The Mystery of Praise

Thursday 31 December
READ: Psa. 150:1-6
MORE LESSON: Psa.103:1

It doesn't matter what you are going through right now, if only you dare to praise the Lord, I tell you it is only a matter of time before the Hosts of Heaven will visit your life with power and deliverance. The original Hebrew word translated “Lord” in the anchor text is ad-o-noy' and it suggests “the controller, master or commander of an army or troop”. This is why we often see the same word appear in other scriptural texts as Lord of hosts or Lord of the heavenly hosts. So when we offer praises, it is the Lord God of the armies of Heaven that arises on our behalf.

The hosts of hell cannot stand the slightest sway from the Lord of the armies of Heaven. No wonder at Jericho, God instructed His people to make a shout of praise and as soon as they did, the walls of that great city came crumbling down because the Lord and His hosts of armies came into the scene. We see the same manifestation of the Lord and His hosts when in the prison where Paul and Silas were chained, at the sound of their prayers and praises, there was a great earthquake. The gates flung open and the chains and shackles fell loose from their hands and feet. If you must experience the mighty touch and transforming power of God in your life, you must consciously cultivate the heart of praise, I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psa.34:1.

The heart of praise is one that is persuaded that the Lord deserves the praise irrespective of what is going wrong in the immediate surrounding or who is looking on, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose: Rom.8:28. He who offers praise is fully persuaded at the promise of God. The Bible says in Heb.10:23b, …for he is faithful that promised. That's why he who praises can go to sleep in a storm because the Lord of hosts says in Heb.13:5b, ... I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

There are two categories of praise offered in the Kingdom of God: conditional praise and unconditional praise. The power, provision and protection of the Lord of hosts are always at the disposal of people with unconditional praise on their lips. We were created to give God praise. And as we do what we were created to do, God does for us what gives Him pleasure to do: to intervene in the matters of your life! Praise him NOW!

Prayer/Action
* Pray for God’s visitation as you praise Him.
* Pray that as you praise God, He will sink every wall of Jericho around you.
* Ask God to help you praise Him in every situation.
* Ask for the spirit of praise and thankfulness.
Sing a song to Jesus today, dance and praise Him.
Shout Hallelujah.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Goodbye 2015, all your negatives I leave behind, the goodness I carry on and I prophesy my future years greater and sweeter than 2015, in the name of Jesus.

Prophesy God's Word

Wednesday 30 December
READ: Dan 9: 1 – 3
MORE LESSON: Isa. 34: 16

Have you ever been in a meeting where God is giving Word of knowledge about people's cases and it looks as if your own case is always never mentioned? You might even feel as if God doesn't care about you as the servant of God keeps calling forth people's cases but is silent on yours. I want you to know that God loves you and He has given a word about you; you just need to know where to look. God in the Bible has already spoken a word for every human being in the world. Even if a word of prophecy does not come directly to you from the altar for that situation you are going through, God has spoken concerning you ahead of time in the Scripture. So, read the Bible, pick up the prophecies and personalize them. As long as you fulfill the conditions that are attached to the prophecies, God will bring them to pass in your life.

You have the right to hold every Scripture promise as tightly and personally as you would hold a word brought by an angel who has your name written on his forehead, and directly taps or calls you by name in the midst of all the congregation to give you a prophecy. That is what Daniel did; he picked up a word from the scriptures and presented it to the Lord. He reminded God of the word of prophecy that had gone ahead of the exile of Israel to say that after 70 years they would be brought back to their land. He read it in the scrolls, took it personally and started praying it till it happened to him and all the children of Israel. God has made a lot of promises ahead of us. All we have to do is to pick them up and declare them to His hearing.

There are many prophecies for you in the Bible. If no one has told you that you will be wealthy and great in the future, go to Deut. 28 : 12 - 13. It says that you shall lend and not borrow, you will be the head and not the tail. That word is personally for you; put your name on it and prophesy it to yourself. The Word of God is real prophecy. Rev 19:10 says . . . for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Jesus, the Word of God is the essence of prophecy. Even if a prophecy is spoken to you, it must agree with the Word of God. If it contradicts the Word, then it is not from the Spirit of the Lord. If it is a dream or vision you had, you still have to go and search the Bible for the scriptures to substantiate it. The Word is the ultimate; go for it and prophecy it to your life.

Prayer/Action
* Read through Deut.28:1-14 and pick a relevant promise to meet your need, then prophesy it to your life,
When done, take up a song of praise and give God thanks for that promise and for the power for its fulfillment it in your life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I connect with the spirit of last minute miracle of 2015 and I receive all the arrears of my blessings, in the name of Jesus.

Identify with the Lord

Tuesday 29 December
READ: Dan 6: 1 - 10
MORE LESSON: Dan 6: 5

God wants to distinguish His children in every ramification of life. However, you must delight in God for Him to do uncommon things for you.. When you delight in God, He will take you to the highest place in life. One of the ways you can delight in God and He will take you into your promise land is by identifying with Him and taking a firm stand for Him. Daniel was a man who lived in a land of captivity where a law was passed that nobody should call on any other god except the god of Medes. In spite of the law and the implications Daniel opened his window three times in a day and called upon the God of Israel. Even his enemies knew his stand for his God and he would not compromise that. When you take a firm stand for God so much that every one around you knows you with your stand for God, you are delighting Him and He will take you to places beyond your dreams. So when some people conspired against Daniel to cast him into the lions’ den, God rose up for him because he was so precious to God.

I believe every child of God must have a relationship with God so defined and obvious that the people should recognise his allegiance is to God and only God. It is on the basis of this relationship with God that uncommon and glorious things can happen to you.

When people see you, what comes to their mind? Is it God or something else? Few years ago I was passing through a street close to church and a woman was trying to beckon to me but couldn't remember my name. So when I got to her front, I decided to pass as if I was not the one she was trying to call. But then she shouted “No Parking”- which is the name of our ministry Crusades. I couldn't help but laugh. The laughter betrayed me as the one she was calling. The only thing she could remember about me was “No Parking”. At least she identified me with God.

I pray for you today, anything by which people describe you and it is negative will change, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. If they call you a barren woman, you will give birth to 7. If they call you a failure, you will lead the class. If they call you a poor man you will dash them money. If they call you a weak man, you will be stronger than them. Anything that people look at you and what comes to their mind is negative, in the name of the Lord that I serve, it will turn around and you will move from negative to the positive. You will be God's showpiece and He God will use you as a description of His glory.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to fill you with the zeal of His house and make you his master piece. 
* Prophesy against every anti-covenant tag against your destiny.
* Renew your commitment to serve God in all situations.
List 3 areas where you will begin to serve God better than before and ask God for grace.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
In the name of Jesus, I turn every enemy of 2015 to flight and command its pain to stay behind, in the name of Jesus.

Honour to Elders

Monday 28 December
READ: 1Tim. 5:1-2
MORE LESSON: Lev.19:32

The culture of giving respect and honour to the elderly is gradually giving way in our society. Some people attribute this to the influence of the western world and their ideals. They observe that if children have the right to call the police to arrest their own parents, such children will never grow up to have respect for anyone older in age. However, children who are born again must know that the issue of respect and honour is not just a cultural matter; it is a commandment of God. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee: Exo. 20:12.

This instruction is repeated for emphasis in the Bible. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee: Deut. 5:16. Many people are not making progress in life today simply because they have broken this scripture. They have come under the curse of the law and it cannot be well with them in the land they dwell because they have failed to honour their parents. Some accuse their parents of witchcraft and declare that they must not live (Exo. 22:18). Others live in elegant houses in the city and eat delicacies daily while their parents live in dilapidated houses in the village and are begging for food. This is disrespect and dishonour to parents as exemplified by the story of a man who spent huge sums to bury his father, for whom he spent only very little to provide medical help while the man was alive. Although people attributed his illness to the witches and wizards of his village, I believe the old man he became a prey to them because the son disobeyed God’s commandment to respect his parents.

God's instruction with respect to honour and respect is not only as it relates to parents but to all older people. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD: Lev.19:32. It is wrong for you to sit down to greet elderly persons, or to sit comfortably while an elder is standing for lack of seat. You are expected to vacate your seat immediately and usher that elder to take the seat. An elder should not be carrying a luggage while you walk behind him instead of giving him a helping hand. A younger person is not permitted to rebuke, insult or speak rudely to an elder. Even when the elder is in the wrong, speak to him respectfully. Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father...: 1Tim.5:1. Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses: Tim.5:19. The one who keeps these instructions of the LORD will live long and enjoy the blessings of God.

Prayer/Action
* I repent of every way I have disrespected and dishonoured my parents and elderly ones.
* Lord, teach me to relate respectfully with elderly ones in order to attract Your blessing.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I shall not end with this year but I shall go far beyond it, in the mighty name of Jesus’.