Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVEN DEVOTIONAL

Thursday, 22nd August 2024

HANDLING OPPOSITIONS

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.Father, thank You for fighting my battles in my walk with You

2.Father, thank You for Your love for me that has made me more than a conqueror 

3.Father, please, in any area that I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, forgive and have mercy on me

4.Father, in my work with You, empower me never to bow to oppositions within and without, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, help me to remain fervent despite the attacks that may arise against me , help me to keep going forward for You, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, every good work You have called me to do for You, empower me to complete it and not to bow to oppositions, in Jesus' name

7.Father, silent every mocker against Your work in my hands and put all my mockers to shame, in Jesus' name

8.Father, take care of every threat around me against Your work in my hands, in Jesus' name

9.Father, in the face of discouragement, I receive encouragement by the help of the Holy Spirit, I receive resources for Your work in my hands, in Jesus' name 

10.Father, help me to patiently wait on You for instructions, help me to keep trusting You in the midst of mockers, threats and discouragement, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, I bring before You, the mockery, threats and discouragement against Your work in my hands, arise and let Your enemies be scattered and help me to keep working for You, in Jesus' name.

12.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; grant him divine health and long life; and, bless his ministry, home, and family (biological and spiritual), forever, in Jesus' name.

13.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.

14.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.

15.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

16 ..In Jesus' name I pray.

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

17.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 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: THURSDAY AUGUST 22ND 2024

THEME: HANDLING OPPOSITIONS

MEMORISE: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:   1 Peter 4:12

READ: Nehemiah 6:1-16 

1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.

7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O

God, strengthen my hands.

10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.

MESSAGE

Oppositions are different from persecutions. Persecution happens when someone attacks you because you are a Christian, while oppositions happen when you are attacked in a bid to stop you from doing whatever you have planned to do for God. Many people have set out to do things for God and were faced with opposition that made them back down. Some of them remained fervent Christians, but the opposition discouraged them from going ahead to do what was in their hearts for God. If we allow oppositions to stop us from doing what God has called us to do, many souls will perish in hell, and the devil will oppress people because the Christians are quiet. Therefore, rather than allow oppositions to stop you, you must learn to keep going despite them.

One man who faced opposition and kept going until the work was done was Nehemiah. He had set out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, despite the fact that it was not going to be an easy task - then, opposition arose. If you study the book of Nehemiah, you will see the three major tools of opposition that the devil employs against Christians: mockery (Nehemiah 4:3), threats (Nehemiah 4:7-8) and discouragement (Nehemiah 4:10). He can raise people to mock you for what you are doing, but you must ignore them. Some people will threaten you with many things or even death if you continue to do what you are doing for God. However, you should not be afraid because God will take care of such people for you. Lastly, the devil can bring discouragement by making the work more difficult. He can do it by ensuring the unavailability of resources or some people's refusal to cooperate with you. Whether the devil brings one or all of these things your way, if God has given you a vision, you must never back down.

Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. Nehemiah 4:9

Nehemiah's default response to all the opposition he faced was to pray. Prayer is not a last resort but your primary defense against oppositions. As you do all that you humanly can to forestall oppositions, put your trust in God. Place your ears on His chest to hear the next instruction He will give you; after all, you are doing His work. The people opposing you are actually opposing Him, so let Him do the fighting while you keep working.

KEY POINT

The way to overcome oppositions is to report them to God; let God do the fighting while you keep working.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 3-5

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: TO THE WORK, TO THE WORK

1. To the work! To the work! We are servants of God;

Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;

With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,

Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.

o Refrain:

Toiling on, toiling on,

Toiling on, toiling on;

Let us hope, let us watch,

And labor till the Master comes.

2. To the work! To the work! Let the hungry be fed;

To the fountain of life let the weary be led;

In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,

While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”

3. To the work! To the work! There is labor for all;

For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;

And the love of our Father exalted shall be,

In the loud swelling chorus, “Salvation is free!”

4. To the work! To the work! In the strength of the Lord,

And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward,

When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,

And we shout with the ransomed, “Salvation is free!”

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21ST 2024.

THEME: HANDLING PERSECUTION

MEMORISE: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Matthew 5:44

READ: John 15:18-21

18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

MESSAGE

As long as this world remains, every true child of God will face persecution because the devil is the prince of this world John 14:30). You must therefore be well-equipped to handle persecutions so that they won't derail you from your race to heaven.

The devil persecutes you as a child of God because he wants you to deny Christ, and the only way to pass through

persecution without denying Christ is to be well-grounded in Him. Therefore, before persecutions come and before the devil launches his attacks, you must be well-rooted in Christ by studying God's word, memorizing it, and praying without ceasing. The depth of a tree's root determines if it will remain standing during a storm. If you don't want persecution to bring you down, you must be deeply rooted in God's word. Those who fail in times of persecution are those who were not as intimate with Christ as they should have been before persecution came.

Long ago, there was a missionary in a foreign land where Christians were being persecuted. On her wedding day, the local police raided the missionary base and arrested her in her wedding dress. She kissed the handcuffs they put on her and said, "Lord, I didn't know you were so jealous over me and wouldn't let me marry anyone else. How beautiful is your wedding ring to me!" She was so in love with Christ that her wedding being invaded meant nothing to her; she saw the handcuffs as wedding rings. That is the kind of intimacy you must have with Christ so as not to deny Him in the face of persecution.

When people compromise after facing a little persecution, like not being promoted at work because of their Christian values, I shake my head because I know that they were never really rooted in Christ. Christians who are truly rooted in Christ rejoice when they are persecuted because they know they are blessed (Matthew 5:10-12). They see persecution as a sign that they are a terror to the devil, and that excites them; they want to cause him even more terror. Persecution drives them to do more for God against the kingdom of darkness. In Acts 5:41, the disciples rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus' name. In 1 Peter 4:13, we are told to rejoice that we are

partakers of Christ's sufferings. Don't let persecution weigh you down; let it become fuel for you to do more for God.

REFLECTION

Are you deeply rooted in Christ such that you can withstand the storms of persecution when they come?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-2

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 10: IN CHRIST ALONE

1.  In Christ alone my hope is found 

He is my light, my strength, my song 

This cornerstone, this solid ground 

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm 

What heights of love, what depths of peace 

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease 

My comforter, my all in all 

Here in the love of Christ I stand  

2.  In Christ alone who took on flesh 

Fullness of God in helpless babe 

This gift of love and righteousness 

Scorned by the ones He came to save 

Till on that cross as Jesus died 

The wrath of God was satisfied 

For every sin on Him was laid 

Here in the death of Christ I live  

There in the ground His body lay 

3.  Light of the world by darkness slain 

Then bursting forth in glorious day 

Up from the grave He rose again 

And as He stands in victory 

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me 

For I am His and He is mine 

Bought with the precious blood of Christ  

4.  No guilt in life, no fear in death 

This is the power of Christ in me 

 life's first cry to final breath 

Jesus commands my destiny 

No power of hell, no scheme of man 

Can ever pluck me from His hand 

Till He returns or calls me home 

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVEN DEVOTIONAL 

Tuesday, 20th August 2024 

HANDLING SUCCESS

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.Father, thank You for granting me good success in all my undertakings

2.Father, thank You because these successes will not lead me to pride and destruction 

3.Father, please, in any area I have allowed success to come in between my fellowship with You, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name

4.Father, teach me how to handle success correctly such that it will not turn out to be the beginning of great failure, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, help me to be vigilant enough never to get over-excited when success comes, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, help me to grow deeper and deeper in fellowship and to be more committed to You, no matter how successful I will become, in Jesus' name

7.Father, don't let success distract me from the end goal that You have called me to achieve, in Jesus' name

8.Father, help me never to relax whenever I attain success; help me to remain alert and ready for battle, in Jesus' name

9.Father, the devil is roaming about looking for whom to devour, may I not be a victim of Satan's tricks, in Jesus' name 

10.Father, empower me to work more to remain successful all through the journey of my life, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye;  grant him divine health and long life; and, bless his ministry, home, and family (biological and spiritual), forever, in Jesus' name.

12.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.

13 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.

14.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

15 ..In Jesus' name I pray.

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

16.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 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: TUESDAY AUGUST 20TH 2024

THEME: HANDLING SUCCESS

MEMORISE: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:    1 Peter 5:8

READ: 1 Samuel 18:6-15

6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.

7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.

15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.

MESSAGE

I discussed handling failure properly yesterday. However, handling failure properly is not the only factor that can affect success in life; there is also the need to learn how to handle success correctly. Many people have eventually failed in life because they did not know how to handle their success.

In 1957, a man won £75,000 in a lottery. In those days, you could buy a flat in London for a tiny fraction of that sum. One day in the early 1980s, somewhere in Western Nigeria, I saw a man that was wearing rags, sitting beside a building that had collapsed in half. I asked the fellow who was driving me, "Who is that fellow?" He said, "That is the man who won £75,000 in 1957" The man had great prosperity but did not know how to handle it, so he ended up poor. A popular proverb inspired by Proverbs 21:20

says that a fool and his prosperity are soon separated. If a fellow is not wise enough to handle success, it can turn out to be the beginning of great failure.

Don't get over-excited when success comes. Many people start rejoicing and partying after a victory, forgetting that the devil never relaxes. What actually happens is that the devil becomes more determined to bring such people down. Don't miss prayer meetings or your personal devotion because you are celebrating a victory. Yes, you won the battle, but the enemy is not dead yet; he is still roaming, looking for whom to devour (1 Peter 5:8). You should increase your commitment to God after every victory and not the other way around.

The devil knows that after successes, people are likely to relax, so he usually attacks them during such periods. After David killed Goliath, he raised King Saul up against him. It was after Elijah called down fire from heaven that Jezebel swore to kill him (1 Kings 19:1-3). When you attain success in a particular thing, you must not relax. You must remain alert and ready for battle. Don't let success distract you from the end goal that God has called you to achieve.

One great success we had in RCCG was a programme called Lekki '98, where over six million people gathered in one place to worship God. Immediately after that programme, we doubled our missionary efforts, sending missionaries to new territories. We immediately started planning the next edition of the programme, and today, we have held much bigger programmes because we doubled our efforts and did not relax after our success.

KEY POINT

When success comes, that is the time to work more, not the time to relax.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 51-52

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 26: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS 

1.  There shall be showers of blessing:

 This is the promise of love;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

 Sent from the Savior above.

Refrain

Showers of blessing,

Showers of blessing we need;

Mercy-drops round us are falling,

 But for the showers we plead.

2.  There shall be showers of blessing—

  Precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys,

  Sound of abundance of rain.

3.  There shall be showers of blessing;

  Send them upon us, O Lord!

Grant to us now a refreshing;

  Come, and now honor Thy Word.

4.  There shall be showers of blessing;

  O that today they might fall,

Now as to God we’re confessing,

  Now as on Jesus we call!

5.  There shall be showers of blessing,

  If we but trust and obey;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

  If we let God have His way.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVEN DEVOTIONAL 

Monday, 19th August 2024 

HANDLING FAILURE 

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.Father, thank You for giving me victory over battles of life on all sides

2.Father, I thank You that in all the troubles, I am not distressed; though I am perplexed, but not in despair 

3.Father, please, forgive me for responding wrongly to my past failures.

4.Father, help me to respond positively to failures; don't let my failures put an end to my life and destiny, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, in every failure in my journey in life, open my eyes to find a divine way of getting over them differently, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, help me never to give in to failures, help me to keep trying until I succeed, in Jesus' name

7.Father, help me to pay the price to succeed in my endeavors; I trust in You Lord, help me never to give up on You, in Jesus' name

8.Father, grant me Your grace and help me to be willing to learn from my failures, in Jesus' name

9.Father, help me to be consistent in my prayer life and walk with You in order to understand the reason(s) behind my failures, in Jesus' name 

10.Father, give me understanding to discover new methods of living in victory whenever failure comes knocking, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, bless your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye; grant him divine health and long life; and, bless his ministry, home, and family (biological and spiritual), forever, in Jesus' name.

12.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.

13 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.

14.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

15. In Jesus' name I pray.

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

16.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 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: MONDAY AUGUST 19TH 2024

THEME: HANDLING FAILURE

MEMORISE: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;    2 Corinthians 4:8

READ: Judges 20:18-35 

18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.

20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.

21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.

22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.

23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.

25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.

33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.

34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.

35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.

MESSAGE

The way people respond to failures determines whether they will eventually live in victory or not. Failure is not as bad as people paint it to be; it does not signify the end, but it is a signal to try again using a different method. Almost all scientific breakthroughs result from failure. If most scientists became sad and stopped after the first time they failed, they would never have had breakthroughs. Every successful person you see is a product of many failures. If you try today and fail, rise up and try again in a different way. As long as you are sure that what you are doing is in line with the will of God, don't give up on it; keep trying until you succeed.

In today's Bible reading, the Israelites asked God if they should go to battle against the Benjamites and if they would win. God told them to fight and that they would win. However, when they got to the battlefield, they were defeated. The question on their minds would have been, "Did God deceive us?" They refused to give up, got themselves together, and went to ask God again if they should return to battle the Benjamites. God told them to go, and once again, the Benjamites defeated them. At that point, giving up would have seemed reasonable; they had already lost 40,000 men, and it looked as if God, the only one they could trust, was deceiving them. If they had given up, they would have been commended for trying, but they did not give up. They went back to God, and this time, they fasted and gave offerings to God. They asked again if they should return to fight the Benjamites, and God said that they should go. They went, and as you read in the story, they used a different strategy and were able to defeat the Benjamites. Don't give up; your breakthrough is probably just around the corner. Try once again.

When next you encounter failure, ask yourself, why is God letting me go through this?" If you have been consistent with your prayer life and walk with God, ask, "What can I learn from this experience? What is God trying to teach me with this failure? Are there other strategies to achieve my goal?" lf you answer these questions sincerely, you will draw valuable lessons that will help you achieve success the next time you try.

KEY POINT

Failure is only a signal to try again using a different method unless God says otherwise.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 50

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 cannot 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.