Open Heavens

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: MONDAY MAY 16TH, 2022.


THEME: THE GOD OF ABRAHAM


MEMORISE:  

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 

Exodus 3:6


READ: Genesis 17:1 -8

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.


2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.


3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,


4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.


5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.


6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.


7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.


8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.


MESSAGE

In the memory verse today, God introduced himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Yorubaland where I’m from, the meaning of the name of a man gives you deep insight into the kind of person that fellow is. Thus, in order to get deep insight into who our God really is, we well be looking at this introduction more deeply for the next few days.


What is the implication of the fact that God is the God of Abraham? It means that He is a God of blessings (Genesis 12:1-3). In Genesis 24:34-35, Abraham’s servant said, “God has blessed my master greatly”. Also, the name “God of Abraham” tells us that He is a covenant-keeping God. Deuteronomy 7:9 tells us that He is a God who keeps covenants and we see that clearly in the case of Abraham because in Exodus 2:23-24, when the children of Israel were suffering in Egypt, the Bible says that God remembered His covenant with Abraham. This was even long after Abraham had died. Thus, in Exodus 3:6-12, God decided to do something about the liberation of the children of Israel from Egypt.


The God of Abraham is the God of blessings. Therefore, if you serve the God of Abraham, then you are entitled to the blessings of Abraham.


Somehow, some Christians are not enjoying these blessings. The reason may be linked to what God told Abraham in Genesis 17:1:

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.


God had made a covenant with Abraham for over 25 years, but it wasn’t until Abraham began to walk before God perfectly that it took effect. Genesis 21:5 tells us that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, just a little above 9 months after God told him to be perfect. Believe me honestly, if you start living holy, the blessings of Abraham will pursue and overtake you. Those ‘little sins’ you still commit will keep on hindering God’s promises from coming to pass in your life if you don’t stop them right away. Those little foxes are spoiling your vine; get rid of them now!

 

KEY POINT

Sin hinders the fulfillment of God's promises in the life of His children.

Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezra 8- Nehemiah 1


AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE


HYMN 21: STANDING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD


1 Standing on the promises of Christ my King,

Through eternal ages let His praises ring,

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.


Refrain: 

Standing, standing,

Standing on the promises of God my Savior;

Standing, standing,

I’m standing on the promises of God.


2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.


3 Standing on the promises I now can see

Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;

Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,

Standing on the promises of God.


4 Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,

Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,

Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,

Standing on the promises of God.


5 Standing on the promises I shall not fall,

List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.

Resting in my Savior as my All in all,

Standing on the promises of God.

Saturday, May 14, 2022

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: SUNDAY MAY 15TH, 2022.


THEME: CHURCH WORKER OR FAITHFUL LABOURER?


MEMORISE: 

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. 

Matthew 9:38 


READ: Matthew 9:35 -38

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.


36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.


37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;


38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.


MESSAGE

It is not difficult to find Church workers, but it is difficult to find faithful laborers. The Church is constantly teeming with men and women who are interested in working for the Lord. However, the Lord is not looking for workers who only want to show the world that they are serving God; instead He seeks faithful laborers who will indeed be committed to winning the souls into the kingdom through their various services in the church.


In the memory verse for today, Jesus tells His disciples to pray to God to send labourers to do the work. Jesus is interested in people who will be committed to the saving of the lost. They are the kind of workers who, even if they are cleaners in Church, would be praying over each seat in the Church auditorium as they clean, praying that those who sit there would be transformed by the word of God. Such workers would pray that anybody who would attend the service that day without having given his or her life to Christ would do so before leaving the Church. Such people, as ushers, would not only be interested in looking good on Sundays, but praying to God to direct each person to the seat where the word can reach them without any hindrance or distraction.


People who do everything with one goal in mind will be brought into the light of Christ. There is the testimony of a man of God who died and enter into heaven. While he was on earth, he would conduct services, crusades, and meetings and there would be so many miracles, healings and such a heavy presence of the Holy Spirit. In heaven he was shown why he had always experienced such success in his ministry. There was an old woman who always followed him about whenever he was holding a service; she would begin to intercede for him until the end of the meeting. The woman was so consecrated to God that her prayers were always like thunder in heaven. Jesus attributed the success of this man's ministry to the silent labour of the faithful old woman.


God is looking for soulwinners, not just busy workers. God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

Are you a workforce of the Lord? If not, you need to sign up today. If you are already in the Lord's workforce, make sure you are a faithful laborer.


PRAYER POINT

Heavenly Father, please make me a faithful laborer in Your vineyard in Jesus name.


BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezra 4-7


AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE


HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WIT 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.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS: 


(Saturday, May 14, 2022) 


DON'T GO BACK TO SODOM 


Special Note.


These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye,. but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, effective, January 1st, 2015, to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.


Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.


If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:


“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”


Prayer Points: 


1.Thank You, Father, for the salvation of my soul and for upholding me in the faith till now.


2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me; let Your mercy prevail over any judgement of sin in my life, in Jesus' name.


3.Father, please, uphold me till the end by Your right hand of righteousness, in Jesus' name.


4.Father, please, don't let me ever backslide or go back to my vomit; please, don't let me crucify my lord Jesus, the second time or put him to open ridicule, in Jesus' name.


5.Father, Your word says, he who lays his hands upon the plough and looking back, is not fit for Your Kingdom; please, uphold me till the end by Your mercy and grace, that I may be fit for Your  kingdom, in Jesus' name.


6.Father, please, go ahead of me and remove every stumbling block that could cause me to fall and backslide, in Jesus' name.


7.Father, please, heal every inch of backsliding in me, in Jesus' name.


8.Father, I have started well, please, let me finish well and strong, in Jesus' name.


9.Father, please, let me see You in glory, in Jesus' name.


10.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; and, uphold him by Your right hand of righteousness, till the end, in Jesus' name.


11.Father, bless Your son that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus' name.


12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus' name.


13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)


14.In Jesus' name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)


15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).


#GodBlessOurNation


These prayers have no expiry dates! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.


Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.


Note:

You may not add, subtract or rearrange these prayer points. The Holy Spirit is the author, though He used someone, who, out of humility has refused to take glory for it, by not putting his name. It is plagiarism to use, or pass as your own, someone's else writing or work. The original author of these prayer points is the Holy Spirit. So, share, but don't share His glory with Him in the process. Remain blessed, as you obey, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: SATURDAY MAY 14TH, 2022.


THEME: DON'T GO BACK TO SODOM


MEMORISE: 

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. 

Proverbs 26:11 


READ: Hebrews 6:4 -8

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,


5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,


6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.


7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:


8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.


MESSAGE

In Genesis 13, Abraham gave Lot the opportunity of choosing where he would settle. As soon as Lot made his choice, Abraham chose another place to settle in, So as to avoid their men fighting. The Bible says that Lot chose to settle in Sodom because it looks attractive, like the land of Egypt. Note that Egypt was very well known for all kind of sins in those days. By Genesis 14, Lot had gotten into trouble; because he was living in Sodom, he got captured along with Sodomites when there was a battle. Abraham heard that his nephew had been captured, so he went after the army and rescued him. In Genesis 19, when God sent angels to Sodom, who did the angels meet at the gate? Lot. If you made a wrong choice before and God rescue you, is it not foolishness to go back to that same mistake?


So people say you can backslide as many times as you want, after all, the prodigal son was received by his father when he returned. How many times did the prodigal son leave the house? He left only once. Thus, if you think that the story of the prodigal son is an excuse for falling into sin again and again, you are deceiving yourself. My prayer is that if you have made any wrong choice, the Almighty God will correct you today and give you the grace never to repeat your mistakes.


Lot went back to Sodom and eventually lost everything. The following Scriptures tell us the end of Lot's children who are the Moabites and Ammonites:


And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

Jeremiah 48:42


Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord. 

Jeremiah 49:2


Proverbs 29:1 says the one who is often reproved but hardens his neck shall perish suddenly and without repentance. Be careful. If you have fallen before and God has corrected and delivered you, don't make a mistake again.


KEY POINT

Don't return to your vomit

Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 36- Ezra 3


AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE


HYMN 6: HO, MY COMRADES SEE THE SIGNAL


1. Ho, my comrades, see the signal, waving in the sky!

Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.


Refrain:

“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” 

Jesus signals still;

Wave the answer back to heaven, 

“By Thy grace we will.”


2. See the mighty host advancing, 

Satan leading on,

Mighty ones around us falling, 

courage almost gone!


3. See the glorious banner waving, 

Hear the trumpet blow!

In our Leader’s Name we 

triumph over every foe.


4. Fierce and long the battle rages, 

but our help is near,

Onward comes our great Commander, 

cheer, my comrades, cheer!

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS: 


(Friday, May 13, 2022)


DON'T JOIN YOURSELF TO A HARLOT. 


Special Note.


These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye,. but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, effective, January 1st, 2015, to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.


Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.


If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:


“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”


Prayer Points:


1.Thank You, Father, for the salvation of my soul; thank You, for bringing me out of the darkness of this world, into Your marvelous light in Christ Jesus.


2.Thank You, Father, for making  my body, which is Your temple, Your place of abode, in Jesus' name


3.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me; let Your mercy prevail over any judgement of sin in my life, in Jesus' name.


4.Father, please, let me never defile Your temple, which is my body, for any reason, that I may not incur  Your wrath, in Jesus' name.


5.Father, whenever the temptation to defile Your temple, which is my body, comes my way, please, quickly make a way of escape for me, by Your mercy, in Jesus' name.


6.Father, Your word says, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is destruction; please, take me away from every way that I am currently threading that leads to destruction and death, by Your mercy, in Jesus' name.


7.Father, empower me by Your grace, to run away from every appearance of evil, particularly, formication, adultery and all other sexual sins, which are committed in the body, in Jesus' name.


8.Father, I decree that no strange woman(or man) that is after my  destiny, to destroy it, will ever succeed, in Jesus' name.


9.Father, please, don't let 10 seconds of sexual sin with a strange woman (or man) destroy  my life of eternity in heaven, in the hereafter, in Jesus' name.


10.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; and, uphold him by Your right hand of righteousness, till the end, in Jesus' name.


11.Father, bless Your son that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus' name.


12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus' name.


13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)


14.In Jesus' name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)


15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).


#GodBlessOurNation


These prayers have no expiry dates! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.


Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.


Note:

You may not add, subtract or rearrange these prayer points. The Holy Spirit is the author, though He used someone, who, out of humility has refused to take glory for it, by not putting his name. It is plagiarism to use, or pass as your own, someone's else writing or work. The original author of these prayer points is the Holy Spirit. So, share, but don't share His glory with Him in the process. Remain blessed, as you obey, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: FRIDAY MAY 13TH, 2022.


THEME: DON'T JOIN YOURSELF TO A HARLOT


MEMORISE:  

What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 

1 Corinthians 6:16


READ: Numbers 25:1 -18

1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.


2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.


3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.


4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.


5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.


6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.


7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;


8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.


9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.


10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,


11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.


12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:


13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.


14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.


15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.


16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,


17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:


18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.


MESSAGE

Of all the sins that God considers destructive, sexual immorality is the worst. This is the type of sin that is done against the body. It is like a man putting fire under himself and then sitting on it. He will surely be burnt.


I Corinthians 6:18 says: 

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.


In Numbers 22 to 24, Balaam the prophet was asked to curse the people of Israel. Each time he opened his mouth to curse them, only blessings came forth. There was no way he could curse the blessed people of God. However, by the time you get to Numbers 25, the people had by themselves walked into a curse by committing fornication and adultery. Anyone who commits adultery has placed a curse on his own head. 

Proverbs 6:26 says:

For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.


Oh, the person may seem so good and difficult to resist because of his or her good looks and tenderness; you had better run. This is what the Bible says about a strange woman:


For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edge sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Proverbs 5:3-5


Beloved, run away from sexual immorality.

If you are married, let your wife or your husband be enough for you. If you are experiencing challenges in your marriage, you should go to God in prayer, pleading for His intervention. See your pastor or a godly counsellor for advice on what to do. In no way should you join yourself to another because this kind of sin will only lead to death and destruction.


PRAYER POINT

Father, no strange woman (or man) after my destiny will succeed in Jesus name.

Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 32-35


AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE


HYMN 1: ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER 


1 All to Jesus I surrender, 

All to Him I freely give; 

I will ever love and trust Him, 

In His presence daily live. 


Refrain:

I surrender all, I surrender all; 

All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender 

all.


2 All to Jesus I surrender, 

Humbly at His feet I bow; 

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me, Jesus, take me now. 


3 All to Jesus I surrender, 

Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; 

Let the Holy Spirit witness 

I am Thine and Thou art mine. 


4 All to Jesus I surrender: 

Lord, I give myself to Thee; 

Fill me with Thy love and power, 

Let Thy blessing rest on me. 


5 All to Jesus I surrender: 

Now I feel the sacred flame; 

Oh the joy of full salvation! 

Glory, glory to His name!

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: THURSDAY MAY 12TH, 2022.


THEME: LEARN TO PRAY AT NIGHT


MEMORISE: 

Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 

Jeremiah 6:5 


READ: Matthew 13:24 -30 

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:


25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.


26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.


27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?


28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?


29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.


30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.


MESSAGE

The night-time is a major time when enemies attack. Mathew 13:25 says:

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.


When everyone else is sleeping, witches and wizards are holding meetings at night and launching attacks on souls and destinies. It would be dangerous for you to be sleeping at that time; rather, that is when you should be fighting. That is when you should be firing arrows at the kingdom of darkness.


In the Bible reading for today, the servant of the house owner slept all night, during which time the enemy was able to come and sow tares. It was in the morning that he realized that the enemy had tampered with his work. Many people wake up in the morning only to realize that the enemy had tampered with their work, lives or destinies in the middle of the night. Not I!  I will fight at night and not allow the devil in at all.


When the servant went to report to his master that someone had tampered with his work, the master told him not to remove what the enemy had planted immediately. He had to live with the tares that the enemy planted until the day of harvest. He now had more work to do to ensure that he had a good harvest at the end of the day, and of course, the tares must have also affected the yield of some of his crop negatively. You work less in the daytime when you pray at night. It is better to stop the enemy from sowing tares at all than to engage in damage control after the tares have been sown.


Some people wonder why we hold programmes in the middle of the night. When we conduct those vigils, we are engaging in warfare. In Matthew 26:41, the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples to watch and pray. He gave the instruction at night. Have you ever wondered why, in Acts 16:25-26, Paul and Silas waited until midnight before they began to pray and sing praises to God? They knew the effectiveness of midnight prayer and praise. Learn to pray at night.

 

KEY POINT

Make it a custom to pray regularly at night.


BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 29-31


AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE


HYMN 22: SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER


1 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne

Make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief,

My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,

By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!


2 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

The joys I feel, the bliss I share,

Of those whose anxious spirits burn

With strong desires for thy return!

With such I hasten to the place

Where God my Savior shows His face,

And gladly take my station there,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!


3 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face,

Believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!


4 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

May I thy consolation share,

Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,

I view my home and take my flight.

This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise

To seize the everlasting prize,

And shout, while passing through the air,

“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer.