PARTNERSHIP IN PRAYER- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Dan 10-12




PARTNERSHIP IN PRAYER

Saturday, September 11, 2010



MEMORIZE: “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women” (2 Sam. 1:26)








READ: 1 Samuel 19:1-7







“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).







One crucial decision you must make on earth is who to serve. From the above scripture, it is evident that our Lord Jesus Christ would do everything possible to ensure His followers end up where He is -Heaven. In the same way, Satan - the controller of the world’s religions would ensure that none of his followers fails to join him in the lake of fire to spend eternity. Choosing the wrong object of worship could be one’s greatest disaster. Who is your God?







Another choice you must make is the selection of a prayer partner. Even among believers, not everyone can be your prayer partner, who can sincerely agree with you on crucial issues. As a Christian single, you can ask God to give you a prayer partner, who must be single and of same sex, whose spirit agrees with yours, and in whom there can be mutuality of trust. When you have such a prayer partner, God would pass certain messages to your partner for you when you are too busy to get His attention and vice versa.







God could use that partner to confirm what He has already told you and both of you can maximize the benefits of agreement prayers (Ecc. 4:9-12). But if you are already married, your spouse becomes your first prayer partner while you prayerfully choose another like-minded couple to partner with you in prayers. To choose right, you will need God’s guidance. One pair we find in Scriptures that fitted into this was David and Jonathan.







Even when God gives some people such prayer partners or prayer couple, they abuse the opportunities and lose them. From the lives of David and Jonathan, we learn that you must cultivate the relationship. Speak good of each other, intercede for each other, contribute to the good of your partner, find time to pray together, discuss scriptures together, agree on prayer points on your prayer list and avoid anything capable of breaking such a relationship. Avoid speaking evil of each other and where there is a mistake, in love correct your partner. Never take advantage of the fellow. Have monthly, weekly time-table for prayer and fasting. Ask God for a right prayer partner or couple today.







ACTION POINT:


Prayerfully choose a prayer partner or couple (if married) and mutually fix your prayer/fasting schedule and keep to it.

Calling God's Kingdom - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Dan 7 - 9
CALLING GOD’S KINGDOM Friday, September 10, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20) READ: Revelation 3:19-20 ‘Thy Kingdom come’ could be the acceptance of an invitation. The Lord waits outside and knocks at the door of your heart expecting you to invite Him in. Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”. It is either you turn Him down and keep Him standing out in the cold or you open to Him and He comes in. For some people, the Lord has been kept standing out for too long over crucial issues; when will you let Him in? Keeping Him out is an offence: allowing Him in is a different ball game altogether. Why? The moment He comes in, He takes charge over your life. When the King of kings comes into your life, He comes with the authority of His Kingdom and automatically reigns over His host. When He enters your house, He can only become the landlord and not a tenant. He comes in and becomes the president instead of being a mere resident. Asking for His Kingdom to come into your life can mean the loss of personal control over your life as He becomes the controller. It is when He is so received that He will be free to transform His host into a joy of many generations. Anything short of this limits Him. What kind of reception have you accorded the Most High? Moreover, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ could be the expression of a desire for the rapture to come now. Sometimes, when surrounded with a myriad of earthly problems, and you look at yourself and appreciate the fact that you are in Christ and living righteously by His grace, you could feel the urge to call out for His Kingdom to come so that you can be finally free. A call for God’s Kingdom is a divine SOS. In whatever situation you may find yourself, you can make this call and something new happens to you. A positive change occurs. In which area of your life would you want His Kingdom to affect you today? When you allow God’s Kingdom to take over your personal kingdom, God’s will and purpose for your life will be established. Are you living right? If the rapture comes now, will you be among the faithful few that will make it to Heaven? Make your ways right and cry for His Kingdom to come. ACTION POINT: Ask for God’s Kingdom to be established in every situation you are in.

Vision secures Relevance - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Dan 4 -6
VISION SECURES RELEVANCE Thursday, September 09, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Hab. 2:2) READ: Habakkuk 2:1-3 Psalm 23 contains at least 10 tools available to the shepherd. Every profession has its tools of operation which differ one from another. The tools of a soldier cannot be the same with that of a farmer since each of them will be facing different tasks. The first one we find in this chapter is persuasion. Psalm 23:2 says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters”. The phrase “he maketh me to lie down” refers to the shepherd’s ability in obtaining the cooperation of the sheep without necessarily applying force. The ability of a pastor to get things done by his congregation without the use of force makes him an ideal shepherd. If you are in control, you do not need to keep using threats as that could mean that something has gone wrong. If you are always very harsh in passing down instructions, some people will resist you. You need to cultivate the habit of gently persuading your people to perform their obligations using the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah 40:11 says God gently leads those who are nursing young ones. Another tool a shepherd must possess is vision. This is the ability to see ahead and far beyond what the sheep can see. It is expected that the shepherd should have sighted the still waters or seen the possibility of finding water before leading the sheep to that spot. You cannot take people to where you cannot see. You cannot possess what you cannot see. The absence of vision has caused many who set out for laudable destinations to abandon their journey midway. Do you have vision for yourself, family and congregation? Can you see your promised land with the eyes of faith? If you cannot see ahead, you will not be able to make progress in the right direction. Not all progress is healthy. Some people think they are making progress but each day, they are getting away from their divine destination. You will easily identify shepherds without vision by their spending habits. A shepherd who spends his money on the latest fashion has no vision. The one with vision would rather invest such funds on tapes, books, VCDs of great men of God because they want to make spiritual progress. Such a pastor will be proactive and anticipate the kind of congregation he will have in the future and make effort to be prepared before hand. Are you making attempts to remain relevant in the ministry of the future? ACTION POINT: No matter how far you have travelled: if you lack vision, you have not commenced your trip.

Dynamics of waiting on the Lord - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

This is one of the greatest lessons to learn in our Christian walk, waiting upon the Lord. Enjoy this devotion. And this song BIBLE IN A YEAR: Dan 1 -3
DYNAMICS OF WAITING Wednesday, September 08, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And, behold, I send the promise  of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) READ: Acts 1:1-4 The time God has set to do what you want Him to do may be at variance with your preferred time. When this happens, trust His sense of judgment and submit to His will. While the man at the pool at Siloam was waiting for the angel to come and do the spectacular by shaking the river, Jesus quietly walked in, and asked him to pick up what has been carrying him for years and simply walk home. Some people are missing their miracle even when God’s appointed time for change has come because they are looking at a wrong direction and focusing on what could only divert their attention from their blessing. Sometimes, focusing on a man of God could divert your attention from the King of kings. Never make God’s servant your focus. Let Jesus continually be your focus. “And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me” (Acts 1:4). A look at today’s reading tells us that nobody can stampede God regarding when to do what He would do. The 120 disciples were asked to wait for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 24:49, the Lord said, “And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”. They were asked to wait until the power came. That is faith. Waiting on God is an act of faith. While waiting, there would be several distractions and discouraging moments. The devil will bring people to mock you just like they mocked Noah while he was building a boat for a rain they had never experienced. As long as it takes God to fulfill His promises in your life, wait. Don’t be tired!Time spent in waiting on God to fulfill His Word is not wasted: It is counted to you as an act of righteousness. You are simply obeying God. Besides this, where to wait could also be very important. The Early Church were asked to wait in the city of Jerusalem. They did not know why but God knew He had planned to send the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Some people are waiting in cities they have appointed for themselves hence, they may fail to see God’s promise. If God asks you to wait on Him for something, take the pain to find out where and how the waiting should be done. ACTION POINT: When you wait on God for anything, you save time and nothing is lost.

Opening your treasures to God - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Esth 8 -10
OPENING TREASURES Tuesday, September 07, 2010
MEMORIZE: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6) READ: Malachi 1:6-8 One way to relate with Jesus is to seek Him until you find Him. Also, you can accept Him as your King. This is personal. Even though He is the King of kings, yet, He will not enforce His kingly authority until you receive Him as your king. Is Jesus Christ your King? Another way the wise men responded to Jesus as recorded in Matthew 2:1-11, was to fall at His feet and worship. Earthly kings are revered by their subjects. Heavenly kings therefore deserve more regards. These wise men saw Jesus as a two-year old child yet, they fell at His feet and worshipped. This was as a result of divine revelation. They knew that He was more than just a child. He was also more than any earthly king. He is the King of kings, the Creator of Heaven and earth and Lord of all. The truth is, whenever you fall at His feet and worship Him, you are only doing yourself some good. If you came with problems, as you take a bow, they too will have no choice but to bow to your God. This means whenever you are faced with challenges, one thing you must do regularly is to bow at Jesus’ feet and worship. If you worship God with anything, that thing will end up worshipping you. Similarly, these wise men opened their treasures to Him. This action alone confirms that these men were not only worldly wise, but also wise towards God. They were simply asking for Him to connect them with Heaven’s treasure house. If you open your treasury - your bank account, and everything of great value to you to the King of kings, He will open Heaven’s treasury to you. Whenever you give Him your treasures, He will give you His treasures. Only wise people open their treasures to Jesus! Some people still withhold precious things but give defective gifts. It will surely limit them. Moreover, another way the wise men related with Jesus was to offer Him kingly presents.Your offerings or gifts to God shows how you value or regard Him. To some people, God is not worth more than $5 or $20 hence, their offerings never go beyond that. Gold, frankincense and myrrh are royal gifts. Like the wise men, you can give God the best of your resources. He deserves it. What are you doing with Jesus? How you relate with Him will affect your today and future generations. ACTION POINT: If you wholeheartedly turn over your personal treasury to Jesus, you will begin to operate from an unlimited Heavenly account.

Pride Limits Promotion - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

I believe this month is your time for promotion, enjoy this devotional today. Don't forget to add your comments and forward it to somebody. BIBLE IN A YEAR: Esth 4 -7
PRIDE LIMITS PROMOTION Monday, September 06, 2010
MEMORIZE: “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6) READ: Genesis 28:10-13 Exhausted from his fruitless self-efforts to overcome the impending doom, Jacob separated from his family just to have a definite encounter with God (Genesis 28:10-13). There are some people who are in very distressing situations yet, they are not tired of it. They cannot separate from everything else - including their loved ones in order to contact Heaven. The truth is, until you separate from everything that is currently occupying your time, you may not witness a divine intervention. How are you seeking God today? With all your heart or with a divided heart?  Jeremiah 29:13 only assures the true and whole-hearted God seekers of answers to prayer.  Are you such a seeker? Another thing about the ladder Jacob saw in his dream is that both ends of the ladder were at two polar ends - one reaching Heaven and the other reaching the earth. This talks of the extreme possibilities of God in promoting a man. When God promotes, no man can place a limitation to it. He can lift you from the lowest height to the greatest height. Hence, 1 Samuel 2:8 says, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s and he hath set the world upon them”. One reason God saw Jacob and promoted him was because he was lying on bare floor using a stone for pillow.  For a ladder to be of use to the climber, it must be firmly fixed to the ground. ‘Humility’ has its root in ‘humus’ which refers to the soil. Humility is a spiritual location that anyone who wants to continue to rise must remain in. Why? God specifically searches the lowest of places to choose those He would lift. If you are proud and desire to be promoted, you are in a wrong place. God does not visit the city of pride but the island of humility.  That was where He found Jacob and changed his destiny.  That was where He found Hannah and changed her song. Are you already occupying a high office?  If God finds you in the island of humility, He will take you further up. The more humble you are the higher your ascent will be. How humble are you? Some people are so proud yet, they desire to be promoted by God. Sorry, that may not happen.  You will have to relocate from pride to humility! ACTION POINT: Your ascent is in your hands.  The higher you desire to go, the deeper you should go.

Moving Upward or Downward ? - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

Today's message is about CHANGE. Are you ready for a change in your life? Enjoy the reading and please make your comments and you can also forward to your friends and loved ones. GOD BLESS YOU. BIBLE IN A YEAR: Esth 1-3
MOVING UPWARD OR DOWNWARD? Sunday, September 05, 2010
MEMORIZE: “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (Matt. 25:29) READ: 1 Samuel 3:19-21 Just as a change can be for better or for worse, so also can it bring about an increase or decrease. In the parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:24-30, a man started trading with five talents and ended with 10 talents. That is a change in increase. On the other hand, another man started his business with one talent but at the end, it was taken away from him. He was reduced to nothing: that was a change of decrease. The Lord made a shocking statement on this in verse 29: “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath”. In other words, if you do not have and do not intend to change that situation, you will continue to decline - to lose even the little you think you have. Here, God is saying the rich can grow richer and the poor poorer. If you lack the anointing and you are non-challant to it, before you would realize it, you could even lose the salvation you thought was safely in your custody.What the Lord is saying is that you must always position yourself for an increasing change. Not doing anything at all automatically positions you for a decrease. What are you doing to change your life for good? In any way you have contributed to the present decline you are facing, terminate it by doing something about it. Similarly, you can have an upward or downward change. In 1 Samuel 3:19-21, we are told of how young Samuel kept growing in the things of God to the extent of becoming an established prophet in Israel. He benefited from an upward change. On the other hand, the sons of Eli who could have succeeded their father continued to go from bad to worse until they were completely replaced in God’s plan. That was a downward change. By your deeds, you determine whether you will experience an upward or downward change. Any time you violate God’s Word or go out of God’s will, your change moves downwards and towards a negative outcome. If you want to experience an upward movement on a progressive basis, abide in Christ. Let Him be your residence. Dwell in Him and let Him dwell in you. Shut up every loophole in your life. You will move forward from today. ACTION POINT: Make Jesus your ally and your change will be upward.