants, easily swayed by false teachings and deceitful schemes of men.
God's Program for Maturity
In God’s program, there are two main requirements for coming to maturity. First, we must come under the discipline of the God-given ministries Paul listed in Ephesians 4:11: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Without their discipline, oversight, and instruction, I do not see how God’s people can ever attain to maturity. Jesus Christ never made a provision that was not important, and this one is no exception. I believe it is essential. The second condition is that we must not remain isolated individuals; rather, we must be part of a growing body of believers. Then, in that same passage, Paul stated a sobering alternative. If we do not follow God’s program for maturity, this will be the consequence: “Then we will…be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14 NIV). If we do not come under this fivefold ministry—if we do not become part of a body and accept this scriptural discipline—then, according to Paul, we will remain infants. We will be “tossed back and forth…, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” I know many, many believers who match this description. Every year, they have a new fad, a new doctrine, and often a new teacher to provide and perpetuate the fad. We must come under the discipline of godly, Scripture-based ministries. We also must be part of a body of believers. That is the only way to maturity. How about you? Are you under discipline? Are you part of a body? Are you advancing to maturity?
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Derek Prince (1915 - 2003). British-American Bible teacher, author, and evangelist born in Bangalore, India, to British military parents. Educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where he earned a fellowship in philosophy, he was conscripted into the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II. Converted in 1941 after encountering Christ in a Yorkshire barracks, he began preaching while serving in North Africa. Ordained in the Pentecostal Church, he pastored in London before moving to Jerusalem in 1946, marrying Lydia Christensen, a Danish missionary, and adopting eight daughters. In 1968, he settled in the U.S., founding Derek Prince Ministries, which grew to 12 global offices. Prince authored over 50 books, including Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting (1973), translated into 60 languages, and broadcast radio teachings in 13 languages. His focus on spiritual warfare, deliverance, and Israel’s prophetic role impacted millions. Widowed in 1975, he married Ruth Baker in 1978. His words, “God’s Word in your mouth is as powerful as God’s Word in His mouth,” inspired bold faith. Prince’s teachings, archived widely, remain influential in charismatic and evangelical circles.