Month: April 2017

Pray your path to success (A prayer book)

Time in God’s presence (A 90 days daily devotional)

Day 5

When My Heart is Overwhelmed

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalms 61:1-2
Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to you. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalms 55:22 instructs, ‘Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved’.

I woke up one morning with my mind drifting towards everywhere I wouldn’t want it to go. Then I remembered the above-quoted Scriptures and I prayed, ‘LORD, my mind is wandering aimlessly. Please, help me to stir my mind towards you, and stop me from worrying about the future in Jesus’ name’. As soon as I prayed that prayer, I found peace again, and I was able to go about my day feeling at peace with myself.

Are you agitated about the unknown, or afraid that the worst could happen? Are you focusing your mind on where you would find no peace? Just remember the Rock that is higher than you and trust in Him always. When your heart is overwhelmed with worries, ask the LORD to lead you to a safe place where you can find rest. Remember that He is your Father, and He knows how to care for His children. All you need to do is say ‘Father, I need your help’.

Take a look at the birds, no worries, yet the LORD takes care of them and feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? (Matthew: 26). Worry steals our joy, rubs us off peace and gives us a mind too heavy to carry. Let’s be wise and put worry in its place! The realisation that God owns tomorrow should give us the assurance that all will be well.

PRAYER
O God my Father, I come to you with all my cares and worries. Help me to cast my cares on you, give me the ability to rely solely on you.
King of glory, show me the path to walk confidently in your precepts, in Jesus’ name.

Point to ponder on
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.

One year reading plan
Genesis 11
Luke 7:18-50
Psalms 5

Day 4

This is the Day the Lord has Made

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalms 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD’.

I want to share with you how I started this morning. As I opened my eyes early in the morning, my thought went straight to my Heavenly Father. I began to thank Him for waking me up. I thanked Him for a peaceful night rest. I thanked Him for His love and protection. I thanked Him for keeping His promise of protection over me and my family. And I began to bless the day and prophesied beautiful outcomes.

That is the right attitude to cultivate; a thankful heart and a heart that rejoices to see another beautiful day; the day that the LORD Himself has made.
You must always be determined in your heart to go through the day with a thankful heart. Do everything without murmuring or complaining. And you will see the finger of God move in your direction. He is a good God. Do not forget to sow a seed of love in the lives of others. Enjoy doing your job, no matter how insignificant it might be. We are destined to move from glory to glory; so do not despise the days of little beginnings (Zachariah 4:10).

There is a great future ahead of you and you must do everything to fulfil that destiny. As you walk in your calling and purpose in life, trust God with your decisions, inquire of Him and let Him lead you in the path of right choices.
Do not trust or lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), instead seek Him to make the right choices and decisions for you. Let God be your hope; no one has ever been put to shame who trusted in God. The patriarchs of old, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and Daniel were never put to shame. Your hope in God therefore can never be disappointed.

PRAYER
Father in heaven; let your name be glorified in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. Help us to lean and trust in you and not in our own understanding.
Guide us in all our way and let your glory fill the earth, in Jesus’ name.

Point to ponder on
Trust in the Lord with all your being.

One year reading plan
Genesis 8-10
Luke 7:1-17
Psalms 4

Day 3

The Greater One is in You
SCRIPTURE READING: 1 John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Take a look at Daniel 11:32. It says, ‘But the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits’.

I want you to know that there is a big God living inside of you. The one living inside of you owns the universe. He is the Omnipotent and the Omniscience God. He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last; and you are His child. He knows the very numbers of the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7). Also, you are engraved in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). He loves you unconditionally and because of His love for you, He has handed over to you the power to tread over all the powers of the enemy (Luke 10:19).
In Him, you are more than a conqueror, a winner, and a champion. The devil only roars like a lion, but he is not the lion (1 Peter 5:8). Our God is the lion of the tribe of Judea (Revelation 5:5). Do not be afraid of what the enemy can do to you. You have overcome him already, because Jesus fought the battle and won on your behalf. The victory is yours. Square yourself up, and press on like a good soldier. You have overcome the devil already.

Knowing your identity makes you bold and fearless; you are not afraid of what the enemy can do to you. But how can you get to such a level of boldness? The answer is by studying, meditating on, pondering on, confessing and obeying the word of God. This is so because faith comes by consistently hearing of the word of God. You have to hear the word again and again in order for you faith to grow.

Let the greater One in you work through you, to become who He wants you to be. This is why the Bible says in Daniel 11:32 that when you have a deep knowledge of the Maker, you become strong and great exploits become your lifestyle. Invest in the knowledge of God. Buy materials that will help build your inner man. The spirit of a man is much stronger than his natural self. So invest in building up your spirit man and you will reap abundant blessings.

PRAYER
Father God, help me to overcome my shortcomings in order to partake in your holiness and righteousness.
LORD God Almighty, show me your precepts and help me to walk in them, in Jesus’ name.

Point to ponder on
The people that know their God shall be strong.

One year reading plan
Genesis 6-7
Luke6:27-49
Psalms 3

Day 2

He Will Keep in Perfect Peace

SCRIPTURE READING: Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

The scriptures read in Proverbs 4:20-22: ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings, do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh’.

I have decided to deliberately focus my attention on God’s word. That is where I find peace. Is your mind focused on God, or is it on a particular problem that has given you many sleepless nights? If that issue has already given you several sleepless nights, why don’t you try another solution? It’s obvious that your staying awake and denying yourself of a good night rest isn’t the solution. Intentionally take your focus away from the problem and fix your mind on the faithfulness of God towards you.

In the times of perplexity, look back and count your blessings, then name them one after the other. Fix your attention on Jesus, ‘Who is the author and finisher of our faith’ (Hebrews 12:2).
If I may ask, have you prayed about that problem that has refused to go away? Have you ever fasted about it? Have you reminded yourself of God’s promises? Have you sought godly counsel? Do not let Satan confuse you by telling you that there is no way out. Remind him of whose child you are! Tell him that you are the king’s child. You are to reign and dominate over all life’s circumstances. You are the victor here, not the victim. You have overcome all, because Jesus paid the price for your peace (Isaiah 53:5).

Don’t ever allow yourself to be downcast. Speak to the situation, pray and listen to what God has to say to you. God will give you the direction if you ask Him.
He is a loving father. Elijah prophesied to a dead situation and the incredible happened! Every dry bone came together as he prophesied (Ezekiel 37:1-14). It is now your turn to declare God’s word over that situation and watch it turn to a testimony. Let your faith rise and step into your heritage. Study the Scriptures and meditate on them. Keep them in your heart and let them produce healing and uplifting in your life.

PRAYER
Father, give me the courage to pass through adversities with the assurance that you are with me.
LORD, anoint my tongue to speak words that will turn my life around, in Jesus’ name.

Point to ponder on
He will keep in perfect peace whose heart is focused on Him.

One year reading plan
Genesis 3-5
Luke 6:1-26
Psalms 2

Day 1

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalms 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Matthew 7:1 reads, ‘If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?’

The Lord is my shepherd… I have read that scripture a number of times; but when I saw and read it again this time, a new revelation flooded my heart. I asked myself if the Lord is my shepherd, then why should I be anxious about tomorrow and about the future?
Be definition, a shepherd is one who protects, guides or watches over another or a group of people. A shepherd herds, tends and guards a flock of sheep.
The shepherd provides food for the sheep to eat, gives the sheep water to drink, a place to sleep, and more significantly, gives directions to the sheep.
If all the aforementioned are true, why then am I trying to do all by myself instead of relying on the Good Shepherd? And the Bible clearly states in John 10:14 that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are the sheep.

Sometimes we drive ourselves to a point where emotionally, we break down, and the truth of the matter is, we were not created by God to carry the burden of the world on our shoulders. He admonishes rather that, ‘Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:29).
He is ready to give you rest from every burden of anxiety, worry, unforgiveness, the past life that did not go well and from those secrets that you have been carrying for so many years. The Lord knows about all the secrets you have been trying to hide from even your closest friends. It is not a secret to Him at all. Let Him do the entire burden-carrying for you beloved. He cares about you and loves you beyond your imagination. Whatever you are passing through, hand it over to God in prayer and find rest in His presence.

The book of John 15:7 declares, ‘If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you’. The Master is calling on you to take your habitation with Him and to follow Him like a sheep. Then when you ask whatever you need from Him, it shall be done for you.
This is a divine promise to hold on to in times of trouble. Trust God for a turn around concerning that situation in your life. He is a miracle worker. Let the Good Shepherd lead and you simply follow.

PRAYER
LORD, help me to lean on you completely, without trying to carry my problems all alone, in Jesus’ name.
Father, empower me to abide in your word, to trust in your word and to live a life of total dependence on you, in Jesus’ name.

Point to ponder on
Jesus Christ is my Shepherd; all I need to do is simply follow.

One Year reading plan
Genesis 1-2
Luke 5:27-39
Psalms 1