EFFECTIVE AND WINNING PRAYER IS BUILT UPON THE WORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2022.

SUBJECT : EFFECTIVE AND WINNING PRAYER IS BUILT UPON THE WORD!

Memory verse: "God is not a man, that He should lie; Nor a son of man, that He should repent: Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23 vs 19.) 

READ: First John 5 vs 14 - 15: 

5:14: Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. 

5:15: And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked Him." 

INTIMATION:

There cannot be a real prayer life that is not built upon the Word. The Word is the source of all faith. A real prayer life is a Word life. It takes the Word back to the "Owner." The Owner is the same as the Word (John 1 vs 1). Jesus gave us the key, He said, ".......the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwells in Me, He does the work" (John 14 vs 10). The works He did were not His, but His Father's. He did the work by speaking the Father’s Words.

Therefore, prayer built upon the Word is you speaking the Word of the Master; presenting His Word to Him, and asking Him to perform same. And He said, “...For I will hasten My Word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1 vs 12). God’s Word is so sacred that He magnifies His Word above His name (Psalm 138 vs 2). Locate the word relevant to your situation and present it back to Him in prayer, rest assured of His performance, and it will come to you as a testimony.

In Isaiah 1 vs 18, the Lord says, "Come now, and let us reason together......" God's Word assures of victory in every circumstance as a child of God. God has urged us to come now and reason with Him in His Word; returning to Him with His Word saying; "You said this, and You will perform it." 

Also in Isaiah 41 vs 21, the Lord asks us to "Produce your cause, says the Lord; bring forth your strong reason......" These strong reasons are in His Word. The strong reasons are His promises enumerated in the Scriptures. Locate them, and present them back to Him in prayers, and patiently wait for the performance. Though it might tarry, but it is sure to come (Habakkuk 2 vs 3).

The Bible in Numbers 23 vs 19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” The Word of God is proven, and forever settled in heaven. God says what He means and means what He says. And His Word stands forever (Isaiah 40 vs 8).

God has assured us of the efficacy of His Word, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which ai sent it” (Isaiah 55 vs 11). 

In Romans 3 vs 4, the Bible says, "....let God be true but every man a liar...." There are two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6 vs 18). These two immutable things are God's nature and His promise (His Word). God embodies all truth, therefore, He cannot lie. Because God is truth, you can be secure in His promises; you don't need to wonder if He will change His plans.

Our confidence is then built on our believe (faith) and assurance of performance of His Word. In the passage we read today, the Bible says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked Him." (First John 5 vs 14 - 15.)

Faith is an essential in our prayer life. Faith is believe in God and His word. Jesus assured us that "all things are possible to him who believe" (Mark 9 vs 23). Why is it so? Because, certainly “there will be a performance of those things which were told her (or him) from the Lord" (See Luke 1 vs 45). Therefore, know that you are blessed who believes His Word, for God you believe is infallible, and nothing is impossible with Him (Mark 10 vs 27). 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is none like You; perfect and never changes. My absolute trust is in You. By Your most Holy Spirit, build Your Word in me that I may live an ever victorious life by living according to Your Word, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Most Liberating Discovery

 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

No one had ever taught me that God is glorified by our joy in him — that joy in God is the very thing that makes our praise an honor to God, and not hypocrisy.

But Jonathan Edwards said it so clearly and powerfully:

God glorifies himself towards the creatures also [in] two ways: (1) by appearing to . . . their understanding; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. . . . God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. . . .

[W]hen those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it. . . . He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it.

This was a stunning discovery for me. I must pursue joy in God if I am to glorify him as the surpassingly valuable Reality in the universe. Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship. Indeed the very essence of worship — being glad in the glories of God.

We have a name for those who speak their praises of God when they have no pleasure in what they praise. We call them hypocrites. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Matthew 15:7–8). This fact — that authentic praise means consummate pleasure and that the highest end of man is to drink deeply of this pleasure for God’s glory — was perhaps the most liberating discovery I have ever made.

BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2022.

SUBJECT : BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Pray without ceasing.” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 1 - 8:

18:1: Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray, and not to lose heart,

18:2: saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

18:3: Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’

18:4: And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 

18:5: yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

18:6: Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.

18:7: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, though He bear long with them?

18:8: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?”

INTIMATION:

Praying brings us before God in communion with Him. Humbly being at all times in the presence of God is the secret to continual triumph of the believer, hence the reason to pray at all times. Though we cannot spend all our times on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. Emphasis here is not on a continued action of prayer, but on a continued attitude of prayer. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully. Then, we will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, and short prayers. In other words, the Christian should be in a state of mind that he can at all times take part in the action of praying to the Father. 

It is the desire of the Father that His children approach Him in prayer. Prayer is the natural response of those who recognize their need for the help of God in their lives. To persist in prayer does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Jesus’ lesson in the passage we read today is that if an unrighteous and unconcerned judge would act upon the persistent requests of a pleading woman, then certainly the persistent pleas of the righteous to a concerned, loving, and merciful God would attract His response to the pleas of the righteous. Consistent prayer means keeping our requests continually before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. 

Faith is essential to prayer. Faith is the recognition of the faithfulness of God, and it engenders our committing ourselves and our matters to Him. Sometimes you think that God will not hear you because you have fallen short of His high standards for holy living, but if you have faith, and have trusted Him for salvation, you should know that God has forgiven us and He will listen to us. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have good reasons. Faith shouldn't die if the answers come slowly, for delay is not denial, and it may be God's way of working His Will. As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope.

God not only welcomes us in prayer, He is waiting for us to pray. The godly—those who are faithful and devoted to God—should know that God is waiting for them to approach Him in prayer and should be confident that God listens to their prayers and answers at His own time (which is the best timing). Some other times you grow tired of praying because it seems God is not answering you, but a Christian's persistence in prayer is an expression of faith that God answers prayer. Always be confident, and know that God is present, always listening, and always answers in the best ways known to Him, and unknown to us.

A praying attitude is not a substitute to regular times of prayer, but should be an outgrowth of those times. Too often we pray glibly and superficially. Serious prayer, by contrast, requires concentration. It puts us in touch with God’s will and can really change us. Without serious prayer, we reduce God to a quick-service pharmacist with painkillers for your every ailment. However, the Holy Spirit, being the sole interpreter of the needs of the human heart, makes His intercession therein. Inasmuch as prayer is impossible to man apart from His help (Romans 8 vs 26), believers are exhorted to pray at all seasons in the Spirit (Ephesians 6 vs 18; Jude 20). 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace for persistent prayer, as a demonstration of my absolute faith, and dependence on You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Make War with Unbelief

 

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17)

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

PRAYERLESSNESS LIMITS GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022.

SUBJECT : PRAYERLESSNESS LIMITS GOD!

Memory verse: "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." (Ezekiel 22 vs 30.)

READ: John 15 vs 5 - 7:

15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

15:6: If anyone does not abide in Me, He is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

INTIMATION:

Prayer has diverse benefits to the believer. As the issues and circumstances of life vary, so also does prayer address the various needs of man. The statement that John Wesley made years ago has stayed with me, and impacted greatly on my prayer life. Wesley said, "It seems God is limited by our prayer life—that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him." 

You may ask why would God wait for someone to ask? The Bible tells us in the Book of Genesis. God made the world and the fullness thereof. He made His man, Adam. Then He said, "Adam, I give you dominion over all the work of My hands" (Genesis 1 vs 26 - 27; Ps 8 vs 6). God didn't say, "I am going to dominate through you." Therefore, Adam had dominion upon the earth and in this world. He was originally, in a sense, God of this world.

But Satan came and deceived Adam through his helpmeet Eve. Adam committed high treason and sold out to Satan, and then Satan became “the god of this world” as he is referred to in Second Corinthians 4 vs 4. As such he has dominion in this world. He will have that dominion—he will be god of this world, until Adam's lease runs out. 

God, being “just,” cannot legally and justly move in and take away that dominion from the devil. The devil has a legal right because he has Adam's lease. And God cannot do anything unless somebody down here asks Him.

To prepare a ground for legally handing the lease back to us, He sent His Son Jesus as a propitiation for our sin (First John 2 vs 2). Jesus paid the legal wage (Romans 6 vs 23), by dying on the cross. And whoever believes in Him, accepts His sacrifice, and confesses Him as Lord and Savior reclaims the legal right. Once the legal right is reclaimed, the enforcement of the powers in prayer becomes your inheritance in Christ. Therefore, the believer can prevail against every circumstances in life, being assured of God’s help when we ask in prayer.

As the circumstances are different so is our prayers ought to be different for any circumstances. The Scripture in Ephesians 6 vs 18 says, "Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)." (Amplified Version.)

This implies that there are different kinds of prayer, and they accomplish different things in a believer's life, by provoking help from above in every circumstances. Without help from above, we are helpless on the earth. The enemy is fierce. He knows his time is short, so he is out against the children of God with full force. 

The wickedness of the earth is intense, but we have access to help from heaven to overcome them all through prayers. This help from above is freely available to the believer. The Scripture says in Hebrews 4 vs 16, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Prayer is our approach to God in fellowship, and we are to come "boldly" to our Father. Some Christians approach God meekly with heads hung low, afraid to ask Him to meet their needs. Others pray flippantly, giving little thought to what they say. We are to come with reverence because He is our King. But also come with bold assurance because He is our Loving Father, Friend and Counselor.

Every blessing and accomplishment in life comes as a result of the help of God. The apostle Paul said in Acts 26 vs 22, "Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come."

Paul was preaching the same message as other apostles in his time, but he got better results because he had the help of God. King David who was a great man of war, and never lost a battle, knew this secret. In Psalm 60 vs 11 - 12, he prayed, "Give us help from trouble: for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies."

Prayer is not just telling God your needs, because He already knows them (Matthew 6 vs 32). It is getting Him to intervene in your situation on the basis of His Word. God is your Heavenly Father and He knows your needs, but you require His help to overcome the enemy. God is ever committed to sending help from above for all His children who call upon Him. He gives us this assurance:

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them  - Those who contend with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" (Isaiah 41 vs 10 - 13.)

Prayer: Abba Father, what can I do without You? Absolutely nothing! In You I live, and move, and have my being. Give me the grace, O Lord, with divine strength, to remain prayerful—in fellowship with You at all times, in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Our Good Is His Glory

 

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

One common objection to Christian Hedonism is that it puts the interests of man above the glory of God — that it puts my happiness above God’s honor. But Christian Hedonism most emphatically does not do this.

To be sure, we Christian Hedonists endeavor to pursue our interest and our happiness with all our might. We endorse the resolution of the young Jonathan Edwards: “Resolved: To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

But we have learned from the Bible (and from Edwards!) that God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of his glory by spilling over in mercy to us — to us sinners, who desperately need him.

Therefore, the pursuit of our interest and our happiness, even if it costs us our lives, is never above God’s interest and God’s happiness and God’s glory, but always in God’s. One of the most precious truths in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him — in him!

When we humble ourselves like little children and put on no airs of self-sufficiency, but run happily into the joy of our Father’s embrace, the glory of his grace is magnified and the longing of our soul is satisfied. Our interest and his glory become one.

When Jesus promises in Matthew 6:6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” this is a reward he wants us to seek. He does not lure us with joy we shouldn’t have! But this reward — this joy — is the overflow of turning away from human praise, and going into our closet to seek God.

Therefore, Christian Hedonists do not put their happiness above God’s glory. They put their happiness in God himself and discover the glorious truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

THE EFFICACY OF NIGHT PRAYERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE EFFICACY OF NIGHT PRAYERS! 

Memory verse: "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the LORD. Lift up your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” (Lamentations 2 vs 19.)

READ: Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25:

13:24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 

13:25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away.

INTIMATION:

Praying in the night hours is considered the best timing since our prayers are usually interrupted during the day by the pressures of our daily schedules. In the night our concentration is highest, and our fellowship most effective. Night prayers arm us most effectively to overcome the overwhelming evils in the world. The evil doers usually perpetrate their evils in the night hours when most Christians are resting in their beds. They are like the father the devil—the Prince of Darkness, moving around in the night looking for who to devour.

In the passage we read today, Jesus told His followers a parable saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away......" (Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25.) "While men slept" the evil doers—men of the underworld—are up in their covens, in their shrines, to perpetrate evil under the cover of darkness. 

When you fellowship with the Lord in prayers in the night hours, you are in His presence; the place of maximum protection, and the glory of God expelling any form of darkness around you. The prince of this world and his cohorts cannot operate in His presence; ‘He disappoints their devices so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.’ (Job 5 vs 12.)

Jesus Christ, in His ministry on earth, has always gone up to the mountains in the night hours to pray—communing with the Father, and obtaining all the powers required for His exploits; charged up fully in the night hours of prayers in readiness for daily exploits. Then, in the day time, He only gives thanks to the Father that had always heard Him in their communion in the night: "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6 vs 12.)

Jesus has always chosen the night to isolate Himself to pray to the Father. His concentration in His fellowship with the Father in the night hours is at its max. No distractions of any sorts. This practice of fellowshipping with the Father and our Messiah Jesus, in the night hours, is very essential for every Christian to win our battles against the devil and his cohorts. Our battles with them are not physical, but spiritual; "For though we walk in the flesh! we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds," (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4.) 

The night, especially at midnight, people are most vulnerable to spiritual attacks. It is the hour when enemies lay siege and render people defenseless. It is also the time that you can launch a deadly, surprise attack on your enemies’ camp. From 12am-4am Christians should be vigilant in prayer. During this period the body immune system is at its lowest. Demonic creatures roam about with much anger during this time, making their patrols, and witchcraft is at its peak. 

Midnight is a time of transition, from one day to another. God can bring a transition in your life as you pray at midnight. It is a time of great spiritual activity, both good and evil. Destinies of men are shaped and interrupted at midnight. If you are not shaping your destiny at midnight, then somebody may interrupt your life at midnight. 

David, the man who never lost a single battle all his life, has this to say, “At midnight, I will rise and give thanks to You, because of your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119 vs 62). The great king knew when to win his battles in prayer, and engaged effectively at midnight amidst his daily busy schedule as a king. What excuse do you have? Do you say, “I wish I arise but I’ll be tired”? Do you have a busier schedule than that of King David (president of the nation of Israel)? I doubt you do. 

Praying at night is a sacrifice that will not go unrewarded. God sees your desperation through the sacrifices of your night’s rest that you make to in order to commune with Him in prayers. However, midnight is the best time to make serious intercessions, and expect results. Jesus emphasized this in a parable when He taught His disciples about prayer: 

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;’ And he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give it to you’L.’ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” (Luke 11 vs 5 - 8)

Prayer: Abba Father, deliver me from spiritual laziness so that I may rise up at night to engage in prayer warfare against the devices of the devil and his cohorts. In the night hours I will come to You in prayer with my whole heart and being, and I am persuaded that my petitions will receive Your attention, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Power of a Superior Promise

 

I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, my translation)

An essential element of joy is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love.

And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, “I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.”

The picture is one of open spaces. The word frees us from smallness of mind. “God gave Solomon . . . breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). The word frees us from threatening confinements. “He brought me out into a broad place” (Psalm 18:19).

Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The freedom he has in mind is freedom from the slavery of sin (John 8:34). Or, to put it positively, it is freedom for holiness.

The promises of God’s grace provide the power that makes the demands of God’s holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear and confinement. Peter described the freeing power of God’s promises like this: “Through [his precious and very great promises] you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:4).

In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption and sinful desire by the power of a superior promise.

How crucial is the word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the word of God!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

ATTRACTING SPECIAL AUDIENCE IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 3022.

SUBJECT : ATTRACTING SPECIAL AUDIENCE IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.)

READ: Psalm 37 vs 4 - 6:

37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

37:5: Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

37:6: He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

INTIMATION:

You attract special audience in prayer when you partner with God in ensuring the establishment of His Kingdom here on earth. Praying Kingdom-oriented prayers give you special audience with God. If you desire breakthroughs in your life, one of the fastest ways of achieving it is to have a strong affection for God and His kingdom. Let your thoughts be dominated with the desires of God, serve and obey Him in everything.

Your delight in the Lord occasions strong affection for God and His kingdom. When you delight in the Lord, you will experience great pleasure and joy in Him and His kingdom. The Scripture says of the Lord, “Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth...” (Isaiah 58 vs 14.) Desire to know God better, and to know His great love for you. When you do, you will entrust everything about you—your life, family, job, possessions, and so on—to Him and He will work out what is best for you. 

The reason God created the earth is for the extension of His kingdom. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6 vs 9 - 10, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When you pray kingdom-oriented prayer, you are giving reference to God's spiritual reign. It is God's Will that His kingdom be established here on earth as was announced in the covenant with Abraham. 

When we pray "Your Will be done on earth," we are praying that God's perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as the next. When you are interceding on kingdom matters, let it be from the depth of your being, as if you are praying for your own child who is dying, or even the healing of your ailment that has kept you at the corridor of death. Such prayers usually mean much to you. 

If you concern yourself that much on ensuring the actualization of God's Will on earth, God will definitely concern Himself with your affairs, and you will experience additions of all the things the world is struggling to get. This is a prayer strategy that moves heaven to rain down favor on you, so much that you will not need to pray for most things before you get them: "It shall come to pass that before you call, I will answer, And while they are still speaking, I will hear." (Isaiah 65 vs 24.) This is prevalent in the lives of those who are heartily mindful of His kingdom matters. Their prayers are answered at the right time. 

Most people are dying in their prayer rooms because they are self-oriented in their prayers. They the "needy-stars" of the kingdom. Their prayer is always all about self; "Lord, give me this; Lord, bless me; Lord, bless my children and my wife," and their demands are endless. All they remember to pray about is "me, I and myself." They are least concerned about the welfare of anybody else or on any issue that does not touch them personally. Their idea is, "If God is concerned about His kingdom, let Him fix it."

When a kingdom prayer point is raised in the church, a lot of people just mumble through; you can hardly hear what they are saying. But when it is said, "Pray for yourself, that this year's prophesy may find fulfillment in your life," people begin to pray with much vigor and energy. But it is how much you take pleasure in the affairs of the kingdom that determines the quality of response you enjoy from God. 

The psalmist in Psalm 102 vs 12 - 13 says, "But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come." When your concern for God's kingdom is deep-seated in your heart, you pray heart-felt prayers for the kingdom and His people. Your prayer shall be that, "The Lord endures forever, and be remembered throughout all generations." Then, He will arise with mercy and favor for you. 

As you begin to seek the enthronement of His kingdom in your prayers, I see every concern in your life become a testimony of answered prayers to you, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer: Abba Father, let the zeal of Your kingdom eat me up, that I may desire to do all the things required for the advancement of Your kingdom, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Live Confident in God’s Sovereign Power

 

The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe . . . (Ephesians 1:19)

The omnipotence of God means eternal, unshakable refuge in the everlasting glory of God no matter what happens on this earth. And that confidence is the source and power of radical obedience to the call of God.

Is there anything more freeing, more thrilling, or more strengthening than the truth that God Almighty is your refuge — all day, every day, in all the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life?

If we believed this, if we really let this truth of God’s omnipotence get hold of us, what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our ministries! How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God!

The omnipotence of God means refuge for the people of God. And when you really believe that your refuge is the omnipotence of God Almighty, there is a joy and a freedom and a power that spills over in a life of radical obedience to Jesus Christ.

The omnipotence of God means reverence, recompense, and refuge for his covenant people.

I invite you to accept the terms of his covenant of grace: Turn from sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; and the omnipotence of God Almighty will be the reverence of your soul, the recompense of your enemies, and the refuge of your life — forever.

TOTAL EXPERIENCE BY APOSTLE JOSHUA SELMAN

 

UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2022.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION!

Memory verse: "I will stand my watch, And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected." (Habakkuk 2 vs 1.)

READ: Jeremiah 33 vs 3; Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8:

Jeremiah 33:3: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

7:8: For everyone who asks receives, and He who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 

INTIMATION:

Prayer is not just reporting your case to God, it is communicating with Him. Some people will say when they pray, "I cried to God." Prayer is not about crying; it is a two way communication, and you pay attention to hear the other party in the communication. It is like a telephone conversation. If you are crying, you will hardly hear the party at the other end. Every genuine discussion or dialogue is made up of comments. enquiries and responses from the parties involved. 

But most people do all the talking in prayers, not giving God a chance to speak to them in return, nor pausing to listen to what He has to say. The  right attitude in prayer was expressed by prophet Habakkuk in our memory verse, "I will stand my watch, And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected."

If you are not watchful, you will miss His answer. The watchman and rampart (watchtower), are often used by the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk—to show an attitude of expectation, and here they are pictures of Habakkuk's attitude of patiently waiting, and watching out for God's response. To truly win in prayer, it  requires your being alert in the spirit, listening in meditation and keeping your heart open to receive what God has to say to you.

Watchfulness involves patience and perseverance. You also have to engage in intense worship, in order to maintain the communication channel, and be patient to receive your answer. When you ask a question and there doesn't seem to be an immediate response, you begin to worship and call God by His names. Then you ask again, "Lord, what are You saying?" You are sure to get an answer, because He assures us: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know"  -(Jeremiah 33 vs 3).

God answers us in various ways. His answer may be through a night vision, a tiny voice, an audible voice, a Scripture reference, indirect message through another person, or Angelic intervention. For instance, in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel and his friends, were faced with a decree of death. The king had a dream, which he forgot and wanted Daniel and his colleagues to tell him the dream and its interpretation or they would all be put to death. The king had already ordered the killing of the wise men in Babylon when they couldn't tell the king his dream.

Now see what Daniel did; "Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abed-Nego), his companions, that they might seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. (Daniel 2 vs 17 - 19.) 

Daniel responded with praise and thanks giving to God: "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You. For You have made known to us the king's demand." (Daniel 2 vs 23.)

God answered Daniel's prayer through a night vision. I had such experience recently when I engaged in prayer to enquire from God on a particular problem. After my midnight prayer, God gave me a Scripture, "Matthew 4 vs 11," that says; "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." And behold, the following days I saw the answer to my prayer manifest clearly, signifying that the devil, the perpetrator of all evil, had flee, and the angels had taken over the affairs concerning the problem I presented to God in prayer.

When you approach God, remember that He is the One before whom all things lay bare. The One that reveals deep and secret things, the Omniscient God. Go before Him and take delivery of your answers, as you engage in a two-way communication with Him. It is time you began to engage in responsive meditational prayers—where you talk and wait for God's response; where you make enquiries and take delivery of divine strategies to deal with the issues confronting you. This is what prayer is all about.

According to the Scripture passages we read today, God is committed to answering your prayer, if you ask, seek, or find, not if you cry. No matter how many demons are connected to your problem, God's wisdom which is released in prayer of enquiry will give them a knock-out. The Bible says in James 1 vs 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally, and without reproach, and it will be given to him." Wisdom means practical discernment, and God is willing to give us this wisdom. 

Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds  and to him who knocks it will be opened."(Matthew 7 vs 8.) Note that Jesus said "everyone," including you, no exception. He is a just God, with Him there is no variableness or shadow of turning. He said everyone, and means everyone. Therefore, when you pray, wait for the answer, be sensitive and patient to receive your answer in any of the aforstated ways; a night vision, a tiny voice, an audible voice, a Scripture reference, indirect message through another person, or Angelic intervention. 

People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude they cannot hear from God, or that He cannot be found. But knowing God, and receiving from Him takes faith, focus, patience, and follow-through, and our Messiah, Jesus Christ, assures us that we will be rewarded. Don't give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding, and He will give them to you. Also, note that a ‘no’ from Him can be an answer to a prayer.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are most faithful and compassionate; always mindful of, and watchful over Your children. My absolute trust is in You, to always direct me the way to go. Therefore, I will stand my watch and see what You will say to me in my petition to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Life Hangs on the Word of God

 

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we also go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

Jesus’s Pursuit of Joy

 

Look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Does the example of Jesus contradict the principle of Christian Hedonism? Namely, that love is the way of joy and that one should choose it for that very reason, lest one be found begrudging obedience to the Almighty or chafing under the privilege of being a channel of grace or belittling the promised reward.

Hebrews 12:2 seems to say fairly clearly that Jesus did not contradict this principle.

The greatest labor of love that ever happened was possible because Jesus pursued the greatest imaginable joy, namely, the joy of being exalted to God’s right hand in the assembly of a redeemed people: “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross!”

In saying this, the writer means to give Jesus as another example, along with the saints of Hebrews 11, of those who are so eager for and confident in the joy God offers that they reject the “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) and choose ill-treatment in order to be aligned with God’s will.

It is not unbiblical, therefore, to say that at least part of what sustained Christ in the dark hours of Gethsemane was the hope of joy beyond the cross. This does not diminish the reality and greatness of his love for us, because the joy in which he hoped was the joy of leading many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

His joy is in our redemption, which redounds to God’s glory. We share the joy with Jesus and God gets the glory.

BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2022.

SUBJECT : BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: “Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” (Matthew 15 vs 32.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 35 - 43:

18:35:Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging:

18:36: And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.

18:37: So they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

18:38: And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

18:39: Then those who went before him warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

18:40: And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,

18:41: saying, “What do want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

18:42: Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.

18:43: And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.

INTIMATION:

Persistence means not giving up. Some of the dictionary definition are: (1) To go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning. (2) To remain unchanged or fixed in a specified character, condition, or position. (3) To be insistent in the repetition or pressing of an utterance (as a question or opinion). (4) To continue to exist especially past a usual, expected, or normal time. Synonyms for persist include to carry on, dig in, hang on, keep up, follow through with, endure, hold on, hold up, last, remain, linger, tarry, carry through, prevail, and so on.

Persistence reveals an earnest desire to receive. Ernest means showing deep sincerity or seriousness, being determined. Godly determination will be the force that drives people to pray without ceasing and be steadfast until the answer comes. Sometimes once is not enough, and one prayer hasn’t said it all or broken through. You find yourself praying again and again until you see the lines in the spirit begin to line up in your favor. People who are not persistent lack the intensity that should be in the heart of righteous people. 

The definition of persist also mirrors godly attributes. God persists and continues with us in our humanity. Jesus never ceases to make intercession for us (Isaiah 53 vs 12; Romans 8 vs 34). God is faithful. He sticks with us. He carries us through. When we pray persistent prayers, we are praying in the character of God. Many believers get weary in prayer. They pray a little while and get discouraged because the answer didn’t come. You must never cease in praying because the enemy never ceases to make war with the saints. He will never give up because his time is short. 

Persistence also means continuing in prayer. In our memory verse, Jesus was moved by the people who came to Him and continued with Him for days. He had compassion on the multitude who had “continued” with Him for three days without food. Jesus was moved by the people’s hunger for spiritual food that He miraculously provided physical food for their bodies. They were seeking the things of the kingdom, and Jesus added “all these things.” (Matthew 6 vs 33.) Their persistence in seeking the Savior gave them the physical things they needed, and they weren’t even praying for food.

In the passage we read today, the people told the blind man to keep quiet and not bother Jesus. But this man was desperate. He was insistent on being heard so that Jesus could minister to him. His persistence resulted in his sight being restored. Also in Acts of the apostles chapter 1 and 2, and throughout the forming of the early church the phrases “continued in prayer, “continued in prayer and supplication,” “continued in faith, love, and holiness” are used to describe the apostles, who turned the world upside down with the gospel.

Some of the mountains in our lives are so stubborn that they require us to PUSH—‘Pray Until Something Happens.’ Do not be discouraged. Press in. Don’t stop praying. Your breakthrough is near. Praying consistent, earnest prayers is part of the life of a believer who is doing something right. Continue in your position of prayer despite all apparent opposition. The enemy is only on the heels of those who recognize their strength and potential in God. Never give up praying about that lost loved one, that job, your finances, your health, your marriage, your church or ministry. Whatever it is, God is persisting with you. He has compassion on those who continue with Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of persistence in my prayer altar, that I may pray through and receive my petitions as testimonies of answered prayers, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

THE NEED TO CULTIVATE A PRAYER HABIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE NEED TO CULTIVATE A PRAYER HABIT!

Memory verse: "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray, and not lose heart." (Luke 18 vs 1.)

READ: Psalm 5 vs 1 - 3: 

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

2 Give need to the voice of my cry, my King, and my God, for to You I will pray.

3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD. In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is communing with the Lord, and it is the most powerful resource of a Christian. Communion with God through prayer is the most essential armor of God available to the Christian, and is for constant use. The results are often greater than we thought were possible. There is no denying the fact that the lack of prayer is the bane of the individual members of the body of Christ. Prayer should be as natural as breathing and as enjoyable as eating. It should be as unconscious as our communication with each other. While doing all these we must not lose the fact that we are communicating in fellowship with Someone superior to us but has given us the privilege to come to Him. 

Jesus was a man of prayer. He taught prayer, not as a slavish duty, but as a glorious privilege. In our memory verse, He said that “men ought to pray and not faint,” that is to say that we need to form the prayer habit, and maintain constant communication with the Lord. If prayer was Important to Jesus, then it must be important to His followers. Constant prayer means keeping our requests continually before God with Whom there are no impossibilities or difficulties. Therefore, it is imperative we should be in constant communion with Him as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have good reasons. 

Our persistence is an expression of our faith that God answers our prayers. Our faith shouldn’t die if the answers come slowly, for the delay may be God’s way of working His will in your life. When we feel tired of praying, know that God is present, always listening, always answering—maybe not in ways you had hoped, but in ways that He knows are best.

Praying morning, afternoon and night is certainly an excellent way to maintain correct priorities throughout the whole day. Daniel followed this pattern (Daniel 6 vs 10), as did Peter (Acts 10 vs 9 - 10). The prayers of God’s people are effective against the overwhelming evil in the world. David knew this secret of constant communion with the Lord, and He said, ”Evening, morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” (Psalm 55 vs 17.) 

How can one pray at all times? One way is to make quick, brief prayer your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God’s desires and teachings so that your very life becomes a prayer. You don’t have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God’s powerful influence. 

Regular communication helps any friendship and is certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God. We need to communicate with Him daily. Do you have a regular time to pray and read God’s Word? The secret of a close relationship with God is to pray to Him earnestly each morning. In the morning, our minds are more free from problems, and then we can commit the whole day to God. Every Christian should form the habit of continuing earnestly in prayer and be vigilant in it. Prayer quiets our thoughts and emotions and prepares us to listen. Some people see prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. This approach is backward. Prayer should come first. Because God’s power is infinitely greater than ours, it only makes sense to rely on it—especially because God encourages us to do so.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of prayer and supplication that I may habitually remain in constant communication with You—the source of all powers, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!