I have a God who answers prayer. Does your God answers your prayer as well? Beloved it is possible to be praying to God with little or no faith. I have come to know that God is God whether you believed Him, it not will not stop Him from being God rather you will short changing yourself. How do I mean someone is asking?

Is possible you are praying to God and at the same time not believing that He will give answer your prayers. The account below will help you to examine yourself a fresh and discover where you actually belong. Read along:

She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gateway.

“You’re crazy!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true. Then they said, “It’s his angel!”—Acts 12:14–15

You can say prayers in your mind but doubt in your heart. At times God will answer such prayers as He did when Peter was in prison, scheduled for execution. The believers in Jerusalem were powerless to free him, so they prayed. When God released Peter, their reaction revealed the doubt in their hearts. They argued that Peter could not possibly be free, even as he stood outside knocking on the door!

Is it possible to be a “person of prayer” and yet not have faith? Is it possible to fool yourself into believing that because you ask God for help, you have faith in His ability to meet your needs? Is your faith so weak that you are surprised when God answers your prayer?

As a child of God, you ought to expect God to answer your prayers. Do you ask God to do something without adjusting your life to what you are praying? If you are praying for revival, how are you preparing for its coming? If you are praying for forgiveness, are you still living with guilt? If you have asked God to provide for your needs, do you remain worried and anxious?

Ask God to increase your faith and then begin living a life that reflects absolute trust in Him. Out of His grace, God may choose to respond to your requests despite your lack of faith, but you will miss the joy of praying in faith.

Blessed is he that believeth that what was spoken by the Lord will be fulfilled in His life and when God fulfill our desires in Him, we like the children of Israel will leap up with Joy and bust into rejoicing. Read further:

“Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it.” Numbers 21:17

Famous was the well of Beer in the wilderness, because it was the subject of a promise: “That is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” The people needed water, and it was promised by their gracious God.

We need fresh supplies of heavenly grace, and in the covenant the Lord has pledged Himself to give all we require. The well next became the cause of a song. Before the water gushed forth, cheerful faith prompted the people to sing; and as they saw the crystal fount bubbling up, the music grew yet more joyous.

In like manner, we who believe the promise of God should rejoice in the prospect of divine revivals in our souls, and as we experience them our holy joy should overflow. Are we thirsting? Let us not murmur, but sing. Spiritual thirst is bitter to bear, but we need not bear it—the promise indicates a well; let us be of good heart, and look for it.

Moreover, the well was the centre of prayer. “Spring up, O well.” What God has engaged to give, we must enquire after, or we manifest that we have neither desire nor faith. This evening let us ask that the Scripture we have read, and our devotional exercises, may not be an empty formality, but a channel of grace to our souls. O that God the Holy Spirit would work in us with all His mighty power, filling us with all the fullness of God.

Lastly, the well was the object of effort. “The nobles of the people digged it with their staves.” The Lord would have us active in obtaining grace. Our staves are ill adapted for digging in the sand, but we must use them to the utmost of our ability.

Prayer must not be neglected; the assembling of ourselves together must not be forsaken; ordinances must not be slighted. The Lord will give us His peace most plenteously, but not in a way of idleness. Let us, then, bestir ourselves to seek Him in whom are all our fresh springs.

Remain blessed in the Lord.

I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your Name, O Most High.
My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when You appeared. For You have judged in my favor; from Your throne You have judged with fairness. Psalms 9:1-4 (NLT)

Experience teaches us that if anyone is engaged in a work in which he is not wholehearted, he will seldom succeed. Just think of a student, or his teacher, a man of business, or a warrior. He who does not give himself wholeheartedly to his calling is not likely to succeed. And that is still more true of religion, and above all of the high and holy task of intercourse in prayer with a holy God and of being always well pleasing to him. It is because of this that God has said so impressively: “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). When you seek the Lord wholeheartedly in prayer, you find Him.

In our text today, the Psalmist prayed for a sound heart. Is that your prayer today to seek God with a sound heart? Come along with me to discover more:

A Sound Heart

“Let my heart be sound in thy statutes: that I be not ashamed.” Ps. 119:80

We may regard this inspired prayer as containing within itself the assurance that those who keep close to the Word of God shall never have cause to be ashamed of doing so.

See, the prayer is for soundness of heart. A sound creed is good, a sound judgment concerning it is better, but a sound heart toward the truth is best of all. We must love the truth, feel the truth, and obey the truth, otherwise we are not truly sound in God’s statutes. Are there many in these evil days who are sound? Oh, that the writer and the reader may be two of this sort!

Many will be ashamed in the last great day, when all disputes will be decided. Then they will see the folly of their inventions, and be filled with remorse because of their proud infidelity and willful defiance of the Lord; but he who believed what the Lord taught, and did what the Lord commanded, will stand forth justified in what he did, then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun. Men much slandered and abused shall find their shame turned into glory in that day.

Let us pray the prayer of our text, and we may be sure that its promise will be fulfilled to us. If the Lord makes us sound, He will keep us safe. God will always hear the cries of the righteous.

Jesus in his prayer life he manifested two things: first, that the word supplies us with material for prayer and encourages us in expecting everything from God. The second is that it is only by prayer that we can live such a life that every word of God can be fulfilled in us. And how then can we come to this, so that the word and prayer may each have its undivided right over us? There is only one answer. Our lives must be wholly transformed.

Never think that He had abandoned you for He said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and His Words are infallible. Hear this:

“Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” Psalm 28:1

A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear, and His ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends to our cries.

“Be not silent to me.” Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will—they must go further, and obtain actual replies from heaven, or they cannot rest; and those replies they long to receive at once, they dread even a little of God’s silence.

God’s voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness; but His silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems to close His ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, He will not long deny us a hearing.

What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should become for ever silent to our prayers? “Lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we should be in a more pitiable plight than the dead in the grave, and should soon sink to the same level as the lost in hell.

We must have answers to prayer: ours is an urgent case of dire necessity; surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for He never can find it in His heart to permit His own elect to perish.

Do you not feel that a change must come in our work? We must learn from Peter to continue in prayer in our ministry of the word. Just as we are zealous preachers, workers or laymen and women, we must be zealous in prayer. We must, with all our power, constantly like Paul, pray unceasingly. For the prayer: “Come, breathe on these slain” (Ezekiel 37:9), the answer is sure.

Be diligent in prayers and do not forsake the assemblies of the righteous and it shall be well with you. Our father will surely answer to your prayers today, Amen!

Remain blessed in the Lord.

O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

Our parents, peer groups or our environment to a greater extent influence our behavior. It may be positive or negative. The positive influence stirs us towards positive output or productivity while the negative influence produces same in us.

Unfortunately, most people are relating to God based on their perceived emotions or feelings or as result of their relationship with people around them who had maltreated them rather than taken care of them. As a result, even when faced with the promises of God they are reluctant to believe or accept His Words. Discover more:

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”—Galatians 4:6

The word father conjures up different images for everyone. To some it brings the picture of love, laughter, respect, and acceptance. Unfortunately, others associate the term father with fear, rejection, and disappointment. That is why it is so important not to take your understanding of your heavenly Father from your experience. Take it from Scripture.

You undoubtedly had an imperfect earthly father, perhaps even one who brought you harm. But, as in all of your Christian life, the key is not to understand the Bible based on your experience, but to understand your experience in light of the Bible.

God is your model of a father in the truest sense of the word.

Your heavenly Father was willing to pay any price in order to save you (Rom. 8:32). Your heavenly Father is always ready to meet your needs (Luke 11:11–13). Your heavenly Father loves you so much that He is willing to discipline you to bring you to Christian maturity (Prov. 3:11–12; Heb. 12:5–10).

Even when you rebel against Him and reject His love, your Father continues to do what is best for you (Rom. 5:8). He does not make His love for you conditional upon your love for Him. He loves you even when you are not loving Him (1 John 4:19). He has made you His heirs and reserves a home for you in heaven (Rom. 8:15–17).

This is what a father is like biblically. If this has not been your experience, it can be now. There is One who has adopted you and who wants to love you in a way you have never experienced. Take comfort and strength from Him—your heavenly Father.

This message will bring tears to the eyes of many especially those who had been hurt or neglected by their father or someone who is in position of a father in their lives. However, am fortunate to have a loving father may be that is why is easier for me to understand the love of my heavenly Father. It is possible your case is not your father but whatever it is, not to worry for His love for you will never faint nor fade.

Still in the light of our monthly focus “our month of Signs and Wonders”, let’s consider what happened in the lives of the children of Israel when God set out to rescue them from the land of slavery.

“But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” Exodus 7:12

This incident is an instructive emblem of the sure victory of the divine handiwork over all opposition. Whenever a divine principle is cast into the heart, though the devil may fashion a counterfeit, and produce swarms of opponents, as sure as ever God is in the work, it will swallow up all its foes.

If God’s grace takes possession of a man, the world’s magicians may throw down all their rods; and every rod may be as cunning and poisonous as a serpent, but Aaron’s rod will swallow up their rods.

The sweet attractions of the cross will woo and win the man’s heart, and he who lived only for this deceitful earth will now have an eye for the upper spheres, and a wing to mount into celestial heights. When grace has won the day, the worldling seeks the world to come. The same fact is to be observed in the life of the believer.

What multitudes of foes has our faith had to meet! Our old sins—the devil threw them down before us, and they turned to serpents. What hosts of them! Ah, but the cross of Jesus destroys them all.

Faith in Christ makes short work of all our sins. Then the devil has launched forth another host of serpents in the form of worldly trials, temptations, unbelief; but faith in Jesus is more than a match for them, and overcomes them all.

The same absorbing principle shines in the faithful service of God! With an enthusiastic love for Jesus difficulties are surmounted, sacrifices become pleasures, sufferings are honours. But if religion is thus a consuming passion in the heart, then it follows that there are many persons who profess religion but have it not; for what they have will not bear this test.

Examine yourself, my reader, on this point. Aaron’s rod proved its heaven-given power. Is your religion doing so? If Christ be anything He must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!

Are still doubting God whether He can handle your case or intervene in your situation. Watch and see the signs He performed before the Egyptians; He is set to do it again no matter what your case is, be assured that He will set you on high. Praise God, alleluia!

Remain blessed in the Lord.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Father, we are grateful for Your guidance in the first half of the year and we are confident that the remaining half of the year shall be blessed by You. Amen! Praise God.

By the special grace of God, we welcome you into the new month, our month of “Signs and Wonders” (Isa 8:18). The Lord is set to make a you a Sign and a Wonder to all around you. are excited? Glory to His Name.

It does not matter what is happening now, it does not matter where you are now, remember with His outstretched hand He made heaven and earth and nothing is too difficult for Him to do. So don’t be concerned about what is happening presently, had He said that He will make you a sign; wait patiently for it and move only as you are lead by the Holy Spirit, you will surely testify in Jesus name. Let’s consider the message below and see that His thought and ways are higher than your thought and ways. The foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1Cor 1:25)

“Ah Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.” Jeremiah 32:17

At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make.

Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all His children.

He reasoned thus: “Ah, Lord God! Thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me; Thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; Thou canst make me yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for Thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.” This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God’s command things which carnal reason would condemn.

Whether it be a Noah who is to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams’ horns, they all act upon God’s command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith.

Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers.

Let Jeremiah’s place of confidence be ours—nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth.

Dear reader, what is that the Lord is bidding you to do though it seem foolish, is not justify by your carnal mind never worry; had He asked you to do it; go ahead for He will let you down (Num 23:19).

For your God is a covenant keeping God, He does not look at your deeds but He looks at His Promises to us. God does not deal with you based on your worthiness but on the merit of His son Jesus Christ. He looks back when we first gave our life to Him then forward. Read further:

“Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” Ezek. 16:60

Notwithstanding our sins the Lord is still faithful in His love to us.

He looks back. See how He remembers those early days of ours when He took us into covenant with Himself, and we gave ourselves over to Him. Happy days those! The Lord does not twit us with them, and charge us with being insincere. No, He looks rather to His covenant with us than to our covenant with Him. There was no hypocrisy in that sacred compact, on His part, at any rate. How gracious is the Lord thus to look back in love!

He looks forward also. He is resolved that the covenant shall not fail. If we do not stand to it, He does. He solemnly declares, “I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” He has no mind to draw back from His promises. Blessed be His name, He sees the sacred seal, “the blood of the everlasting covenant,” and He remembers our Surety, in whom He ratified that covenant, even His own dear Son; and therefore He rests in His covenant engagements. ‘He abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself.”

O Lord, lay this precious word upon my heart, and help me to feed upon it all this day!

Once again you are welcome to your month of “Signs and Wonders”. Be ready for the Holy encounter that will make you shout whoop at the end. Put on your seat belt and be ready for the ride.

Remain blessed in the Lord.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.  You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—what are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them?  Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

We concluded yesterday saying to run the vision of God for your life may not be very possible without the help of the Holy Spirit. When God put a desire in you and you respond positively, the Holy Spirit will enable you to accomplish it. Most often what most people pursue is their ambition i.e. what you or parents or partner desire you to become.

Most often than not the vision of God for our life is neglected and we give all manners of excuse to avoid it but it is unavoidable and inexcusable. Like Gideon the Lord will always equip you and empower you no matter what excuse you may wish to tender, one look from the Lord will take to a height you never imagined. Consider further:

 “And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?.” Judges 6:14

What a look was that which the Lord gave to Gideon! He looked him out of his discouragements into a holy bravery. If our look to the Lord saves us, what will not His look at us do? Lord, look on me this day, and nerve me for its duties and conflicts.

What a word was this which Jehovah spoke to Gideon! “Go.” He must not hesitate. He might have answered, “What, go in all this weakness!” But the Lord put that word out of court by saying, “Go in this thy might.” The Lord had looked might into him, and he had now nothing to do but to use it, and save Israel by smiting the Midianites.

It may be that the Lord has more to do by me than I ever dreamed of. If He has looked upon me He has made me strong. Let me by faith exercise the power with which He has entrusted me. He never bids me “idle away my time in this my might.” Far from it. I must “go,” because He strengthens me.

What a question is that which the Lord puts to me even as He put it to Gideon! “Have not I sent thee?” Yes, Lord, thou hast sent me, and I will go in thy strength. At thy command I go, and, going, I am assured that thou wilt conquer by me.

Dear friend, in His strength I have been on the “GO” for the past seven months, the Word Ministry have been on the move; He had never failed to give us His Word daily. He has remained faithful to us. Praise be to God.

The secret again is that when God bid you “GO” you must go. Like father Abraham, even when you don’t know where you are going, for the vision is in phases and your obedience to the last instruction determines the next instruction. Do I ever struggle? Yes, I do but by the help of the Holy Spirit, who shares the Word with light in my heart, I will quickly align myself again  by looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of my faith. Read more below:

“Looking unto Jesus.” Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within.

But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith.

We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.

“My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Look not to thy self but to Jesus, the assurance you  need to move forward; move into your glory can only be found in Him. This month remains my “month of glory” as it the month when the vision was delivered, am sure something has been delivered to you as well. During the course of the month, the Lord did so many miracles that put laughter in my mouth and many shared their testimony with us, am sure you were left out.

As we round off the month, may His glory be our glory now forever more. See you next month by His grace. Amen!

Remain blessed in the Lord,

Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Yesterday we consider a faith that doesn’t ask. How is that possible someone is asking? Listen, the faith we are talking about is such that when you have prayed and you believed God that your request will be granted, it does not make Him less than God even if your desired answer was not granted. You do not need the answered prayer to believe and trust Him? The question is do you need a miracle or the spectacle move of God to know that He exists? Glory to God!

Interestingly, we will be looking at another topic that might not be too easy to accept even as a born again child of God except with the help of the Holy Spirit. How will you feel when God’s response to your prayer is “No”. True  talk, no hard feelings. How? Read more:

And he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the days of Unleavened Bread.—Acts 12:2–3a

Can you accept God’s will when His answer is no? If you are praying in God’s will, He will always answer you when you pray (Jer. 33:3). However, sometimes His answer will be no.

King Herod arrested Peter and prepared to have him executed. During the night, as his church prayed, Peter’s life was spared when an angel freed him. God miraculously answered the prayers of His people that night. Yet not long before, James, too, had been arrested by Herod. James, however, was executed. Surely the church had prayed for James as fervently as they did for Peter, yet that time God’s answer had been no.

Did God love Peter more than James? Of course not, James had been one of Jesus’ closest friends. Yet God allowed James to die while He continued to use Peter in His service. The church in Jerusalem did not become bitter toward God. They accepted His answer because they trusted His love and wisdom.

There are times when God wants us to persist in our praying until He has completed His work in us (Luke 11:5–8; 18:1–6). However, when God’s answer is no, it is futile to continue pleading for a yes. Some refuse to take no for an answer, insisting that if you pray long enough and hard enough, God will ultimately grant any request you make.

It is an affront to your Lord to continue pleading with Him when He has clearly said no. The purpose of prayer is not to conform God to our will but to adjust our will to God. We must learn to trust God so that if He says no, we accept that His will is best.

Let me share my own experience with you. I encountered this situation last year. I attended an interview for a new job and I was told that I will be contacted as soon as possible. I was told that I fit into the position they needed for the moment. Having left the job I was doing, there were bills to pay and as the pressure mount on I was tempted to call the office after some time but you know is desperation and may not speak well of me. So after sharing it with a friend, we agreed that I should go before God in praying and fasting to hasten my appointment up.

So I embarked on three day dry fast, on the second day, the Lord said a “NO” to my request so I end the fasting. Someone is asking how did you take it? How did you react? I had “Peace” within me and I know that was not His plan and purpose for me at the moment. Three days later as I was still trusting Him for a way out, He gave me the vision I am running with now, which He also confirmed it through another daughter of His that He sent to clear the war and confusion going on in me after the vision was delivered. He employed me into His vine yard to do His work. I never gave it a thought that God will use me this way, you know that good girl stuff, I go to church and listen to sermons. I am a worker in my local church. Like I said I never know He will use me this way, all to His own glory. 

Today I can look back and say Praise God! Not as easy as it sounds because right from that moment I went into His own school where everything that need be shaken must be shaken off and those things which cannot be shaken may remain, that is those things that can stand eternity is been process; glory to God. Read further, my dear:

“That those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Hebrews 12:27

We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things.

Yet, we have certain “things which cannot be shaken,” and I invite you today to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken, which will remain.

Whatever your losses have been, or may be, you enjoy present salvation. You are standing at the foot of His cross, trusting alone in the merit of Jesus’ precious blood, and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in Him; no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that. Then you are a child of God today. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that.

Although by losses brought to poverty, and stripped bare, you can say, “He is my Father still. In my Father’s house are many mansions; therefore will I not be troubled.” You have another permanent blessing, namely, the love of Jesus Christ. He who is God and Man loves you with all the strength of His affectionate nature—nothing can affect that.

The fig tree may not blossom, and the flocks may cease from the field, it matters not to the man who can sing, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose.

Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not such little children as to be cast down by what may happen in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel’s land, our hope is above the sky, and therefore, calm as the summer’s ocean; we will see the wreck of everything earthborn, and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation.

Will you be able to accept a “No” from Him when it comes, yours might not be to work for Him as am doing; it may be different from that, peradventure you have found out His vision for you.  He mandated me “Go and encourage My people out there as I have encouraged you”. Like I said earlier, am still in His school. Glory be to Him alone who is worthy of my praise.

Ask question where you need more clarification. God bless you.

Remain blessed in the Lord.

O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Little of the word with little prayer is death to the spiritual fife. Much of the word with little prayer gives a sickly life. Much prayer with little of the word gives more life, but without steadfastness. A full measure of the word and prayer each day gives a healthy and powerful life.

Think of the Lord Jesus. In his youth and manhood he treasured the word in his heart. In the temptation in the wilderness, and on every opportunity that presented itself – till he cried out on the cross in death, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). He showed that the word of God filled his heart.

Does your life reflect that is filled with the word of God? One of the evidences of prayer  life is how you react to things or situations around you. What is your faith level? Are you a miracle seeker or will you like the three Hebrew boys surrender to God no matter the situation even when your life is at stake. Let’s take a little walk together:

“An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.—Matthew 16:4

Asking God for a miracle may indicate a lack of faith. Some feel that they demonstrate great faith by continually asking God for miracles. They assume that in every situation God wants to do the spectacular. They presume, for example, that God wants to heal anyone who is sick or provide a miraculous escape from every difficulty they face.

Jesus condemned those who insisted that He perform miracles, because He knew their hearts. He recognized that they could not believe Him without constantly undergirding their faith with signs. Their faith was not strong enough to survive without a regular supply of the miraculous. Jesus condemned this lack of faith and left them.

There are times when we prefer the miracle over the miracle worker. God calls this idolatry, and He discouraged it by refusing to provide miracles on demand (Jer. 2:11–13). Sometimes the greatest act of faith is not to ask for a miracle. One of the most amazing statements of faith in the Old Testament came from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as they faced the fiery furnace because of their obedience to God.

They expressed true faith when they assured king Nebuchadnezzar: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Dan. 3:17–18). They were confident in God’s ability to deliver them, but they trusted Him so completely that they did not ask to be spared.

Does your faith need miracles to sustain it? Or do you trust God so totally that you can say, “But if not, I will still trust the Lord!”? Another consideration of the Hebrew boys with regards to our faith in God, let’s take some step further :

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said… Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.” Daniel 3:16,18

The narrative of the manly courage and marvellous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death.

Let young Christians especially learn from their example, both in matters of faith in religion, and matters of uprightness in business, never to sacrifice their consciences. Lose all rather than lose your integrity, and when all else is gone, still hold fast a clear conscience as the rarest jewel which can adorn the bosom of a mortal.

Be not guided by the will-o’-the-wisp of policy, but by the pole-star of divine authority. Follow the right at all hazards. When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honour to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle. See whether He will be your debtor! See if He doth not even in this life prove His word that “Godliness, with contentment, is great gain,” and that they who “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, shall have all these things added unto them.”

Should it happen that, in the providence of God, you are a loser by conscience, you shall find that if the Lord pays you not back in the silver of earthly prosperity, He will discharge His promise in the gold of spiritual joy. Remember that a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of that which he possesseth. To wear a guileless spirit, to have a heart void of offence, to have the favour and smile of God, is greater riches than the mines of Ophir could yield, or the traffic of Tyre could win. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and inward contention therewith.” An ounce of heart’s-ease is worth a ton of gold.

Our devotion today is another dimension to the prayer bulletin you are already use to; hope you gained something to help your prayer life. May his grace abound in your life; in my life in Jesus name! Amen. Like David may He hear our cry unto Him, Amen.

Remain blessed in Lord.

How excellent is Your Name O Lord! We are grateful to You for Your kindness, peace, provision, protection and love towards us. Ancient of days, You are our Rock and Refuge. No one can be compared with You. You are all together Worthy, all together Loving, all together Wonderful to us.

Yesterday, we saw how prophet Jeremiah rejoiced at God words and we were enjoined to do same. When you are devoid of the God’s Word, a lot of unpalatable things happen. We will be considering spiritual famine as one of the ills experienced when a child of God does not feed regularly on the Word of God.               

Hear this! The days are coming—

[this is] the declaration of the Lord God—

when I will send a famine through the land:

not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord.—Amos 8:11

One way God communicates is through silence. The Israelites blatantly ignored and rejected God’s word to them, and God responded by sending a famine. This famine was far more severe than a shortage of food and water. Instead, they were deprived of His words of life.

God’s silence may be hardly noticeable at first. You may still remember times when God spoke to you, but you gradually realize you’ve not heard His voice for a long time. If you realize you are in a “drought,” immediately seek God and ask Him what adjustments your life requires so you can once again enjoy fellowship with Him.

It may be that you disobeyed His last instructions to you and that He is waiting on your obedience before giving you a new direction. It may be that there is unconfessed sin in your life or that you have a damaged relationship (Isa. 1:15; 1 Pet. 3:7). It is possible that you have done too much talking in your prayer times and that He wants you to listen. God’s silences can be powerful times for Him to communicate with you.

God is God! Because He is God, when He speaks He expects a listening ear and an eager response. He will not be mocked! (Gal. 6:7). When we ignore Him, He may withhold His voice until we repent and get right with Him. The prophet Isaiah assured King Asa, “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”

God forbid that He will forsake us. In the course of this work, I have come across people who claimed that they have little or no time as one reason among others while they don’t study or read their bible. Remember Apostle Paul told us to labour for those things which are internal. If I may ask what are you building your house with, straw, wood, stone silver or gold? Will it stand the refining test at the judgment day? You see, they are ways that seems right but the end thereof is death. Consider more:

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but in the end it is the way of death.—Proverbs 16:25

Things are not always what they seem. Proverbs warns that we can be deceived into believing we are going down the right path and yet be heading toward death, the opposite direction from God’s will.

People do not naturally seek God or pursue righteousness (Rom. 3:10–18). Only as the Spirit awakens our hearts to the Person of Christ are we able to desire God’s will. If we make decisions apart from the guidance of the Spirit of God, we will be like a ship trying to sail without a compass.

We will do what makes the most sense, based on our own wisdom. But what looks attractive may actually lead to sin, ultimately destroying what is precious to us, for our most profound human thinking is mere foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:18–20). Only God knows the way that leads to life and He wants to lead us to walk in it (Matt. 7:13–14).

Don’t assume every opportunity that arises is from God. Satan will disguise himself as an “angel of light,” and his invitations will seem to be in your best interest (2 Cor. 11:14). Yet his way leads only to death (John 8:44). The word of God will be like a light to your path, guiding you in the ways of righteousness (Ps. 119:105).

It can be perilous to follow a path that seems right without first consulting the Holy Spirit for guidance (John 16:13). Take time to seek the Holy Spirit’s direction when you face decisions. He knows the full ramifications of your choices.

Are you taking a decision to read your bible going forward? The Holy Spirit will assist you to understand truth and to experience abundant life. Trust Him as He leads you.

Consider this formula – Just 45 minutes of your time daily. 15 minutes to ready and study the bible, 15 minutes to mediate and pray, 15 minutes to tell someone about Christ, all in 45 minutes per day. A sister shared this formula with us at Sunday school. Just ask the Holy Spirit to help you and sure He will.

Remain blessed in the Lord.