Make a Demand on Heaven

READ: Neh.2:1-6
MORE LESSONS: Matt.7:7
Bible Reading in One Year: Proverbs 25-28

Occasionally in life you are opportune to stand before great people and you are asked, What can I do for you? It is usually an opportunity to make a great request but sometimes you mess it up and ask for peanuts. Nehemiah stood before the king and asked for permission and help to return and rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem and he got it, … So it pleased the king to send me;….v6. Herodias’ daughter, prompted by her mother, stood before Herod and asked, ...Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her: Matt.14:8-9 She got it. Elisha asked Elijah for a hard thing and got it (2kgs.2:10-14). Solomon, himself a king, had the rear privilege of being urged by not less than the King of kings to make a request, he got it, Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour: Chron.1:7-12.

When you know how to make your request to Jehovah, it is as good as standing before the Almighty God Himself and it is an opportunity to ask for the great desires of your life. Each time you notice the presence of God in a place, either a worship time in or out of church or an unusual presence of God's glory all around you, it is as good as hearing God say, What can I do for you? Never let such opportunity pass you by, make a request, step into a great worship or anything that will make you a partaker of the glory of the divine presence. Today, write a prayer request of the greatest desires of your heart, create an atmosphere of God's presence by praise and worship (singing) or by prayer, and present your requests to the King of kings and expect an answer. Just as others got answer, you too will today.

Prayer / Action
* Thank God for the honour of being allowed into His presence.
* Ask God for the blessing of His presence.
* Ask God to grant your desires by His greatness.
* Rebuke every barrier and road block to your answer.
* Declare that today your pain will become a testimony.
* Thank God for answer.

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You must not Lose your Labour

READ: 2 Jn.8 (NLT)
MORE LESSONS: Gen.26:12-13
Bible Reading in One Year: Proverbs 22-24

Many people work so hard, breaking new grounds, planting and harvesting but do not pay attention to conserving the fruits of their past labours. Such people will labour all through life and end up with no rewards in their hand. They have stories of what they did, and probably what they achieved but nothing concrete in terms of end products that will carter for their needs. That shall not be your case; you will eat the fruits of your labour. Imagine a farmer that is so busy opening new farms, but will not look back to weed the ones he has cultivated. At the end of the season he will have no harvest because he has laboured like a fool. Or a pastor who wins souls everyday, but he does not have a solid plan to disciple the souls he wins, absorb them into the church and build them up to become mature believers. The church of such a pastor will be empty. Take a moment to reflect on your labour of old. What are you doing to preserve and process them so they can become profitable fruits in your hand? Our text cries out so loud to us to look to ourselves so that we don’t lose the things which we have worked for.

In your quest for greatness, God wants to take you from glory to glory. He wants the new grounds you have broken to be an addition to the old ones, not substitutes. He wants you to add to your achievements and thereby make you become greater and greater. May you truly advance by addition and may you increase and be preserved, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Prayer/Action
* Take Psa.115:14 to God in prayer for yourself.
* Pray against any waster or devourer that may want to eat up your fruits and past labour.
* Ask the Lord to increase and establish the works of your hand.
* Ask God to increase and establish the works of your pastor, spiritual and otherwise.
* Ask God for wisdom for an enduring work.
* Give thanks for answered prayer.

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Yes, You Can

READ: Matt. 21:19-22
MORE LESSONS: Matt. 7:7-11
Bible Reading in One Year: Proverbs 19-21

Have you ever dreamt of a day when all your prayer requests are answered? Or a situation where, as you ask, you get the result? I hear Heaven say, Yes, you can; you can get prompt answer now, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matt.7:7. This scripture simply means that prayer is not meant to be a one way traffic, which is what we are used to. Rather it is supposed to be something like a direct face-to-face conversation with instant result. Our theology and direction about prayer needs to shift from an exercise for future result to instant manifestation because this is what prayer is meant to be.

“Ask and receive”, not ask and wait. This is not to see prayer as magic for instant results in your hand always as there could be a reason to wait, but you need to go to the Father's presence with an expectation that the answer will be now. Prayer for Jesus was communion with the Father with instant answer. After all, all we will ever ask have been provided before creation and we can never exhaust God’s resources. Therefore all we need to do is ask and pick up the supply. All through Jesus' work on earth, prayer was ‘ask and pick it’. At Lazarus' tomb where we should have expected the toughest prayer and delay because death was involved, His prayer was short and answer came instantly, …Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: …. And he that was dead came forth…. Jn.11:41-44. Even at Gethsemane where the battle was tough, He got answer instantly (Lk.22:43). However, all these are predicated on, … if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1Jn.5:14. Ask according to God’s will and you can confidently conclude, Yes, I can get the answer now.

Three quick tests for answered prayer:
1. A righteous life, Psa.24:3-4.
2. Faith in God, Heb.11:1-2.
3. Asking according to His will, I Jn.5:14.
Yes, you can have what you ask, right away.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to revisit your past requests and grant you answer today.
* Pray that a new season of answered prayers will begin for you today.
* Ask God to increase your faith.
Worship the Lord and sing a song of answered prayers.

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Forget Not

READ: Ps.103:1-22
MORE LESSONS: Deut.6:10-12
Bible Reading in One Year: Proverbs 15-18

The Bible strongly exhorts us not to forget God. This is because God saw ahead of man the tendency to forget Him. Jehovah warns that whoever forgets Him does so at his or her peril, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God: Psalm.9:17. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons: Deut.4:9.

One way not to forget God is by praising Him. The Psalm for today's reading has about thirty benefits of God to us for which we should praise Him. The land will yield its increase to the man who praises God, Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us: Ps.67:5-6. Praise God for the benefit of forgiveness of sin (Eph1:7), for the benefit of healing when sick. There was statistic sometimes ago by a doctor who surveyed the number of sick people in hospitals. He and his team discovered that there were fewer Christians in those hospitals, this fact is not by chance. We boldly declare it’s because God heals His people, And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee: Exo.23:25.

Praise Him for daily redeeming you from destruction as you go out and come in (Ps.121:7-8). Also, celebrate God for the benefits of satisfying you with good things of life: food, water, clean air to breathe. Exalt Him for executing judgment on your behalf, and for fighting your battles, known and unknown to you. For these and many other benefits jump on your feet and magnify God. Cease to complain and murmur about the things not yet accomplished; commend Him for the ones He did and use this as a platform to reach out for the ones yet to be done. Choose to remember His benefits today and more will come rolling your way.

Prayer / Action
* I declare I will never forget God.
* Lord, I remember all Your benefits to me and I give You praise for them.
* I choose to give God thanks instead of murmuring and complaining.

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