PRAYER: A MASTER KEY

MEMORY VERSE: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:14-15

BIBLE READING: 1 Kings 5-8

There is a song we used to sing back in Nigeria: ‘Prayer is the key. Prayer is the key. Prayer is the master-key. Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer. Prayer is the master-key.’ How true are the lyrics of this song? Jesus started His ministry with prayer (in the desert) and ended it with prayer (on the cross). One of the secrets of Jesus' success whilst He was on the earth was prayers. He prayed regularly. Prayer is a prerequisite for greatness.

Anyone who wants a change of story, a change of circumstances, victory, a breakthrough, etc., must pray. By praying for the sick, God can heal them. James 5:14-15 says: ‘Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.’ Fervent prayer can turn a situation around. James 5:16 says: ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ There was a conspiracy at work to get rid of me some years back. At a point, it was certain that I was going to be sacked because they recruited someone to replace me. I reported the matter to God and He turned the table around. The person that led the conspiracy was demoted and she left out of shame. Others were sacked. Prayer draws angels closer to you. Jesus prayed and angels came to minister to Him (Luke 22:39-43). Prayer diffuses fear and imparts unshakeable confidence. Acts 4:31 says: ‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.’ However, one thing is required for your prayer to be answered and that is faith. Hebrews 11:6 says: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’

NOTE: Prayer draws you closer to God.

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A PRAYER THAT PLEASES THE LORD

MEMORY VERSE: And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 1 Kings 3:13

BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 12-15

Solomon did something no man had ever done and God responded in a way He had never responded. He offered a thousand burnt offerings to God; in return, God paid him a visit. I pray that God will inspire you and me to do something that will cause Him to pay us a visit. 1 Kings 3: 5 says: ‘In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ask what I shall give thee.’ Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people. 1 Kings 3:10 says: ‘And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.’

There are two basic types of requests: those that please the Lord and those that don’t. An example of a request that didn’t please the Lord was Israelite’s request for a king. 1 Samuel 8:6-7 says: ‘But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’ The Lord granted their request even though it didn’t please Him; besides, it was not in His perfect will for them to have a king. The fact that God grants a request does not necessarily mean that He is pleased with the request. I pray that you will not have what God does not want you to have in the mighty name of Jesus,amen. Israel had what God did not want them to have; and as a result, they suffered. 1 Kings 12:4 says: ‘Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.’ Adam and Eve had what God did not want them to have and they died spiritually. Whilst some requests do not please God, some bring Him joy. Solomon's request pleased the Lord because it was in line with God's will for him. Any request that is at variance with His will displeases Him. You can know God's will through revelation; and by studying the Bible,also.

NOTE: When you pray in tongues, you are praying according to His divine will; therefore, it pleases the Lord.

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YOUR PRAYER REQUEST REVEALS WHO YOU ARE

MEMORY VERSE: And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 1 Kings 3:10

BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 8-11

In 1 Kings 3:4-14, King Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to God. The Lord was very impressed and gave him a blank cheque. Verse 5 says: ‘In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ask what I shall give thee.’ If you give God what no man has ever given to Him; He will give you what He has never given to any man in return. King Solomon was the first to offer a thousand burnt offering to God; and, he was the first to receive a blank cheque from God. I pray that God will inspire you and me to do something no man has ever done, so we can receive something no man has ever received.

1 Kings 3:9-10 says: ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.’ Someone once said, ‘I never ask God for anything because He knows my needs.’ God knows your needs, but He wants you to ask. Matthew 7:7-8 says: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ King Solomon's request was specific. He didn’t ask for everything or anything. Be specific with your request. Don’t act like the man who said, ‘God, my name is Jimmy and I will take whatever you gimme.’ King Solomon’s request reflected his priority, personality, vision, values, goals, etc. Your request says a lot about you.

NOTE: We can tell from King Solomon’s prayer request that he was a humble man. We can also tell from his prayer request that he was not a selfish man. He was a man who put the needs of others first.

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WILL HE FIND YOU? PART ONE

MEMORY VERSE: And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 11-20

What is prayer? According to Noah Webster’s dictionary 1828 edition, it is a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God's glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits. There are several types of prayer. There is the prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Praise is offered to God for who He is and what He does in general. A popular form of praise is a eulogy. “You are the Biggest… You are the Greatest….. You are the Wisest….. You are the Strongest….. You are the Best….”, are forms of eulogies. God loves it when we eulogise Him. Unfortunately, many don’t eulogise Him and some of us who do spend a little time doing it. Going through the Scriptures, I discovered that whenever people eulogise God, He does wonders. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is offered to God for what He has done for us in particular. You thank Him specifically for what He did. You slept last night and He woke you up this morning, thank Him for that. Why? Not everyone who slept last night woke up this morning. Thank Him for your vision. Why? Many lost their vision last week. Now, granted, if you are having an emergency – you are about to slide into another car ahead of you – you do not have time to do a lot of talking. But apart from that, it is a good principle to start prayers with praise and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving gives you access into His court and praise gives you access into His presence. Psalm 100:4 says: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

Another type of prayer is worship. Worship is not singing hymns or choruses or slow songs; worship is not a declaration of God’s attributes. Vocal expression has to do with praise and thanksgiving; worship has to do with attitude. What’s your attitude in prayer? Different attitudes are represented by different words. One means to bend the head low. Another means to bend the upper part of the body forward and stretch out the hands. A third means to prostrate oneself face downward in the presence of the One whom one is worshipping. NOTE: Thanksgiving and praise are vocal, meaning they come out of our mouths; worship is the attitude or (of position of the body) in which we come. There is the prayer of petition which means asking for physical and material needs to be met. Might I remind you that praying is not just thinking of anything we want and asking for it. Praying is discovering God’s revealed purpose in Scripture, and then praying for the outworking of that purpose. Also, there is the prayer of intercession. The intercessor is one who comes between God and those for whom he is praying. There are several other types of prayers and we have treated them in the past. God willing, sometimes this year, if God delays His second coming, we will repost them. Prayer is one powerful tool believers, all round the world, have to turn things around. Another one is speaking in tongues. John Wesley wrote this in his journal: “ I am persuaded that God does everything by prayer and nothing without it”. Paul, the apostle, said in Phillipians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” You can achieve a lot through prayers. You can destroy the plans of the enemy in advance. Through the power of prayer, Jesus destroyed the plans of the enemy over Peter’s life. Luke 22:31- 32 says: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Peradventure you have been set up to fail like Jabez, if you will cry to God He will turn that around. Prayer changes things –events, people, situations ,etc. Prayer also fixes things. It fixes a bad marriage. Prayer also corrects things.

NOTE: God is only committed to answering the prayers of His children. Before you go to Him, you need to ask yourself this personal question, am I lamb or a goat. Am I His child? If you have not given your life to Christ you are not His child, period!

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TYPES OF LOSSES

MEMORY VERSE: For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 12:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Amos 5-9

One of the plans of God for your life is to increase you. Psalm 115:14 says, “The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children”. God wants you to have the good things of life. There is no earthly father who does not want his children to prosper or increase. If earthly fathers, being sinful, wants their children to increase or prosper, how much more our Father who hath in heaven? 3 John 2 says,” Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth”. It is one thing for God to want to increase you, it is another thing to be in receipt of that increase. One of the reasons why many of us are experiencing the opposite of increase, despite all what God is doing in our lives is because we are robbing God. Malachi 3:8 says, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” One cannot rob God and expect to prosper. That’s impossible.

Another reason why many are experiencing the opposite of increase is because they are careless with the things He has given to them. Many of us are not managing the resources God has put under our care well. Friend, how are you managing the resources that God has put under your care? How are you managing your time? How are you managing your own personal finance? Are you an impulse shopper? Are you a spendthrift? The fact that you have money does not mean you have to spend it. If you don’t manage what God has given to you very well, you will lose them. There are two basic types of losses. They are retrievable losses and irretrievable losses. If you misplace your wallet, you can find it. If you lose money in a business venture, you can make it back. Most material things are retrievable if you lose them. Although many a time, the effort required to get them back are so much that it is better that one did not lose them in the first place. Some things are irretrievable e.g. one’s birthright. Isaac exchanged his for food. Hebrew 12:17 says, “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Although he repented, cried and all that, he did not get it back. There are some mistakes that your repentance cannot correct. It is just like a lady who losses her virginity before marriage. If she confesses her sin and ask for forgiveness, the Lord will forgive her, but what is lost is lost. As such, young woman be careful. Had Joseph fornicated with Potiphar’s wife, he would never have become a prime minister in Egypt. Samson’s hair grew back but his eyes didn’t. That was an irretrievable loss. One of the reasons why we lose things is because we don’t value them. Sir, hope you value your spouse. Ma, hope you value your spouse. Bro and Sister, hope you value your pastor. Pastor, hope you value your members. Anyone who does not value what he or she has is in danger of loosing them. Some of our sisters have lost good men because they were proving hard to get to men. Those men are gone forever but you can ask for mercy today and the Lord will bring another good man.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please have mercy.

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"AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH SHALL SAVE THE SICK"

MEMORY VERSE: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:14-15

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: John 13-15

There are several ways to pray for the sick. For instance, you can lay hands on them . The “laying of hands” usually means touch the sick person’s head with one or both hands as you pray. Laying of hands is not magic, but it is scriptural. It provides a “point of contact” for the sick person to “release his faith”. It also can be a channel for real spiritual power. Jesus laid hands on the sick and healed them. Luke 4:40 says, “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.” Jesus also promised that believers will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Mark 16:18 says, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” What if i lay hands on the sick and the sick does not recover; won’t people make fun of me? Well, you are not the healer. Jesus Christ is the healer, you are just an agent. I have prayed for a lot of sick people and in all sincerity, not of all of them have recovered on the spot. There are times they will come back two months later to tell me that after praying with them they felt relieved or the pain subsided or they were healed.

The bible says that we may lay hands on the sick (Mark 16:18), and so we do. However, Jesus prayed for the sick in different ways. Sometimes He laid hands on them, at times on their eyes or ears; sometimes He made no outward gesture, but just spoke the word and they were healed. Often He commanded them to do something as an act of faith. There was a time He once put mud on a blind man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off! Another time He simply said to some lepers: “Go and show yourselves to the priests” and as they turned to go they were healed. The “priests” in the olden days are the equivalent of the health department today. This, by the way, should be noted by those who are suffering from diseases that need to be controlled with medication. We do not encourage people to discontinue such medication (for epilepsy, diabetes, heart trouble, etc., for example) until they have “gone and showed themselves to the priests” – the doctors- and their cure has been verified. The same would apply to a person suffering from tuberculosis, or other communicable disease, who is healed by Jesus through the gift of healing. In the Epistle of James we read of healing in conjunction with “anointing with oil”. James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” The elders, the leaders of the congregation, are to anoint with oil as they pray for the sick of that particular congregation. The disciples anointed with oil as they prayed for the sick (Mark 6:13). Oil is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. “Anointing” meant to pour oil (usually olive oil) on the sick person as prayer was said. Today the usual custom is to touch the forehead of the sick person with the oil.

NOTE: The bible says, “the prayer of faith shall save (heal) the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up...” (James 5:15). Take note of the unconditional nature of the promise! We have no scriptural warrant to end a healing prayer with the faith-destroying phrase, “if it be Thy will”! Jesus never prayed for the sick in a conditional manner. God perfectly made it clear in His Word that it is His will to heal the sick.

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THE GOD OF LAST MINUTE

MEMORY VERSE: Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 16-20

God answers prayers. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” He has answered prayers in the past, and He is still answering prayers. There are times you will receive answers to your prayers whilst praying - before you finish praying. A typical example can be found in 1 Samuel 7:7-10. The Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together and they came up against them. When Samuel heard this, he ran to God. Whilst he was praying, reporting the matter to God, the Lord responded. Verse 10 says, “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.” Another example can be found in 1 Kings 18. Elijah had not finishing praying before He received an answer to his prayer; fire came down from heaven and consumed his sacrifice.

There are times you will receive answers to your prayer after praying - maybe an hour later or a day later or month later. For example, after Solomon had finished praying during the dedication of the temple, fire came from heaven and consumed the sacrifice (2 Chronicles 7:1). The early church was under threat and the disciples gathered one day to pray for boldness. After praying, they received an answer from God. Acts 4:31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

However, there are times the answer will not come until the very last minute. This was what at happened in the case of the three Hebrew boys. Nebuchadnezzar threatened that if they don't bow to his image of gold, they will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Because they refused, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. I believe whilst they were heating up the furnace, these boys must have been crying to God for deliverance but nothing happened. When they were being tied up about to be thrown into the fire, i believe, they must have intensified their prayers at this point and still nothing happened. The Lord waited until they were thrown into the burning furnace, before sending deliverance to them. At times, God will deliberately allow situations to get worse before intervening. He does this so that man will not be able to take glory over what He will do. Whenever God uses a life to demonstrate His awesomeness and power, He compensates the fellow. After God used the three Hebrew boys to demonstrate that He has control over fire, He compensated them by promoting them. I want to encourage you not to give up because you don't know what God is up to. Don’t backslide or lose hope because God has not forgotten you.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please use my life to demonstrate your awesomeness.

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FREELY YE HAVE RECIEVED, FREELY GIVE

MEMORY VERSE: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 16-18

READ: Acts 8:17-20

God is not a talkative. He does not speak for the sake of speaking. Someone once said, " some speak because they like the sound of their own voice " in other words they speak and speak without making much sense. The Lord does not speak every minute as some people claim, and when He speaks it is deliberate. It is to achieve something. There are several reasons why this is so, for example, His words carry power. Psalm 33:8- 9 says, “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” People in position of authority watch their words because with it, they can start a war and with it, they can also put an end to a war.

God does not waste His words. If He says a word, there is a reason for it. Unfortunately, many are beginning to think that some of the things written in the bible are not relevant today. They think they are old school or only relevant to the people that lived during the days of Jesus. Some have even argued that some of what Paul taught was for a particular denomination not the entire body of Christ. This is not so. Whatever you find in the bible has been deliberately included by the Holy Spirit for a reason and it is “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” ( 2 Timothy 3:16) . In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out His 12 disciples with a charge. Verse 7-8 says, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” Why did Jesus include this, “freely ye have received, freely give”, in the charge? It is because man has a tendency to make merchandise of the grace of God upon his life or the anointing of God upon his life. Today, we hear stories of people charging for prophesy. We receive phone alerts encouraging us to subscribe for daily prayers and prophecy. Some of us have even paid for prayers. They tell you, "bro, you need special prayers and fasting" and they charge you for it. All these are not scriptural. We hear of people selling anointed handkerchiefs, apples, bottles of water, etc. All these are not scriptural and if you have ever bought any of these, you have wasted your hard earned money. The anointing of God or healing is not for sale. Gehazi tried to sell healing and received a curse from God ( 2 Kings 5). The grace of God or the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not for sale. In our bible reading, we see Simon being severely reprimanded for offering to buy the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Don’t go to people’s houses and pray a long prayer because you want them to give you a gift. Don’t give visions because you want people to give you money. You don’t have to tell people that you prayed for them over night all in the name getting something in return.

NOTE: The Lord will not tolerate anyone who is making merchandise of His grace. He will not tolerate anyone who is using the death of Christ on the cross for their own selfish and negative ambition.

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THEIR WEAPONS SHALL NOT PROSPER

MEMORY VERSE: No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, says the LORD. Isaiah 54:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 10-13

There is no place in the bible where the Lord promised that once a man or woman give his or her life to Christ everything will be hunky-dory. There will be a lot of challenges on the way. There will be persecutions. A lot of your close friends and relatives will find your new way of life boring because you no longer entertain people saying terrible things behind people’s back, you no longer go out and get drunk, you rebuke them sharply when they share dirty jokes with you, you no longer accept bribes, you no longer participate in office deals, when they do something wrong you no longer cover for them, etc. Not only that, people will start attacking you for being too religious. When all these begin to happen don’t panic because the Lord has everything under control.

Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, says the LORD.” The bible did not say they will not fashion their weaposn against you, no. They will fashion it but it will not prosper i.e. it will not be able to harm you. I don’t know who is planning something against you in your place of work. I don’t know the lies they are cooking up against you in the ministry. I don’t even know how far they have gone in fashioning those weapons or those involved in fashioning the weapon. This is the word of the Lord, "no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper”. Psalm 21:11 says, “For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.”

Not only will their weapons not prosper, they will fall for your sake. Isaiah 54:15 says, “Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.” When you go through the bible, you will find that virtually everyone who tried to harm a child of God paid dearly for it. Oh Yes! Haman was hanged on the same gallows he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:10). The same people who hatched the plan to throw Daniel into the lion’s death ended up in the lion’s den with their families (Daniel 6). I will never forget an incident that happened when i was in the secondary school. We were in the exam hall writing a paper when the invigilator came in and began to search everyone. Unknown to me, the boy who sat behind had the answers to the questions with him. Immediately he saw the invigilator, he squeezed it and threw it under my chair. The invigilator found it under my chair and took me out of the exam hall. At the end of the day, the boy and his friends were caught. He wanted to get me into trouble but God turned it around. He and his friends repeated the class but i was promoted.

NOTE: If you are busy planning or scheming against any child of God you better stop because you are playing with fire.

CONFESSION: No weapon fashioned against me shall prosper.

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SUFFERING IN SILENCE?

MEMORY VERSE: And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:41

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 16-20

There is a time for ‘everything’ under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1). According to Ecclesiastes 3:2-8, there is a time to be born and there is a time die. There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak and so on. This brings us to this question, ‘who controls time?’ God. Daniel 2:21 says, “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:” The Most High God decides when one faces his or her trial of faith. Matthew 4:1 says, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” Trails of faith have so many advantages. For instance, they are opportunity for spiritual maturity (James 1:3). Not only that, you will never know the great things that God has deposited inside you until you face some challenges. David never knew he had the potential to kill a lion and bear with his bare hands until a bear and lion tried to steal his sheep (1 Samuel 17:34). The Lord determines how long the trial of faith will last for. Genesis 15:13 says, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” He determines when one's waiting period comes to an end. In Genesis 18, during God’s visit to Abraham, He told Sarah that her waiting period was over. Verse 14 says, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

One may ask, ‘how about when something evil happens, does God decide that?’ God does not do evil. Job 34:12 says, “Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.” Although God does not do evil, nothing happens except He allows it and He will not allow something He cannot use. In His infinite wisdom, He allows some things so as to bring a testimony out of it. Although God cannot be stopped, when He wants to work in our lives He expects our cooperation. God’s initial plan was that the children of Israel will spend 400 years in Egypt but they spent 430 years. Exodus 12:41 says, “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” Why? When the children of Israel were supposed to cry to God for deliverance, they kept quiet. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be given you: for every one that asketh recieveth: and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Even when Pharaoh was killing all their male children, they just kept quiet. It is baffling that people can be suffering to the point of losing their children and still keep quiet. Not until they cried to God, their situation did not change. Are you suffering in silence? There is nothing spiritual in people taking advantage of you and you keep quiet. No! It is time to cry to God to fight your cause! It is time to cry to God to defend you! It is time to cry to God to fight your battle for you! As far as one keeps quiet, things will not change.

NOTE: Stop asking God if He can’t see what you are going through. Report the matter to Him!

PRAYER POINT: Father, fight for me today.

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TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

MEMORIZE: And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Genesis 3:10-11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 6-8

As we heard at the beginning of this year, 2015 is going to be a year of meaningful achievement. Every genuine child of God will have cause to rejoice because of what God is going to do in their family, marriage, career, ministry, business and work. However, there are conditions attached to the fulfilment of this promise. One of them is taking responsibility. Anyone who will have a meaningful achievement this year must take responsibility. One of the things people do when they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions or their life is they look for people to blame. Friend, you do not need your parents to succeed. The fact that your father practiced polygamy is not the reason why you are not where you are meant to be. There are a lot of people who their father practiced polygamy who are doing fine. The fact that your parents did not send you to school is not an excuse. There are people who did not have that opportunity but worked hard, saved some money and enrolled themselves on a part time course. Today they are graduates. The fact that your parents were not there for you when you were growing up is not an excuse because we have seen orphans who became employers of labour. Stop blaming your mother who left your father when you were a kid or your father who left your mother when you a kid for your current problems. There are people who went through worst things and still made something out of life.

This year, you want meaningful achievement? Take responsibility. Accept that you are where you are because of the decisions you took in the past. I found in counselling that one of the most difficult people to help are people who do not want to take responsibility. They are always looking for people to blame. Maybe they entered into courtship with the wrong man; instead of taking responsibility, they blame their aunt who introduced the man to them. Some brothers fall into fornication and blame the sister they are in courtship with. “I fornicated with her because that sister is too weak” they will say. What an irresponsible brother! I have seen parents who instead of taking responsibility for their child’s terrible behaviour, they blame the school. “Junior became a bad boy when he joined that school,” they will say. Is Junior the only child in that school? How come other children in the same school - and in the same class with junior - are behaving well? Oh sherry failed that exam because of her teacher. Really? How come other class mates of sherry passed the exam? Is Sherry the only student that teacher taught? Some blame the internet? How come other children who use the internet don’t do the terrible things your children are doing? Some blame the society; how come in the same society we have youths – male and females – who are still virgins? They don’t have two heads. I have met some adults who blame their current lack of self discipline and character on their upbringing. If you believe your parents are at fault for that, why not re-train yourself now that you are an adult? Adam’s problems started when - instead of taking responsibility for his actions - he began to blame his wife. Genesis 3:10-11 says, “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” God asked Adam “have you eaten from the tree you should not eat from?” All he needed to say was either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. But he didn’t, he was looking for who to blame for his nakedness so he blamed God- first, and then his wife.

ACTION: Start taking responsibility. People will only waste your time if you give them your time to waste. Take responsibility for how you spend your time.

CONFESSION: As from today, i refuse to allow people to waste my time and my life.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.     

HOW TO ASK ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

MEMORY VERSE: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1 John 5:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:89-104, Proverbs 31:9, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 

If you want God to answer your prayers, there are certain conditions you must meet. One of them is you must ask according to His will. 1 John 5:14 says this: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” One of the reasons why God does not respond to some of the prayers offered today is because it is not according to His will. Sister, it is not in God’s will that your mother-in-law should die. God is not a murderer! Therefore, if you are praying that God should kill her, i can assure you that God will not answer that prayer. The will of God for her is to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savoir - if she is yet to do so and you two live in peace. Ezekiel 18:32 says this: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” It is also not in God’s will that something terrible should happen to that traffic warden who gave you a parking ticket. The traffic warden was doing his job. If you had parked properly, you would not have been served with a parking fine. Moreover, God will not kill him or her for you because He is not a traffic warden killer! 

How does one ask according to God’s will? Firstly, pray in tongues. Paul said, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14). You see, when it comes to prayer, everyone one of us has an infirmity. The infirmity/weakness is “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26-27). How does the Spirit of God help us to overcome this infirmity? He takes over and makes intercession through us, praying according to the will of God. Therefore, when you pray in tongues, it is not you praying but the spirit of God making intercession through you. The next time you wake up in the middle of the night with a burden to pray and you do not know what to pray for, just start praying in tongues. One of the advantages of praying in tongues is that you can do it anywhere - whilst driving your children home, whilst having picnic with your friend, whilst waiting in a queue, in a courtroom, exam room, bathroom, just name it. You do not even need to close your eyes when praying in tongues. Another advantage of praying in tongues is that no one knows what you are praying about; even the demons do not know it. 

Secondly, pray in accordance with God’s word. The only place where you will find God’s will is inside His word i.e. the bible. The great revelation of the will of God is the Word of God. Moreover, the Word of God is packed from the beginning to end with divine promises. These promises of God are the will of God. This is how to pray in accordance with the word of God. When you find a promise that relates to your situation and meets your need, that promise is God’s will for you.  God never promised anything that was not His will; anything else would be inconsistent. Suppose a particular challenge keeps re-occurring. Nahum 1:9 says this: “What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” You go to God and say, “Father, Your word says 'affliction shall not rise up the second time,' please let this challenge never re-occurred again.” As you pray earnestly and in tongues, God will see to it that the challenge never re-occurs again.   

HINT: What you are doing when you pray in accordance with the scripture is you are saying to God “do as You have said” 

NOTE: One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is unforgiveness. Forgive first before going to God with your requests.  

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus. 

ANGER HINDERS PRAYERS

MEMORY VERSE: And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 2 Kings 3:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrew 7-9

The number one hindrance to prayer is sin. Isaiah 59:1-2 says: “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” God loves man, but He hates sin with a passion. The fact that we are saved does not give us the liberty to sin. Romans 6:1 says: “what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Another hindrance to prayer is unforgiveness. Mark 11:25 says: “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Friend, it is high time you forgave that fellow. Except you forgive, there is nothing any one can do to help you. Forgive that fellow, that in-law, that colleague at work, that husband or wife, not because they deserve it, but because you want God to answer your prayers. Besides, Christ forgave your sins not because you deserve it. Luke 12:48 says: “………. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required....” Because you have been forgiven, you are expected to forgive others.

 Another hindrance to prayer is doubt. James 1:6-7 says: “but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Anger is another hindrance to prayer. In 2 Kings 3, three kings – King of Judah, King of Israel and King of Edom – ran into problems and they called unto Elisha. When He arrived at scene, he went ballistic. 2 Kings 3:13 says: “And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” After reacting angrily, he could not pray. He had become weak in the spirit. He had to request for a minstrel because his spirit was down. 2 Kings 3:15 says: “But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.” Elisha had every right to tell off both kings - king of Edom and king of Israel -for they worshiped idols, yet his anger made it impossible for him to pray or prophesy.  Friend, if you are always getting angry with your children, you will not be able to pray. If you are always shouting at your wife or arguing with your husband, your family prayer altar will become cold. Once you are angry that is it, praying becomes an uphill task. The Holy Spirit is a loving Spirit not an angry Spirit. He takes His leave once anger comes in and without the Holy Spirit, you cannot pray effectively.

TO DO: If you are suffering from the spirit of anger, I recommend fasting.

PRAYER: Father, please rid me of anger.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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THE PART OF PRAYER

MEMORY VERSE: but ye, beloved, building you yourself on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 20.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 21-22, 1 Cor 3, Ezek 1, John 2

Prayer is a FEAR/ ANXIETY DESTROYER. In Acts 4:31 the disciples of Jesus gathered to pray, as they prayed the ground shook and they were filled with the Holy Ghost. By the time they had finished praying, all the fear in them (fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of death, fear of the future, fear of men e.t.c) had disappeared. Prayer also gives one the ability to walk on water (water denotes problems). Through prayers natural laws are suspended. In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus prayed till the early hours of the morning , when He got to shore there were no boats around to take Him to his disciples so He temporarily suspended the law of gravity and began to walk on water. Prayer not only suspends natural law, it also suspends human laws. There is always a deadline date for project submission in the university, once you miss it you have to wait till the next semester – this is human law. Due to one reason or the other when I was writing my final year project, I missed the project deadline by six working days. After praying I walked into the office to submit my project, without been asked any question the lady at the desk accepted my project praise God.

Prayer is an IDEA GENERATOR. To be successful in marriage, business, ministry e.t.c we need ideas. To be a force to reckon with in this generation we need ideas. To solve problems we need ideas. To become the head and remain the head all through our life we need ideas. To take the gospel to the uttermost part of the world we need ideas. Many Christian Scientists have testified that the ideas behind most of their inventions came during their prayer walk or when they were on their knees praying. One of the greatest inventors in American history – George Washington Carver got the idea of three hundred uses of peanuts during his prayer walk. From peanut he created peanut butter, diesel fuel, gasoline fuel, lubricating oil, insecticide to mention a few. The idea that unified the gentiles and Jews came when Peter was praying, Acts 10:9-16. How about medical science? One of the fastest growing branches of medical science is Herbalism or herbal medicine. People prefer herbal medicines to drugs because of the side effects. Do you know the idea for herbal medicine came whilst praying? If you don’t believe me please read Isaiah 38:21

The only accepted means of making withdrawal from an ATM machine is by using an ATM card. Do you know that you can have a billion in your bank account, except you use your ATM card withdrawal will be impossible? You can cry by the ATM machine all day, if you don’t use your ATM card you will not be able to make withdrawal. The same thing applies to spiritual things. The only means of withdrawal from your heavenly account is prayer. The only means of asking for help is prayer. The only means of doing anything is prayer. We can complain from today till tomorrow, we can sit and discuss about how bad the economy is if we don’t pray it will only get worse.

ACTION POINT: Use prayer today to inform heaven of your situation.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHEN BREAKTHROUGH IS CLOSE

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 33, John 12, Prov 9, Eph 2

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. One question we all ask is how can I tell when my blessing is at the door? I have prayed, fasted, sown seeds, made vows and fulfilled them e.t.c. how can I tell breakthrough is around the corner. I have been asking God for a fruit of the womb, or a life partner or a job or a promotion or a spiritual gift e.t.c, how do I know when I am about to get what I have been asking from God? 

Today we will be looking at two signs that tells you your breakthrough is around the corner. Firstly, an unusual burden to be generous to both God and men. In 2 Kings 4:8-17 is the story of the great Shunem woman and Elisha. This woman had been looking up to God for the fruit of womb for a long time. When her time came, she began to have an unusual desire to give or be generous. She invited the man of God to come in for a meal and that one refused; she did not take no for answer, the bible records that she constrained him to eat bread. This woman could not explain why but there was this deep desire to give, no wonder she took her giving to another level by building a house for the man of God; nine months later she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Abraham waited on God for twenty-five years for the promise of a son. When his waiting period was about to be over, he too began to experience an unusual urge to give. He saw three strangers passing by; he ran to them and begged them to come into house for a glass of water. He did not feel comfortable with giving his guests water alone so he prepared food. Something arose in this ninety-nine year old man, and all he wanted to do was just give. We know the end of the story, exactly nine months later Isaac was born. Secondly, an unusual burden to pray. Hannah had been attending Shiloh for years, 1 Samuel 1:4-19. She would go with her family,offer burnt offerings and go back home but this particular year she had an unusual burden to pray. Whilst everyone was eating and drinking, she went into the temple and began to pour her heart unto God. She prayed to the extent even passers-by took notice of her, the man of God first thought she was drunk before he found out that she was praying over a matter. God spoke through the man of God and nine months later her joy was full. When Jesus was about to complete his mission on earth i.e. be crucified, He too had an unusual burden to pray. He began to experience a deep desire to pray; the more He prayed, the more He wanted to pray. He prayed to a point where His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground, Luke 22:44. Three days later, Jesus successfully completed this task and humanity was saved from the wrath of God. Brethren please do not joke with the urge to pray or do anything for God.

KEYWORD: Once you feel the urge to pray, drop whatever you are doing and just begin to pray if possible in tongue. Many have missed major breakthroughs by ignoring this urge.

I SHALL BE THE HEAD PT5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 5, Luke 8, Job 22, 1 Cor 9

Deuteronomy 28:13 and the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.

In these series we have been talking about what it means to be the head. Yesterday we talked about a part of the head which is the ear. We said to be the head means I will hear what the Lord has to say even if it is a rebuke. Ecclesiastes 7:5 says it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

Today we will be looking at an important part of the head which is the mouth. From the mouth we eat, drink, e.t.c. What makes the mouth very important is the presence of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue. What the head does with the tongue will determine whether the body will live or die. What the head does with the tongue will determine if there will be peace in the family, church, work, e.t.c. A leader can get the people to do double time by what he says. James 4:2 says ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Using the tongue to complain never solves any problem, it only makes the problem look bigger; it is prayer that solves problem. To be head means instead of complaining, I will take everything to God in prayer. Psalms 50:14-15 says offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. What took David to the top? He was a forgotten boy in the farm. The father did not want him around. Bible scholars told us that he was an embarrassment to the father. The old man messed up with a woman and the product of the affair was David. So whenever the family was around they would keep David away because he represents shame. While in the forest, David began to praise God. He said it is true no one wants to see me but I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth, Psalm 34:1. The Lord decided that in that case, I will promote you. It is true that no one wants see you (David), but I will promote you so that you will be their head. He decided that it is true they have relegated you (David) to the background, but I will bring you (David) to the palace. Anyone who knows how to praise the Lord will be head. When you say I shall be head, what you are saying is instead of complaining, I will praise the Lord. There is a reason why the head has two ears and a mouth. James 1:19 says wherefore , my beloved brethren , let every man be swift to hear ,slow to speak, slow to anger .The Leader is expected see more, hear more and talk less.

KEY WORD: When you say I shall be the head, what you are saying is I will be quick to hear and slow to wrath.

THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 35-36, Mark 6, Job 2, Romans 6

Mark 11:17 and he taught, saying unto them, is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations of prayer? But ye have made it a den of thieves.

Bible studies: Mark 11:11-17

In our bible studies we read a very disturbing account of what transpired between Jesus and the church. Jesus the head and the owner of the church visited a temple to fellowship and have a good time with them. Because the visit meant a lot to Him, He got there very early hoping to perform signs and wonders , raise dead situations and marriages , restore lost opportunities , impart them, bless them and most importantly spend the night with them . He came fully prepared having spent quality time in praying and fasting and all that. When He got to the temple, He decided to inspect the temple and what He saw grieved Him greatly. He saw religious ceremonies carried out with no relationship to the Spirit. He saw commercialism, injustice, exploitation, hypocrisy and a disregard for the holiness of His Father. This made Him very sad; no one even acknowledged Him and by the time it was evening He left the church grieving in His heart. Just as He visited the temple, He visits churches today to inspect and bless them but He leaves disappointed. He sees the church turning into a social gathering instead of a spiritual gathering. He sees the church turning into a fashion centre, a place to display wealth and success. He sees a lot of activities that has nothing to do with the Spirit. He sees people fighting to the extent of hurting themselves over church posts; He sees the shepherd interested in what the sheep has to offer rather than feeding the sheep and He returns back to heaven in tears. A young girl died and went to heaven.She described an incident were Jesus was crying over souls going to hell . In her own words, she said “Jesus does not cry like humans, when He cries you can feel it even to His heart!”. She said it is a painful thing to see yet many churches make Him cry every Sunday. He visits many services and while everyone is busying having fun, He is at the back weeping because He is now invisible even in His church i.e. His house.

After the inspection, Jesus left. He returned the next morning and we saw a side of Jesus that I pray that no one will ever see. You see Jesus can be very loving .1 John 4:8 calls Him love. He can also be a consuming fire too. Hebrew 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Three particular activities made Him very angry – buying and selling; money changing and dove selling. There should be no buying and selling inside the church. Outside the church you are free to buy and sell. There should be no money changing, if you need to change money do it before you come into the church. Dove selling is selling of anointing handkerchiefs, apples e.t.c. and it is prohibited in the house of God! No commercial activity should take place inside the church. After throwing out the money changers, dove sellers, He taught them and told them that the church is a house of Prayer. The church is a place for serious business with God not man. It is not avenue to socialize at all. There is nothing wrong chatting with your friends after the service but whilst in the presence of the Most High it is serious business. The centre of attraction in the church should be Jesus not you or me or the pastor.

PRAYER POINT: Father, send revival into all your churches all over the world.

EFFECTIVE PRAYER

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 30, Mark 1, Est 6, Romans 1

Nehemiah 4:9 nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

BIBLE STUDIES: Nehemiah 4:7-18

There are different kinds of prayers. There are some God does not even entertain at all for example the prayer of a fellow who is living in sin and refuses to repent. John 9:31 says now we know that God heareth not sinners. If you are still living in sin please repent today so that your prayers will be answered. There also some cries He does not even hear at all. Psalm 66:18 says if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me. Before you go to God make sure there are no bitterness or unforgiveness or hatred in you. Then there are some prayers while it is still been offered, God hears and answers immediately; these are the prayers of the righteous. Psalm 34:15 says the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. James 5:16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Bible scholars have told us that the word effectual in this passage means energoumene in Greek which translates to energetic. An example of this type of prayer is found in Luke 22:44, where Jesus prayed and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. A prayer that produces sweat as of great drops of blood is not a gentleman’s prayers (not the one we pray sitting down or casually), it is a very aggressive, energetic prayer and the bible says such availeth much.

An effective fervent prayer needs to be backed by an action. Just as faith without work is dead, prayer without an action is dead. What parted the red sea was not the cry of Moses to God; it was the action he took after praying. Exodus 14:15 says and the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. Many of us have prayed and fasted, it is now time for action. Many of us have prayed for financial breakthrough, it is now time to learn a trade or add value to our lives by getting education or start a business. In our bible studies, we see Nehemiah backing up his prayers with an action. After praying for protection, he began to watch day and night. In 2 Kings 2:14 when Elisha got to River Jordan, after calling on the God of Elijah, the next thing he did was struck the water. Many are at their river Jordan calling on the God of Elijah but not taking any action. Before embarking on that journey, after you must have prayed and committed the journey into the hands of God, take action by driving carefully and abiding by speed regulations. After praying for success in that exam, take action by studying hard. Praying alone is not sufficient to pass an exam. Paying tithe alone is not enough to prosper you; it needs to be backed up with diligence and hard work. After payment of your tithes, make sure you get to work early and do your job properly. Not only that, our services in the vine yard of God needs to be backed up with righteousness. After winning souls or working in the vine yard of God, as children ensure you obey your parents; as wives ensure you submit to your husbands and as husbands ensure you love your wife. It will be counterproductive to evangelize and not obey one’s parents or submit to one’s husband or love one’s wife just as Christ loved the church. After praying for a marriage partner, take necessary actions to take care of yourself. Be well groomed. Wear neatly pressed clothes. They do not have to expensive but they must be ironed not rough .

KEY WORD: Fervent prayers need to be backed up with actions!

WHEN MOVED TO PRAY

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.

A prayer-less Christian is a powerless Christian. It is impossible to conquer the world as a child of God without a life of prayer. Praying has so many advantages. It brings deliverance - while Paul and Silas prayed in the prison their bands were loosed, Acts 16:26. We receive un-shakeable confidence through prayers – the disciples received boldness to preach the gospel while they prayed, Acts 4:31.Through prayers we receive the keys to either open or shut the windows of heaven- Elijah through prayers shut the heaven for three and a half years and opened it back. Prayers usher us into the presence of God and God’s glory rubs on us – whilst Moses was praying he saw the glory of God and his face began to shine, Exodus 34:6-8 & 30. Prayer paves the way for transfiguration – while Jesus prayed with his disciples he was transfigured, Luke 9:28-29. When we pray it should not only be in understanding but in tongues also. Praying in tongues should not only be on Sundays or night vigils. One of the keys to spiritual growth is praying in tongues daily. There are a lot of advantages in praying in tongues. While praying in tongues,our spiritual life is edified, 1 Corinthians 14:4; also when we pray in tongues we are speaking to God directly, 1 Corinthians 14:2 and by praying in tongues we magnify God, Acts 10:46.

Most importantly when you are led by the spirit to pray, stop what you are doing and start praying. While singing or praying, if a particular prayer point comes to mind immediately start praying on the prayer point. Most of the challenges in the church today could have been avoided if only we prayed when moved by the Holy Spirit to do so. The Holy Spirit woke a pastor up at night to intercede for a pregnant lady in the church. Unknowingly to him, the sister was in labour and was having complications. The pastor began to pray; two hours later she put to bed safely. The pastor only found out the next morning when the husband called to inform the pastor that his wife put to bed in the early hours of that morning. There are many accidents and mishaps that could have avoided if only people pray when moved by the spirit. Many would have received the answers to their prayers, if only we prayed when moved by the Holy Spirit to do so. A particular sister had a dream, and in that dream she saw a young boy destroy her glasses. From that moment onward she lost her gift of dreams. When she came to us we advised her to pray and if possible conduct a night vigil. Few days later while we were praying at night, the Holy Spirit led us to intercede for her which we did. The next morning she informed us that she dreamt the night before. The Lord needed someone to join her in prayer for her restoration. What if we had refused, unknowingly we would have hindered her restoration. When led by the Holy Spirit to pray, immediately start praying, a life could be in danger and your prayer at that time could save the life.

KEY POINT: When moved to pray please stop everything you are doing and begin to pray, if you do not know what to pray about just pray in tongues.

FASTING VERSUS HUNGER STRIKE

Matthew 17:21 – Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Fasting is not an option for Christians but a must. When Jesus was addressing the subject of fasting with His disciples in Matthew 6:16, He said “moreover, when you fast...” not ‘if you fast’ which means He expected them to fast. Fasting has so many advantages. It is used to increase spiritual strength (Matthew 17:14-21). Fasting disciplines the body and makes it a useful instrument to God. 2 Timothy 2:21 says if anyone himself cleanses from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for good work. Fasting gives us victory over fleshly desires. Paul said “i keep under my body, and bring into subjection: lest that by any means, when i have preached to others, I myself show be a castaway”, 1 Corinthians 9:27. Fasting has been found to be helpful when dealing with addiction e.g. smoking, drinking, masturbation e.t.c. It has also been used to treat anger problems. By saying ‘no’ to natural appetite (food), you are building up the willpower to say ‘no’ to fleshly appetite. Fasting builds our inner strength and diminishes the power of the flesh over us, Romans 6:12-16. This was why before Jesus began His ministry, He set aside time to pray and fast. Matthew 4:2 says and when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. There are victories or breakthrough that does not come except through fasting. We can work hard and read all the books on success. Without fasting one will be hitting his head against a brick wall. That was why when the disciples could not heal the man’s child; Jesus told them that this kind does not go except through fasting and prayer.

Fasting must be done in consonance with obedience to the word of God. When fasting is done in sin it becomes a hunger strike. In Zechariah 7:3-7, the people fasted on the 15th and 17th of every month for seventy years and saw no results. When they inquired of God, He told them they were on hunger strike not fasting because of they were living in disobedience. Fasting period is not a time to seek pleasure but to be sober. It is also not the time to fight or partake in unnecessary debates. It is a time to pray and study the bible not to spend four hours watching your favourite drama or sitcoms. It is a time to excel in good works – feed the hungry, give clothes to the naked. When you fast wear nice clean clothes, be radiant and smile not look angry and haggard and people begin to ask if you are alright. Fasting can turn to hunger strike when one keeps a sad countenance or disfigure his or her face so that people can inquire what is wrong and he can boast to them that he has been fasting and will be break by 6pm. What are the results of fasting? Isaiah 58:8-9 says your light shall break forth like the morning, healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall your rear guard and when you call to him He will answer.

KEY POINT: In the middle of the December celebrations, set time out to pray and fast for God’s protection. Also feed the hungry and homeless.