Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: MONDAY JANUARY 22ND, 2024.

THEME: GOD'S BEST FRIENDS IV

MEMORISE: 

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it maybring forth more fruit.

John 15:2

READ: John 15:1-5  

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

MESSAGE

One thing about being one of God's bestfriends is that you must be ready to be pruned. God's best friends are fruit-bearers; that is why He said in John 15:16 that if you bear fruits and those fruits abide, you can ask anything of Him, and He will do it.

God will prune you till you are genuinely humble. He will prune you till you are completely dead to the flesh. Once He marks you as someone to bring closer to Himself, He will start pruning you. This is where many people drop off His friends list because they cannot endure His pruning.

Many years ago, I was at an airport, and I was to declare all the money that I had with me. I only told the attendant about the notes and left out the coins. She told me to show her my purse, and I was embarrassed because l had to admit I had lied. The lady let it go, but l heard God's voice at that moment, You are special to me, so I will not condone the smallest of lies from you." If you really want to be one of God's best friends, you

must be ready to meet His high standards.

Nobody can get close to God without going through intense discipline. You must be willing to submit to His discipline if you want to become His best friend. If God disciplines a person for doing something wrong and the person does not desist from committing that particular sin, He will eventually leave such a person as He cannot become friends with unrepentant people.

Once in a while, God tests His best friends. He takes them through a period of trials to prune them and make them perfect, wanting nothing (James 1:3-4). Only a few people go through these trials and come out on the other side perfect. Only a few people can submit to these tests without compromising their faith. Are you one of those people?

Beloved, it is true that divine pruning can be a painful exercise, so you must spend quality time in God's presence daily to build your spiritual strength. If you hold on and do not give give up, you will not only become more fruitful, but you will also become One of God's best friends.

REFLECTION

Are you willing to be pruned by God so you can get closer to Him and produce more fruit?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 21-23

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 23: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE

1 Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2 Take my hands, and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love;

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee,

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3 Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only, for my King;

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee,

Filled with messages from Thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as Thou shalt choose,

Every power as Thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will, and make it Thine;

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart; it is Thine own;

It shall be Thy royal throne,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure-store.

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only, all for Thee,

Ever, only, all for Thee.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: 

Sunday, 21, January, 2024 

God's Best Friends 3

Special Note.

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his , 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 creating me in Your image and likeness; and for Your purpose and pleasure.

2.Thank You, Father, for making me a co-labourer with You, in Your vineyard.

3..Father, in anyway I have fallen short  of your glory, please, have mercy and

forgive me; let Your mercy prevail over judgement of sin in my life, in Jesus name.

4.Father, please, let Your will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven, in Jesus name.

5.Father, please, teach and guide me on what to pray for, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus name.

6.Father, please, give me the grace and power to do Your perfect will at all times, in Jesus name.

7.Father, give me the grace to hear from You, at every point in time, and to pray Your will and desires, into existence, in Jesus name.

8.Father, please, make me of Your intercessors and draw me closer to You, in Jesus name.

9.Father, deliver all christian faithfuls who are under one persecution or the other, and make me one of Your best friends, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; and, bless his ministry, home, and family (biological and spiritual), forever, 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, books ministry.

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.

LETS PRAY 🙏

 John 1:41 (KJV)  He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.The first thing Andrew did after meeting Jesus was to tell his brother the good news. Were you as excited as Andrew to tell others when you first came to know Jesus? May nothing rob you & I the excitement of knowing & telling others about Jesus & clinging on to Him no matter the situation in Jesus mighty name. Happy Sunday!!!

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 21ST, 2024.

THEME: GOD'S BEST FRIENDS III

MEMORISE: 

Thy kingdom come, Thy wil be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

READ: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9  

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

MESSAGE

Many people want to be one of God's best friends so that whenever they ask Him for something. He will do it for them immediately. This is surely one of the benefits of being one of God's best friends, however, those who really become such care more about Him than they care about themselves.

The priorities of a man are known from his prayer points. If your prayers are always selfish, God will not make you one of His best friends. In fact, He will not answer your prayers when they are born out of your lusts (James 4:3).

Those who will be one of God's best friends are people who pray God's prayers and want to partner with Him to establish His will on earth. They are people who say regularly, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When such people go to pray, they don't go with preconceived prayer points at all times. They make a habit of going into His presence with a burden to hear from Him about what He wants to be done on earth and to pray those things into existence.

Every now and then, God needs someone to stand in the gap for His people, He needs someone to pray about a particular situation so that He can have the legal right to step into that situation. If you are an intercessor, always willing to pray God's will into existence, He will draw you closer to Himself. He will tell you things that He usually doesn't tell others and show you sides of Himself that others don't see-He will even reveal His burdens to you! Only those who are willing to share in God's burdens can become one of His best friends. In Matthew 26:36-39, Jesus' best friends saw His sorrow; they saw Him in His time of distress at the garden of Gethsemane when He was crying for God to take away the cup from Him and more importantly, to let His will be done. Jesus was the one who invited them to watch with Him; they were His prayer partners.

Can God invite you to watch with Him over a nation, His Church or any matter at that? Can you forget all your prayer points and just keep praying for the will of God to be fulfilled like Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane? Do you care more about God than you care about yourself?

PRAYER POINT

Pray for the body of Christ with specific reference to Christians facing persecution across the world.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 17-20

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 20: STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS

1 Stand up, stand up for Jesus

ye soldiers of the cross;

lift high his royal banner,

it must not suffer loss.

From vict'ry unto vict'ry

his army he shall lead

till ev'ry foe is vanquished

and Christ is Lord indeed.

2 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

the trumpet call obey;

forth to the mighty conflict

in this his glorious day.

Ye that are men now serve him

against unnumbered foes;

let courage rise with danger

and strength to strength oppose.

3 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

stand in his strength alone;

the arm of flesh will fail you,

ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armor,

each piece put on with prayer;

where duty calls or danger,

be never wanting there.

4 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

the strife will not be long;

this day the noise of battle,

the next, the victor's song.

To him that overcometh

a crown of life shall be;

he with the King of glory

shall reign eternally.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: 

Saturday, 20, January, 2024

God's Best Friends 2

Special Note.

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his , 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.I worship and adore You, my Father, You're the diligent rewarder of them that seek You.

2.Thank You, Father, for Your word, which You honour above Your name.

3..Father, in anyway I have fallen short  of your glory, please, have mercy and

forgive me; let Your mercy prevail over judgement of sin in my life, in Jesus name.

4.Father, please, give me enough faith in You, that I may please, You, in Jesus name.

5.Father, please, give me a great and strong  faith in You, in Jesus name.

6.Father, please draw me closer to You, in Jesus name.

7.Father, please, let my ways agree with Your ways and be pleasing unto You, that I may walk with You, in Jesus name.

8.Father, please, make me one of Your best friend and confidant,  in Jesus name.

9.Father, as one of Your best friend,  let me never disappoint or betray You, but give me great faith to achieve great and mighty things for You, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; and, bless his ministry, home, and family (biological and spiritual), forever, 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, books ministry.

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.

LETS PRAY 🙏

 Psalms 129:2 (KJV)  Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. May the affliction of the wicked against you be of no effect and may they be put to shame in Jesus mighty name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SATURDAY JANUARY 20TH, 2024.

THEME: GOD'S BEST FRIENDS II

MEMORISE: 

But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 

Isaiah 41:8

READ: Hebrews 11:5-6  

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

MESSAGE

From yesterday's discussion, I believe you must be very interested in becoming one of God's best friends. If you truly are, you must study those who have been best friends with Him and do what they did. One major thing you will notice about such people is a great level of faith.

Faith is a major attribute that is required of anyone who wants to become God's friend. Those who will be one of God's best friends will not only have faith but have much faith that they will be doing things that do not seem to make sense according to human understanding.

Romans 4:18 says that Abraham hoped against hope-that is a great level of faith! He not only hoped in his heart. but it also showed in his action when he told everyone to start calling himself and his wife father of nations' and 'mother of nations' respectively, even when they were old and didn't have a child. Romans 4:19 says that he did not consider his body that it was dead; he believed God like a fool.

Can you have that much faith in God that you will begin to say and do things that would make people who do not understand God's ways wonder if you are normal? Will you see the word of God as more real and potent than anything else, including natural laws? When God sees this kind of faith in someone, He draws the fellow closer to Himself.

Early in my, Christian walk, I learned during a Sunday School class that faith can be likened to when a child jumps from a high surface at his father's instruction without being scared of falling because he knows that his father will catch him. When I heard that, I started jumping without being scared of falling because I know from His word that He will catch me. I noticed that every time I made audacious statements or moves of faith based on 

God's word, He drew me closer to Himself.

You can have a close relationship with God if you can just be audacious with your faith. If you can hope: against hope and become a fool to others because of what you so obsessively believe in the word of God, not only will you see His word come to pass in your life, but you will also discover that He has brought you close to Himself to make you one of His best friends.

KEY POINT

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 14-16

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 7: I AM THINE O LORD

1 I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

And be closer drawn to Thee.

REFRAIN 

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

And my will be lost in Thine.

3 O the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!

4 There are depths of love that I yet may know

Ere Thee face to face I see;

There are heights of joy that I yet may reach

Ere I rest in peace with Thee.