Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH 2024

THEME: DESTINY DESTROYERS III

MEMORISE: He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Proverbs 18:9

READ: Proverbs 6:6-11 

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

MESSAGE

Today, I will continue my teaching on the different vices that can destroy destinies. When we first started building Redemption City, I knew some bricklayers who would have been very wealthy by now if only they had not been lazy. God had set them up in a

place where they could have had great success, but their laziness robbed them of that opportunity.

Beloved, don't be lazy. When I meet some pastors who started about the same time as me, they will usually say, "God has been good to you." Truly, God has been really gracious to me, but then, nobody can Accuse me of laziness. God can supply you with the grace you need to fulfil your destiny, but if you are lazy, the grace He provided will go to waste because you will not use it. Many have prayed for open doors, but when the door was opened before them, they did not walk into it because of their laziness.

In today's Bible reading, we are told to learn from the ants as they provide their meat and gather their harvest at the right time. These days, some people make excuses to hide their laziness using different terms like exhaustion, procrastination, and so on. When a fellow constantly disregards the things that he or she ought to do when they ought to be done, it is simply laziness. For instance, if someone is to go out at 8am, but decides to stay in bed and refuses to have a bath nor get his or her clothes ironed by 7:30am, that is laziness.

When you read Proverbs 24:30-34, you will see the major danger in laziness. Laziness does not destroy destinies suddenly, it does it little by little. If you are lazy, you will look back at your life after a while, and you will realize that you are far from the things that you set out to achieve.

Beloved, please banish any form of laziness in your life. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that time and chance happen to everyone. If you are lazy, when your time and chance come, you will likely be in bed sleeping. Don't allow a little sleep to destroy your destiny. Good sleep is very important for your health and general well-being, however, do not oversleep or sleep when you ought to be working.

Get up and work! Your destiny and that of many others depend on your efforts.

ACTION POINT

Take note of the signs of laziness that might be in your life and stop them today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 6-10

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.

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 name of Jehovah 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 Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL

Friday, 27th September 2024

DESTINY DESTROYERS (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.Father, thank You for saving me and ordaining me for a great destiny.

2.Father, thank You, because I am not in this world to be an ordinary person but to fulfill a great destiny.

3.Father, please, forgive me of my sins, and deliver me from greed and covetousness, in Jesus' name

4.Father, please, help me not to love money and err from faith; don't let money have dominion over me, in Jesus' name 

5.Father, please, don't let me ever be involved in anything that is against Your will. No matter the benefits attached to it, let it become a taboo to me, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, please, help me to resist greatly, every temptation to steal money or anything that is entrusted or kept with me, in Jesus' name 

7.Father, please, help me to patiently wait on You for help and blessings. I will never be too much in a hurry to become rich, in Jesus' name

8.Father, please, help me to be faithful to the very end that I may abound in Your blessings. Don't let me be envious of the wicked who are getting rich by whatever means, in Jesus' name 

9.Father, please, help me not to be greedy of gain and may I not bring trouble to myself and my family, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, please, kill every element of greed in me now, 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), help them to remain a shining light 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: FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27TH 2024

THEME: DESTINY DESTROYERS II

MEMORISE: And he said unto them, take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.   Luke 12:15

READ: John 12:3-6 

3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,

5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Matthew 26:14-16 

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

MESSAGE

Yesterday, I discussed how the devil can use illicit sex as a tool to destroy destinies. Another means through which the devil destroys destinies is greed. 1 Timothy 6:10 says:

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Once the devil can get someone to love money, other evils will begin to spring forth. Money should not have dominion over you; don't make decisions that you know will offend God solely because of money. Anything that is against the will of God, even if it has benefits worth billions of dollars attached to it, must become a taboo to you. Many people have stolen money to buy a car, and then that car became their coffin.

Gehazi had a great destiny ahead of him; he could have inherited a double portion of the double-portion anointing that Elisha had, and that would have given him tremendous power. However, greed denied him of a great destiny. No matter how much money a Christian is tempted to steal, God's plan for his or her life is much bigger than it. I have seen great destinies destroyed because the people involved were too much in a hurry to become rich, and so, they took what they ought not to take. Proverbs 28:20 says:

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Don't be too much in a hurry to be rich. If someone is too much in a hurry for riches, he or she will not be innocent, and that lack of innocence is what the devil will use to destroy such a fellow. Be faithful, and you will abound in blessings. Don't envy the people who are doing all manner of evil things to get money now; they are rams awaiting slaughter. Proverbs 15:27 says:

He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

Those who are greedy of gain are calling trouble on themselves and their families; it is only a matter of time before they begin to burn from the troubles that they bring on themselves. Don't join them.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please kill every element of greed in me now, in Jesus' name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 1-5

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 30: 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 shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

3. 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 blessed if we trust and obey.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL

Thursday, 26th September 2024

DESTINY DESTROYERS (1)

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 saving me and ordaining me for a great destiny.

2.Father, thank You, because I am not in this world to be an ordinary person but to fulfill a great destiny.

3.Father, please, frustrate every destiny destroyer sent to hinder me from fulfilling my glorious destiny, let their strategies be defeated, in Jesus' name

4.Father, please, help me never to fall for the temptations set to put an end to my big dreams and destiny, in Jesus' name 

5.Father, please, wherever I find myself, even in the most unpleasant situations, help me to prosper against the wish of destiny destroyers, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, please, help me to respond with great resistance to the devil, help me never to give room to fornication or adultery, in Jesus' name 

7.Father, please, help me to keep my body which is Your temple, pure and holy; deliver me from lust and illicit sexual desires, in Jesus' name

8.Father, please, help me to live a daily life of fasting and prayers; strengthen me to avoid falling into temptations, in Jesus' name 

9.Father, please, help me to guard against the devil's temptations to engage in sexual immorality, help me never to destroy my destiny with my own hands, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, please, help me to resist the devil and to flee from sexual immorality, 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), help them to remain a shining light 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: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH 2024

THEME: DESTINY DESTROYERS I

Thursday, September 26

MEMORISE: But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.    Proverbs 6:32

READ: Judges 16:5-16 

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

MESSAGE

The devil is always looking for signs that mark out people of great destinies. You may have noticed long ago that you are not in this world to be ordinary, and that there is a great destiny that God has ordained for you. The devil may also sense this, and even though he is unable to fully understand it, he will begin to send destiny destroyers to the fellow to ensure that he or she does not fulfil that glorious destiny. One major destiny destroyer the devil tries to use is illicit sex.

In Genesis 37:5-9, the devil heard Joseph talk about his destiny and marked him for destruction. He tried to get his brothers to kill him, but they ended up selling him into slavery. The devil thought that Joseph would not fulfil his dreams in slavery, but when he saw how he prospered in Potiphar's house even as a slave, he knew that the only way he could stop him was to tempt him with illicit sex, so he sent Potiphar's wife to seduce him (Genesis 39:11-12). Thankfully, Joseph did not fall for the temptation because that would have been the end of his big dreams and destiny. Every time you are tempted to engage in illicit sex, that is the devil trying to destroy your destiny. Your response will determine if you will still fulfil destiny or not.

No matter how great a person's destiny is, giving room to fornication or adultery will destroy such a fellow because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 that our bodies are God's temple, and if a fellow defiles God's temple, he or she will be destroyed. Samson was really great and powerful, so much so that he could single-handedly defeat an entire army. However, as powerful as he was, he met his defeat in the laps of a woman that he wasn't married to. Before long, he was grinding corn for his enemies (Judges 16:21).

If you find out that you are having illicit sexual desires towards someone of the opposite sex, you should run to God for mercy, go on a fast, and pray for those desires to die. This way, you will strengthen yourself enough to avoid falling into the temptation and those illicit sexual desires will die eventually.

Beloved, guard yourself against the devil's temptations to engage in sexual immorality. Don't allow him to make you destroy your destiny with your own hands. Resist him, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

KEY POINT

Flee from sexual immorality. Itis a destiny destroyer.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Haggai 1-2

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 31:  YIELD NOT TO TEMPTATION

1. Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;

Each vict’ry will help you some other to win;

Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;

Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

Refrain:

Ask the Savior to help you,

Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;

He is willing to aid you,

He will carry you through.

2. Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,

God’s name hold in rev’rence, nor take it in vain;

Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true;

Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

3. To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown,

Through faith we will conquer, though often cast down;

He who is our Savior, our strength will renew;

Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, 25th September 2024 

GOD'S BLANK CHEQUE

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 Your love for me. Thank You for giving me the greatest weapon-Prayer, for a victorious life

2.Father, thank You, for answered prayers in the past, present and thank You, for Your ears are not heavy to hear me even in the future.

3.Father, please, remove every hindrance to a successful prayer life. Forgive me of my sins and show me mercy in Jesus' name

4.Father, please, uproot every wickedness in me, destroy every deposit of pride and arrogance that is hindering me from praying, in Jesus' name 

5.Father, please, help me to humble myself before You and to seek after You. In all my thoughts, help me to acknowledge You, in Jesus' name 

6.Father, please, help me to humbly surrender all my worries to You in prayers, help me not to depend on my own strength, in Jesus' name 

7.Father, please, deliver me from my foolishness of prayerlessness, make me wise to trust in You as I bring everything to You in prayer, in Jesus' name

8.Father, please, as I begin to make use of the weapon of prayer, may I begin to see great and mighty things, in Jesus' name 

9.Father, please, may I never get tired of using the blank cheque You have given to me, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, please, I come before You on my knees, take care of the things that had been stressing me, and give me solutions to every problem around me, 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), help them to remain a shining light 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: WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25TH

THEME: GOD'S BLANK CHEOUE

MEMORISE: Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;   Colossians 4:2

READ: Daniel 9:3-19

3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

MESSAGE

Prayer is one of the greatest weapons that God gave to man; the ability to call on Him anytime we want and have Him answer us. It is a signed blank cheque to His children. The question now is, how come some Christians don't use this blank cheque? The answer is in Psalm 10:4:

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Christians that do not pray are proud, it means that they do not have God in all their thoughts because they think they are smart enough to solve all their problems. 1 Corinthians 1:25 says that no matter how wise you are, the things of God that may appear foolish far exceed human wisdom, and the things that seem weak far exceed human strength. It is foolishness not to pray.

One day, when I was a child, I was playing football in front of our house. At a point, I kicked the ball to the top of the roof, and it got stuck there. I was little, so l couldn't see the ball. I tried using a stick to get the ball down from the roof, but I was not able to. My dad was sitting close by, but| didn't call him for help. At last, when I was tired, I asked for his help, and he said, "You saw me here all this while, but you didn't think to ask for my help." He stood up and, with one sweep of his hand, brought the ball down. I thought I could bring the ball down by myself, and I kept stressing myself to do so even though I could have just asked my dad for help and gotten the ball easily. Marny people stress

themselves unnecessarily, running from pillar to post in search of solutions to problems that can easily be solved on their knees in prayers to God.

God gave you a blank cheque in Jeremiah 33:3:

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

I have been using my blank cheque at every opportunity, and God has been answering and showing me great and mighty things that I did not know. Will you also begin to use your blank cheque?

KEY POINT

Prayerlessness is foolishness.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zephaniah 1-3

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!”