BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 12, 2020.

SUBJECT: BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!

Memory verse: "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13 vs 5.)

READ:  Numbers 11 vs 4 - 6:

11:4: Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?

11:5: We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;

11:6: but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

INTIMATION:

Be content with what you have, and be grateful to the Great Provider. Discontentment comes when your attention shifts from what you have to what you don't have. Relishing what you have engenders thankfulness. Resenting what you are missing brings about complaining and ingratitude, and such things are unpleasant to the Lord. When such happens you begin to forget what God has done for you, and is wrapped up in what God hasn't done for you. Consequently, your attitude will make you lose your sense of gratitude and thanksgiving.

In the passage we read today, the Israelites murmured, and were dissatisfied with what God has done for them. At the instance of that they forgot to give thanks to God for all He has done for them, and is still doing for them. They didn’t seem to notice what God was doing for them—setting them free, making them a nation, giving them a new land—because they were so wrapped up in what God hasn’t doing for them. They could think of nothing but the delicious Egyptian food they left behind, forgetting that the brutal whip of Egyptian slavery, which the Lord had saved from, was the cost of eating the food. 

We become satisfied when we realize God’s sufficiency for our needs, and be thankful to Him continually. When we are discontented with what we have, we are indirectly saying that God has been unfair to us or that He can’t take care of us—or at least that He won’t take care of us the way we want. That is doubting the integrity of God who already said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and only Him can supply all your needs (Philippians 4 vs 19).

Contentment brings about happiness, and happiness is associated with an attitude of gratitude. Against this backdrop, let us self-evaluate ourselves by thinking of what occupies our attention most of the time. Are we content with what we have—grateful for what God has given us, or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God's gift of life, food, health, work, friends etc, and be thankful to Him.

In every circumstances we face in life we should be content with such things that we have, or what God is doing in our lives, and reasonably be thankful to Him. We should take a cue from the apostle Paul who knew how to be content, happy and rejoicing in the Lord whether he had plenty or whether he was in need. He said, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4 vs 11 - 12).

The secret of contentment lies in your knowing God, trusting in His promises, and drawing on His power for strength to face the challenges of life. He will supply all your needs, but in a way that He knows is best for you. It is important to note that “a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” (John 3 vs 27.) Therefore, be content and thankful for what God has given you at all times. You can only get more from Him if you are grateful and thankful for the one you already have.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Loving Father, and Faithful Companion. Endue me with the spirit of contentment in all things, knowing that You have promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me, and will supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus, and  in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

IDOLATRY!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 11, 2020.

SUBJECT : IDOLATRY!

Memory verse: "Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10 vs 23.)

READ: Job 31 vs 24 - 28:

31:24: If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
31:25: If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
31:26: If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
31:27: And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
31:28: This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

INTIMATION:

Idolatry is excessive admiration or adoration of someone or something. It’s someone or something which is highly revered, and becomes a deity other than God. Such deity or thing is known as an idol. Therefore, an idol is primarily an idea, fancy, or an image that represents a false God. It’s anything that substitutes for the true faith, anything that denies Christ’s full deity and humanity, and any loyalty that replaces God at the center of our life. It is also any human idea that claims to be more authoritative than the Bible, 

The corresponding Hebrew word or idol denotes vanity (things of nought). The apostle Paul called it, “nothing in the world” (First Corinthians 8 vs 4). And an idolater is one who adores or idolizes someone or something, and is a slave to the depraved ideas his idols represent. Idolatry is sin against God because it denies the supremacy of God and is a direct violation of the first and second of the Ten Commandments of God (Exodus 20 vs 2 - 3). It’s a sin of the mind against God that denotes lack of acknowledgement of God and of gratitude to Him. Many things can take God’s place in our lives. And such things becomes idols in our lives.

Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to Him as the Creator and Sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent “gods” that are convenient projections of their own selfish ideas. These gods may be wooden figures, or they may also be goals or things we pursue, such as money, power, or possessions. They may even be misrepresentations of God Himself—making God in our own image, instead of the reverse. The common denominator here is that idolaters worship things God made rather than God Himself. 

When God is not first in your life, you are an idolater. Something then must be first in your life. Now, check yourself; Is there anything you feel you can’t live without? Is there any priority greater than God? Do you have a dream you would sacrifice everything to realize? After haven checked yourself, do you worship God or idols of your own making? 

Idolatry is making anything more important than God, and our lives are full of such temptation. Money, looks, success, reputation, security—these are today’s idols. Many “gods” entice us to turn away from God. Material possessions, dreams for the future, approval of others, emotional reactions, and vocational goals compete for our total commitment. Striving after these at the expense of our commitment to God puts our heart on created idols which is sin. They put away worshiping the Creator in order to worship the creation. 

We are just as guilty when God no longer holds first place in our lives. When we think more about wealth, pleasure, prestige, or material possessions than about God, we are actually worshiping them as gods.  Discipline awaits all those who continually put earthly desires above spiritual priorities. It is for this reason that Jesus said it is very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God because the rich, having their basic physical needs met, often become self-reliant. When they feel empty, they buy something new to try to fill the void that only God can fill. Their abundance and self-sufficiency become their deficiency. The person who has everything on earth is not a sign of faith or partiality on God’s part, but rather a strong temptation to idolatry.

Job affirmed that depending on wealth for happiness is idolatry and denies the God of heaven. We excuse our society’s obsession with money and possessions as a necessary evil or ”the way it works” in the modern world. But every society in every age has valued the power and prestige that money brings. True believers must purge themselves of the deep-seated desire for more power, prestige, and possessions. They must also not withhold their resources from neighbors near and far who have disparate physical needs.

To all believers the apostle Paul says, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry:” (Colossians 3 vs 5.) “For this you know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5 vs 5.) The obsession of these aforementioned evil tendencies, the apostle Paul says, is idolatry.

Prayer: Abba Father, remove from me obsessions with created things, and evil tendencies in this world, rather empower me by Your Spirit to live for You, putting You first in everything in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

RESTORING BROKEN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JUNE 10, 2020.

SUBJECT: RESTORING BROKEN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD!

Memory verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (First John 1 vs 9.)

READ: First John 1 vs 3 - 8:

1:3: That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1:4: And these things we write to you that your joy may be made full.

1:5: This is the message which we have heard from Him and declared to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 

1:6: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 

1:7: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1:8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

INTIMATION:

Broken fellowship with the Lord is the consequence of sin. All people are sinners by nature and by practice. At conversion all our sins are forgiven—past, present, and future. Yet, even after we become Christians, we still sin and still need to confess. This kind of confession is not offered to gain God’s acceptance but to remove the barrier to fellowship that our sin has put between us and Him. Broken fellowship does not break the relationship, but it mars it and robs that relationship of its richest blessings and benefits.

We need not fear revealing our sins to God, He knows them already. He will not push us away, no matter what we have done. Instead, He will draw us to Himself. He has given us an ‘Helper’ in the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has given us the way to restore broken fellowship in the epistle of John. This short epistle was written to tell us how to maintain our fellowship and how to restore it when it is broken.

God is light, and as long as you are in fellowship with Him, you are in light. But the instant your fellowship is broken, you go into the dark. As long as we walk in the light, as long as we are in fellowship with Him, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses all the blunders and mistakes that we make. But if we sin, we are out of fellowship with Him and we are walking in darkness, deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The moment we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleans us from all unrighteousness. The broken fellowship is restored.

Restoring fellowship is restoring joy; restoring power with God, and working in love with God which is the greatest commandments. The richer the fellowship, the deeper one gets into the Word. Deep, rich fellowship means that we go far below the surface in this mine of wealth—the Word. To walk in love is to walk in fellowship. To live the love life is to live the fellowship life. It is bringing joy to the heart of the Father. This fellowship life with Him is the sweetest, biggest, and richest thing the world ever knew.

Jesus Christ gave us the greatest commandments thus, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12 vs 30 - 31). These two greatest commandments are anchored on love. God is love (First John 4 vs 8) and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. (First John 4 vs 7). From this we know that God's laws are not burdensome. They can be reduced to two simple principles; love for God and for others. 

When you love God completely and care for for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament laws. It’s for this reason that Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5 vs 17). According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God's laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others. When you do this, you will always be in full fellowship with the Father.

There will be no growth in faith, in grace, in knowledge, nor growth in joy, with broken fellowship. Every person who has lost power with God has lost it through loss of fellowship. If their faith has been impaired so is their prayer life, and it is because fellowship has been broken. If joy has all seeped out, it is because the vessel that held it (fellowship with the Father) has been cracked. When their usefulness and testimony has lost its grip and power, it is mere empty words; it is because fellowship has been broken. If you want your testimony to be rich and full, then you must have fellowship that is rich and full. Fellowship in full with the Father puts the world in your pocket.

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to continually be in full fellowship with You. Though the human factors my cause the fellowship to be impaired from time to time, I pray that You endue me with the spirit of constant and immediate confession of any sin I may commit so as to forever restore my fellowship with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

SPIRITUAL GROWTH PATH!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JUNE 9, 2020.

SUBJECT: SPIRITUAL GROWTH PATH!

Memory verse: "But by the grace of God I am what I am. And His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (First Corinthians 15 vs 10.)

READ: Philippians 2 vs 12 - 13; Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21:

Philippians 2:12: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2:13: For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Hebrews 13:20: Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 

13:21: make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.    

INTIMATION:

Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works with us, not just in us. The spiritual growth path is made up of two parts: the "work out" part and the "work in." The "work out" is your responsibility, and the "work in" is God's role. In one of the passages we read today, the Scripture says, “For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2 vs 13.) This verse written to believers is not about how to be saved, but how to grow. It does not say "work for" your salvation, because you can't add anything to what Jesus already did. It says “work out” your own salvation. The salvation has already been delivered to you through Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross. 

The “work out” is like thinking of exercising your body; you exercise your body to develop it, and not to get a body. It's the same with the farmers who work the land, they work not to get land, but to develop what they already have. God has given you a new life; now you are responsible to develop it "with fear and trembling." That means to take your spiritual growth seriously! When people are casual about their spiritual growth, it shows they don't understand the eternal implications. "Work out your own salvation" in the light of being careful to obey Christ wholeheartedly. We must be careful about what we believe and how we live, especially when we are on our own. We must focus our attention and devotion more on Christ so that we won't be sidetracked. 

God works in us as we have responded to His work for us. He worked for us through the cross. Our sense of gratitude to the work of God in reference to our salvation, therefore, should move us into action. In this way God is living in us (Galatians 2 vs 20; First Timothy 4 vs 15). When we are motivated into action by the redemptive work of God, then we work according to the purposes of God (Second Corinthians 3 vs 5). And when we work according to the purposes of God, it is God who works in us. Christians do not work in order to be saved. They work out their salvation because they are saved.

The calling of Paul into apostleship illustrates the work of God through His grace. Paul did not earn his call into apostleship. He was not a self-proclaimed apostle. In fact, his persecution of the church placed him as far away from God as one could possibly be. However, God knew that Paul was a sincere and honest personality, and thus, He provided for him the opportunity to respond to the miraculous appearance of Jesus. Paul could claim no meritorious accomplishment for either his calling or his salvation. All was by the grace of God. 

All that God did toward Paul because of His grace was not a wasted effort. It was not useless because Paul responded with thanksgiving (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). When God’s grace was extended toward him, he worked more abundantly than when he lived under a legal system of religiosity. Paul really worked out his own salvation with fear and trembling, and labored more than all other apostles. He knew he could do all that because of God’s grace with him. When one is motivated by grace, he or she cannot do enough in thanksgiving for his or her salvation.

Prayer: Abba Father, I will forever remain grateful for your gift of salvation, and Your subsequent work in me both to will and to do for Your good pleasure. I commit myself entirely to Your care and leading, and Your empowerment to live in accordance with Your precepts, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

CRAVE FOR THE HIDDEN MANNA

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JUNE 8, 2020.

SUBJECT: CRAVE FOR THE HIDDEN MANNA!

Memory verse: "He who has an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden Manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2 vs 17.)

READ: Exodus 16 vs 13 - 16 & 31:

16:13: So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.

16:14: And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

16:15: So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

16:16: This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one Omer for each person, according to the number of persons; Let every man take for those who are in his tent.

16:31: And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

INTIMATION:

“Hidden manna” suggests the spiritual nourishment that the faithful believers in Christ will receive. Christ is our daily bread who satisfies our eternal, and spiritual needs. In John 6 vs 48 - 51 Jesus compares Himself to manna: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Jesus is the Living Bread (the hidden manna), which provides spiritual nourishment that satisfies our deepest hunger.To eat living bread means to accept Christ into our lives and become united with Him. We are united with Christ in two ways: (1) by believing in His death (the sacrifice of His flesh) and resurrection and (2) by devoting ourselves to living as He requires, depending on His teaching for guidance and trusting in the Holy Spirit for power.

The bread from heaven (the manna) was a special meal from God to His people that sustained them for forty years in the wilderness. As the Israelites travailed in the wilderness for forty years, traveling toward the Promise Land, God provided the bread from heaven (manna) for their physical nourishment. In ancient Hebrew, manna means "what is it?" And this was the question the famished Israelites asked each other when the manna first appeared? No one was sure. But because everyone was asking the same question, the strange milky white ground cover was called manna (What is it). 

Every morning, the desert floor east of the Red Sea was white with this mysterious substance. Like snow it lay evenly on the ground. Like frost it began to crystallize and evaporate in the midday sun. The wandering Israelites harvested the manna each day of their 40-years trek in the wilderness of Sanai. On the day it first appeared, their leader Moses declared this unusual seedless crop "bread from heaven." Most of the people were so hungry they spent less time questioning the dietary value of the manna than they did collecting it. It tasted sweet like honey. It resembled coriander seed with a waferlike consistency. 

The manna was nutritious enough. Men and women and children survived on this bread substitute. But "bread from heaven" was an awesome creation of God, a customized never-before-heard-of food just for His chosen people, the Israelites. The manna kept a whole nomadic nation of Israel alive when their survival seemed in jeopardy. It even fueled the amazing growth of the nation of Israel so that they could supplant the people's living on the edges of the desert—the Edomites, the Midianities, and eventually the Canaanites. 

The same perplexing nature and nutritional value associated with manna in sustaining the life of the nomadic Israelites, is inherent in  our believe in Christ. Jesus is the bread of life that was sent from the Father in order to nourish the spiritual poverty of humanity. Our believe in Him is the hidden manna which satisfies our deep spiritual and eternal needs. In the hidden manna do all our need to live for God consist. Therefore, crave to have it.

Prayer: Abba Father, I crave for the hidden manna. Satisfy my thirst and let my eyes of understanding be enlightened that I may know what is the hope of Your calling, and what the riches of the glory of Christ’s inheritance in me that believe. Engrace me to live for you forever, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU TO PLEASE HIM!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JUNE 7, 2020.

SUBJECT: GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU TO PLEASE HIM!

Memory verse: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2 vs 13.)

READ: Hebrews 13 vs 20 - 21:

13:20: Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

13:21: make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

INTIMATION: 

God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will—to obey His laws. He wants to come alongside with us and be within us to help, hence His gift of the Holy Spirit—our Helper. God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. As a believer, you are not left to your own resources to cope with problems. God created you for His specific purposes that were predetermined by Him, even before the foundation of the world. Consequently, only Him can work out His plan and purpose in us. 

To please God is to do His will; to walk in accordance with His precepts. It’s on this pivot that all that pertains to life and godliness revolves. Jesus clearly expressed this fact when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you” (Matthew 6 vs 33). Every kingdom has a king, and the words of the king is law in the kingdom, and must be obeyed for a favorable and peaceful habitation of the kingdom.

In Ephesians 1 vs 11, the Scripture says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” God is sovereign and in control of all things. He works all things in us according the counsel of His will, and “His counsel stands, and He does His pleasure” (Isaiah 46 vs 10). God’s purposes for the believers cannot be thwarted, no matter how hard Satan tries, or what he brings our way.

Jesus gave us the assurances when He said, in John 6 vs 37 - 39, “All the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”

Godhead—the Triune God—is in union with one another, and is at work in the world, and in every believer. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit never work independently of the other. The will of the Father is accomplished by the Son with the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit. Thus, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God’s promises, even the promise of everlasting life with Him. 

God’s work for us began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work in us began when we first believed. Now, the Holy Spirit—our Helper—lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ every day, helping us accomplish the will of God for us. This is the Christian growth and maturity that began when we accepted Jesus, and continues until Christ returns to perfect us and take us home to the Father.

Sometimes, by human assessment, you feel as though you aren’t making progress in your spiritual life, especially when sometimes you fall into sin. But be of good cheer, it is a gradual process that will only come to perfection when Christ returns to take us to the place He has prepared for us in His Father’s house where there are many mansions. 

Now, look at this Scripture, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1 vs 6.) Be confident that when God starts a project, He completes it! God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us grow in grace until He has completed His work in our lives. Never let your shortcomings, and your feeling of incompleteness, or distress becloud you of God’s promise and provision.

All that is required of the believer is to believe Him and keep His commandments. The same commandments He has sent an Helper—the Holy Spirit to help you in your weaknesses. God works in us to make us the kind of people that would please Him, and He equips us to do the kind of work that would please Him. Yours is to yield to the total control of the Spirit in order to have His fruit fully manifested in you. His fruit is; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the real sense of it, He does all things. What a benevolent Father!

Prayer: Abba Father, I surrender my all to you. Work Your work in me both to will and to do for Your good pleasure, that I may attend perfection at the coming of Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

PRAYER OBSTACLES!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 6, 2020.

SUBJECT : PRAYER OBSTACLES! 

Memory verse: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21 vs 22.)

READ: Luke 6 vs 46 - 49: 

6:46: “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? 

6:47: Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 

4:48: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against the house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 

6:49: But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin on the house was great.

INTIMATION: 

Prayer we already know is fellowshipping with the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. There are known obstacles to our prayers. Some of these obstacles are our very dear 'friends.' We have associated with them for many years, and it will be hard for us to give them up. One of them is a desire to read about the Bible and about prayer rather than to study the Word, meditate on it, and fit ourselves for the highest known and holiest of all vocations. In my considered opinion, it is more than a vocation, it is a privilege, and the rarest of all privileges that have been given to us in grace.

The most outstanding obstacle is a lack of knowledge of whom we are in Christ, and what He is in us, what He did for us, and of our standing and legal rights before the Throne of grace. All these are embedded in the Scriptures. And the lack of this knowledge is the bane of the believer; "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...." (Hosea 4 vs 6). It is in studying and meditation that God’s inheritance to you in Christ is revealed.  And until you do, you will never have a prayer life beyond the baby experience.

Another obstacle is ignorance of what "believing" is. The word "Believe" is a verb. It is an action word—it means to act upon what you believe;—the Word. Then believing the Word is simply acting on it. We act upon it as we act upon the word of your government on taxes. Act on it the way you expect your children to act on your word of right morals to them. There is no believing without acting, and believing means having possession. I possess what the Word has promised. 

For instance, here is a statement of fact: "Surely He has born my sicknesses and carried my pains and I have come to esteem Him as the one stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." You just don't give a mental assent to it, rather you act on the Word; you say it out to yourself and others, as if you are the only person Jesus is talking to. You claim it as your word, and eat it as if you are eating your favorite meal. Declare it all the time. If you fail to speak and act on the Word, you are self-deceived.  The Believer is a "doer”  of the Word and not a hearer only.

Another obstacle is praying for faith. It is a delusion to pray for faith or more faith. You can never get it. I have never heard of anyone getting more faith or having their faith increased by praying for it. Why is it so? Because the prayer for faith is a prayer based on unbelief. If unbelief were not your master, you wouldn't need faith. Praying for faith is because you are in doubt of the Father, His integrity, and His Word, hence you are praying for faith to believe Him. It is an absolute proof that you will not get it.

For instance, if a child should say to the mother, "Mum, I want you to increase my faith in you. I have been trying all morning to believe what you said of my birthday being this Saturday is true." It is noteworthy that the mother gave birth to the child and knows the day she gave birth, but the child is trying to believe the mother on the date of birth. That child is insulting the integrity of the mother. 

So when you pray for faith you are insulting the author of the Word. You don't intend to, but you are doing that. This is the same as acting on the Word and still not believing on the efficacy of the Word. For instance, when you are divinely healed, you will not confess it because you still want to wait a while to confirm it is done.

Another obstacle to prayer is our dependence on other people's faith. We become unconsciously spiritual hitchhikers. To everyone God has given a measure of faith (Romans 12 vs 3); that faith came when you received the Father's nature. That nature is a faith nature. As soon as it came into you and you became His child, you began to develop that faith. Just as you develop your mental strength by certain mental exercises, and develop your physical strength by certain physical exercises, now you are developing your faith by feeding on the Word (John 15 vs 7).

Our Father did give us a measure of faith because He knows that without it, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11 vs 6). If you have no faith you cannot please Him, even with someone’s faith posturing for you. Many times we have gone to the altar, and to the prayer room to pray for more faith, but to no avail. Your faith is built up when you begin to live in the Word, act on the Word, and take advantage of your inheritance in Christ.

Prayer: Abba Father, my complete trust is in You. You are loving, unfailing and ever faithful. There is none like You in heaven and on earth. In You I live, and move, and have all my being. Engrace me to live for You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!