Wait on the Lord

Friday 18 December
READ: Isa. 40:28-31
MORE LESSON: Isa.30:18-21

One of the major problems in the world today is haste; everybody wants to make it, that is, succeed as a matter of urgency. Sadly, this attitude is also found even in the body of Christ. The irony, however, is that those who carefully and patiently come behind you discover the money which you might have run over. Today, the Lord is teaching you to pause for a while. Learn to wait upon the Lord for everything.

The Bible teaches us that the Lord makes things beautiful in His own time. God does not use wristwatch to calculate time, seasons and years the same way we do. Psalm 90:4 says, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday…. Are you in haste over anything? The Lord is telling you to wait upon Him. It is in your interest to wait upon the Lord because they that do so shall renew their strength (Isa. 40:31). You burn a lot of energy running here and there but when you wait upon the Lord in prayer and fasting, in diligence and commitment, your burnt energy is renewed, replaced or refilled. For waiting on Him, God grants you the strength of an eagle (agility, might, glorious height and dominance of your environment) to fly over and above all circumstances; the speed to run, power never to be weary, and the majesty, caution, confidence, protection and guidance to walk over pain, affliction, lack, opposition and obstacles, and yet not faint. You are granted total protection when you fly (great speed), run (medium speed) and walk (slow speed) as strictly directed by the Spirit of God in response to situations and circumstances of life.

Learn to wait on the Lord; it pays. Never be desperate about anything, whatever goes round must come round. Trust in the power of God to give you your heart desire in your season and His time. Prov. 28:20 says, A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent! And Isaiah the prophet says, Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste: Isa. 28:16. Another version (NIV) says, ...See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. and the Amplified version says, He who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not be ashamed. Therefore, wait on the Lord! Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart...: Psa.27:14.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to grant you patience in the midst of challenges. 
* Pray for strength not to faint in the place of waiting.
Find a prayer partner today and agree with him or her that you will not wait in vain.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, I plead with heaven to expose and disgrace every unfriendly person masquerading as my true friend, in the name of Jesus.

Understanding Prophecy

Thursday 17 December
READ: Gen. 12: 1-7
MORE LESSON: 1 Thess. 5: 20

In Genesis 12, God gave eight “I wills” to Abram who was already old when God gave him this prophecy. A prophecy denotes a Word of the Lord about what is to come. Prophecy could be a promise or a warning. It could come to give direction and sometimes a confirmation. God might give you a prophetic word to tell you what tomorrow will look like and at another time, He might just be warning you about what could happen tomorrow if you do not do something. God can also give you a prophecy as an instruction and direction about what should be done and how to do it. At such times your obedience to instruction is what determines whether the expected result will come or not. God can also use His servants to give you a prophetic word to give you a confirmation of what He had spoken before.

God told Abram that He would make him into a great nation with people as many as the stars in the sky but at the time the word came Abram didn't even have a child. God was making a promise to him about tomorrow. In Ps 32:8, the Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you (NLT). By His prophetic direction, a child of God should not wander around like sheep without shepherd and live life by trial and error. God will tell you where to go, when to go the kind of job to do, the location to settle down, who to marry and what ministry to do for God. Your blessings are connected to the instructions God gives you. When you stay personally connected to God. He will give you leadings which are prophetic directions on the best pathway for your life.

God spoke through Jeremiah to the people of Israel that If they didn't give up their ways of sin He will hand them over to the Babylonians- that was a prophecy of warning. (Jer. 22: 25) He was warning them that they would end up as slaves if they didn't repent as He asked them to. The Bible says, we should not take the issue of obtaining prophetic directions, instructions, warnings and declarations from the Lord lightly. A prophetic word might make the whole lot of difference that you have been waiting for all your life. So, despise not prophesyings. 1 Thess 5:20. I pray for you that you will have the wisdom to heed the directions and warnings that God gives you and every good prophecy that has gone ahead of you will be fulfilled in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that God’s Word will never cease to come to you in life.
* Ask God to fulfill Isa. 30:21 in your life - ..thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it...
* Uproot every negative word that could have been prophesied against your life to die now in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I redeem today from every evil memorial and repeated evil occurrences, in the mighty name of Jesus.

The Land flowing with Milk and Honey

Wednesday 16 December
READ: Num. 14:8
MORE LESSON: Heb 3: 15 - 19

Num. 14:8 says, If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us to the land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. There is a destination of glory being described here and it is the land flowing with milk and honey. There is a land in every man's life either flowing with milk and honey or wailing in dryness. Every destiny has a land which can either be a positive land or a negative one; a land of glory flowing with milk and honey or a land full of disgrace, shame and dryness. There is no in-between- every man is a land defined by something.

In this scripture, God shows us the condition for entering into glory which in this case is a land flowing with milk and honey. The condition is simply the LORD delighting in you. When the LORD delights in you, you enter into the land flowing with milk and honey. The Bible says that if you delight yourself also in the LORD; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4 (NKJV). When you delight in the LORD, He will also delight in you and you will enter into the land promised you. Some people in the scripture could not enter into the land flowing with milk and honey because they grieved God by their sin of unbelief. (Heb 3: 15 – 19). But you will enter into your Promised Land as you commit yourself to the ways of the LORD.

God described your Promised Land as a land flowing with milk and honey; that is not an ordinary land. God didn't plan an ordinary future for you. He is interested in bringing you into uncommon greatness. He wants to bring you into a land of uncommon wealth; and all He requires from you is that you should delight in Him so that He can find delight in you as well. You will not miss your land of milk and honey in Jesus’ name. Never look down on yourself or think negative about your future. There is a destination of greatness and glory that God has prepared for you. Regardless of what and where you are at the moment, keep hope alive in God who is able to bring you to your land of fulfilment. If He did it for the children of Israel; He will also do it for you.

Prayer/Action
* Command the flood gate of milk and honey to be opened to your life in Jesus’ name. 
* Declare that your land shall not be barren nor dry of good things.
* Place a demand on heaven that you will ever be a delight of God.
* Ask God for grace to be able to walk in His will forever.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I proclaim that my season of rejoicing can only start but can’t end. I shall rejoice ever more, in the name of Jesus.

The Body of Christ

Tuesday 15 December
READ: 1 Cor 12: 12 - 27
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 12 :27

The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church literally means 'the called out ones'. These are the people who have been called out of the world and are gathered together onto the Lord. Everyone who has accepted the lordship of the Lord Jesus is part of the Church. When you get born again, the Spirit of God baptises you into the Body of Christ and you are part of His Church as long as you continue to live by His Word. The Church was bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ and that is why it is called the Body of Christ. The Church is not called the Body of God or the Body of the Holy Spirit. God in His infinite wisdom decided that the Church should be the Body of Christ and that is why Jesus says, . . . I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail over it: Matt 16: 18. It is Jesus Christ's Church: it is His body and you are part of that body. In the human body there is no part that is not important. The teeth cannot be removed for the eyes and the legs cannot be substituted for the hands. There is no part of your body that you will ordinarily cut off, even to your tiniest finger. So if the Church is the Body of Christ, that means we are the members and we are all important. Everyone has a role to play. Stop seeing the church as a place where you come to sit down while the choir sings, the pastor preaches and then somebody prays and you say 'amen' and leave. You are part of that Body and you have a role to play.

In a body, the same blood flows through all the veins and every organ yields to the central control system. So also it is that the Holy Spirit flows through and binds everyone in church together. Everyone must yield to the control of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of the church and He has organised the church by putting leadership and structures in place. You must respect the central control system and ordained authority system of the Holy Spirit in the church. Don't be in church and be living an independent life that is not answerable to anyone. There is no organ in the body that tries to live independent of the rest, so get attached to others in the body; you are part of the Body of Christ.

Today I want you to know that the Church is the Body of Christ and function with the consciousness that you are an integral member of the Body, it is only then that you can benefit from what the body supplies.

Prayer/Action
* Pray for grace to be a useful member of the local church that you attend.
* Pray to be a blessing to every member of the body and not a burden and a problem.
* Pray for the Body of Christ globally, that she will represent Christ correctly in the world.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I declare that with Jesus as my great shepherd, I shall not want in destiny: the doors of provision shall be opened unto me, in the name of Jesus.