Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY JUNE 8TH, 2022.

THEME: TEACH THEM THAT AGE IS NO BARRIER

MEMORISE: 

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 

Psalms 8:2 

READ: 1 Samuel 3:1 -14

1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

MESSAGE

Teach your children that age is no barrier to being used by God. Teach them to be open to God even from a young age. In 1 Samuel 12:2, he said:

And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

The Lord can use your children, irrespective of their age. David was a youth when God used him to kill Goliath. In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul said to Timothy:

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example to the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Timothy was already a good example for believers to follow, even from his youth. Your children are not too young to be good role models for others to follow.

Before my wife and I became born again, we had had three children, all by Caesarean operation. We decided we would have no more children because the doctors said there was no way my wife could have a normal delivery. However, we got born again and Jesus became our doctor. One day, we read Luke 1:37 which says that with God, nothing shall be impossible. We then decided to go ahead and have more children. Almost immediately after my wife got pregnant, a friend of hers died during childbirth. We were really shaken, but then, God decided to speak to us through the children. 

During our devotion one morning, we read Exodus 14 and asked the children, “What do you understand by this story?” They said , ‘Where there was no way before, God can make a way”. Those words really encouraged us. Not only did my wife give birth to that child safely, we still had another one after that.

The Lord can speak to you through your children and He can use them to strengthen your faith. You however must teach them in the way of the Lord and let them know that no one is too young to be used by God.

KEY POINT

God can begin using your children from a tender age.

Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 20-22

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE 

HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD 

1 When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of his word, 

what a glory he sheds on our way! 

While we do his good will, 

he abides with us still, 

and with all who will trust and obey. 

Refrain:

Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

2 Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

3 But we never can prove 

the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, 

for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey. 

4 Then in fellowship sweet 

we will sit at his feet, 

or we'll walk by his side in the way; 

what he says we will do, 

where he sends we will go; 

never fear, only trust and obey.