OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY AUGUST 16TH 2024
THEME: PRAYER EXTINGUISHERS III
MEMORISE: 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. James 1:6
READ: James 1:5-8
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 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.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
MESSAGE
Today, I will conclude my discussion on some of the factors that can extinguish prayers. Some people get almost everything right in the place of prayer but miss out on just one thing- faith. Today's memory verse says that believers should always make their requests to God in faith without having any doubts in their hearts. The next verse directly addresses anyone who makes requests from God without faith:
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
James 1:7
When you pray without faith, that prayer is dead on arrival. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Believers cannot expect God to answer their prayers when He is not pleased with them. God requires that you have faith in Him when you ask Him for something. Luke 17:6 says that even if your faith is as little as a mustard seed, God will use it to move mountains on your behalf. If your child asks you for food and then looks at you in such a way that says, "I know you will not give me; you probably don't even have it," you will feel insulted. This is what we do when we ask God for things that we are not really expecting Him to give to us.
When you come to God in faith, you come knowing without a doubt that what you have asked of Him is already done. You bring your requests with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) because you know that your prayer has already been answered. The moment you pray, your hands are already stretched out to God, expecting what you asked for. This is how to pray; it is the kind of prayer that God cannot ignore. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the evidence of things not seen. In other words, when you have faith, even though you have not seen what you are asking for, you will be so sure that you have it that you can present it in court as evidence to any judge, telling them, "See what I have."
For a long time, I tried by my own power to increase my faith, but it was difficult. Then, I read Mark 9:24, where a man cried to Jesus, saying that he believes but that Jesus should help his unbelief. In minutes, what Jesus was asking him to believe for
was done. I also started praying that God should help my faith, and l have seen my faith grow tremendously since then. If you pray the same prayer, Jesus will give your faith a boost, and you will be able to overcome unbelief.
PRAYER POINT
Lord, I believe in you; please help my faith.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 44-46
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 10: IN CHRIST ALONE
1. Who is my life but Christ alone?
I seek no joy beside;
His love and peace flow in my soul,
An everlasting tide.
2. Who is my hope but Christ in me,
The hope of glory bright?
No one but Jesus set me free,
He only is my light.
3. What is the church but Christ alone?
No other fold I need;
I live in Him, the living vine,
His word my only creed.
4. Who but the Savior died for me?
He only did atone
For all my sins upon the tree,
He drank the cup alone.
5. Who purchased me when lost in sin
But Christ, whose love I own?
O Lamb of God, my all is Thine,
I am no more my own.
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