Practical Praise

Tuesday 2 February
READ: Psa 50: 10 - 15
MORE LESSON: Psa 147: 1-7

Praising God is the expression of gratitude to God for His goodness. Praise begins from the heart and flows unrestrained to God. When you give God praise, you should practically involve the totality of your being; spirit, soul and body. Praising God should be a way of life for you whether in public or in private. You must learn to praise God in all situations; even when you have hopes that are not yet realised. You must praise God with who you are, what you have and every part of your body.

I went for an occasion sometimes ago and a drummer began to play the talking drum for me. In my part of the country, it is customary for a drummer to use the talking drum to praise and then you spray him with money. The man played so well to praise me that before I knew it, I had begun to respond to the rhythms of the talking drum without premeditation and my hand was spontaneously going into my pocket to bring money out to spray the man. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who cautioned me and reminded me that I have a principle against such; then I withdrew. After the programme, I quietly went to the drummer and put some money into his pocket. The drummer stirred at me until I almost lost consciousness of myself. If I as a man can be praised up to the point of bringing out money, how much more God?

Beyond using our body to sing, dance and praise God, we must also give our substance in praise to God. God has given us so much and out of it, He expects us to bring something to Him in gratitude. The substance to be given in this case is not limited to money. We can give anything that God lays on our hearts to give. The gift must be from the heart and it should be something we value. God is not a beggar to whom you throw your crumbs. Each time you want to give your substance to praise God, remember you are giving to the God who made everything, including you and what you are giving Him.

However, don't ever say you don't have anything to give God; you must have something no matter how little. It is comforting to know that the little you have is not too small to give to God. God doesn't despise the tiniest gift of a man who does not have much. Remember how much Jesus appreciated the widow who gave a dime (Mark 12: 41 – 44). God is interested in your praise. Give Him practical praise in singing, dancing, thanksgiving, tithes, offerings, sacrifices and your giving will be a memorial before God.

Prayer/Action
* Father, grant me an attitude of praise in all situations, in Jesus’ name.
* Father, I shall no more deny you Your praise in my life, in Jesus’ name.
* I replace every ungrateful attitude with attitude of thanksgiving, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, on the authority of Your accomplished work on the cross of Calvary, I declare my destiny a barrier breaker, in the name of Jesus.

The God of all Possibilities

Sunday 31 January
READ: Luke 1: 37
MORE LESSON: Mark 9:23

I want to share a testimony with you so that you may start believing God even in impossible situations. I once went to a popular city in Nigeria to preach and I had a word from the Lord to break the yoke of delay on the lives of people who had grown of age for marriage and it was not forthcoming. I made the call for people to come out; among them was a lady who was a bank manager and about forty eight years of age. The Lord gave word of knowledge that precisely hit her life to the detail; I prayed over them and left. Unknown to me, a Major in the army was also at that meeting who was not married and was trusting God for marriage. I don't know how the remaining happened, but three years later, I was invited to join them in marriage.

The lady was fifty one years old at that time. When I returned after another year or two, she had no child. I asked her what was wrong and she replied, “Don't you know my age when I got married?” I told her that I don't care about her age because it is not written in the Bible that there is an age when somebody cannot have a child. I prayed for her and left. I went back about two years later, unknown to me, she had got pregnant but the pregnancy had lasted for one and a half years. In the midst of the service, the power of the Holy Spirit fell on her and the baby in her womb that had not moved for months started kicking. She rushed to tell me that the baby in her womb which had not kicked for so long had started kicking. I said, ‘Ok since it has started kicking, I change his date, I give him now the normal nine months’. Months later, she gave birth to a baby that had stayed two years plus in the womb. When the baby was born, she weighed less than 1 kg and they could not bathe her because any contact with her skin would make it peel. But to the glory of God, that girl is a big girl now. The woman conceived again after the age of 54 and gave birth.

I have seen God do raw miracles that I can't ever deny His power. I have undeniable proofs that what a man needs to prevail in destiny is God. He can do the impossible for you and break all natural limitations. Your miracle is next today, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* With God nothing shall be impossible for me today, in Jesus’ name.
* Father, gain glory for Yourself over the situation men called impossible in my life, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Take a special seed of thanksgiving today and announce that this year shall be greater than the past and filled with thanksgiving in the name of Jesus.

The Proven God

Saturday 30 January
READ: Psa. 44:1–4
MORE LESSON:1Sam 5:1-12

Our text today captures David's testimony of God. He testifies of how he heard from his fathers and the men of old all the exploits that God had done in ancient times. Compared to contemporary times, David is an ancient man, having lived around 4000 years ago. Howbeit, ancient David still testifies of how he has heard from ancient men about the consistency of God's power. This shows that God has a proven record that spans from ancient to ancient times. If a sportsman can win a trophy consistently back to back for a decade, I believe there should be no doubt as to the fact that he/she is the best. God has delivered results from the foundation of the earth and has never failed. The consistency of God's track record spans generations; there is no tenable reason for any man to doubt Him.

God is not just all time tested but also all locations tested. A sportsman may be playing well in front of his home fans and he is spurred to victory, thereby able to win all the games. But when he plays away from home in rival territory where he is booed, he might lose all the matches. So a man is not fully tested until he is tested both at home and away from home. If a man can prove his power both at home and in a faraway country, then he is truly powerful. The God of your help is tested and proven both at home and away from home and He is found consistent. In Isa. 
66: 19, God says, and I will set a sign among them . . . to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. Jehovah the God of Israel is not a God that has glory just at home; His fame and glory spread even among the gentiles – the other nations of the world.

All other gods have borders, but the Almighty is without borders. I had a teacher in secondary school who had great respect for cows: she didn't eat cow meat. When I investigated, I found that the cow is the symbol of the god of her homeland. But here we were, slapping cows, killing and eating them. So her cow-god was god only within the borders of her home-country. This brings to mind the story of the Ark of God when it was seized by the Philistines. They put it in the temple of their god, Dagon. In a matter of two days, their god laid prostrate on the floor before the Ark of God, with its arms and head broken off. God crossed the borders of Israel into the land of Philistia and beat Dagon, not only hands-down, but head-off. Jehovah is God in Israel and in every nation. You have a time-tested, borderless and proven God; exercise full faith in Him.

Prayer/Action
* Thank You Lord, because I serve You, the proven God.
* Lord, prove Your majesty to the world in my life, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, let everything contrary to God in my life bow to Your Lordship, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, call your name and say to it that it shall not be heard in any evil in 2016 in the name of Jesus

The Self-Sufficient Helper

Friday 29 January
READ: Psa. 46:1-11
MORE LESSON: Acts 12: 20 - 24

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early: Psa. 46:5 The help of God is Heaven's intervention in a matter that is beyond the control of man. Help enables you to do more than you can do ordinarily. Help is about being able to achieve more than you can on your own. Someone defined help as the extra hand that makes your load lighter to carry. God is the only Helper there is: if God doesn't help you, no man can. Every other man assists, but God helps. Assistance talks of relief coming in bits and pieces but help is holistic and has no limit; it gets the job done completely. Only God can provide real help; men can push a little but God provides the help. Man can take off to help and abandon it along the way, but God starts from the beginning and takes it all through to the end. When God is involved, He goes all the way to bring us help. When you put your confidence in man, you are putting your confidence in a supporter who himself needs help. But when you put your confidence in God He can use other men to accomplish things.

Every man will have something that he needs an extra hand for till the end of life. We all need help; I haven't found a man who is not in need of help. I have met 
the rich and the strong and they all need help. I haven't met anyone who does not need help except God who is self-sufficient. No man is self-sufficient; if you hear anyone say that he is, he is preparing for his grave.

God is self-sufficient and all men are dependent. Don't be deceived to think you are sufficient on your own like Herod (Acts 12: 21) who finished speaking and the people were hailing him, saying that it was not the voice of man but the voice of God. They said he was God and he was happy. All of a sudden, an angel slapped him and he fell down dead. No one knew an angel was in that congregation until the man was slapped. The angel would have wondered, “How can they tell you that you are self-sufficent and self-existent and you accept such praise from them?” It is only the Almighty God that occupies that office.

Never put your confidence in yourself. Herod must have believed he was some god also because he accepted the accolade of being God. Jehovah had to silence him as a lesson to other men. Don't ever trust that you can accomplish anything all by yourself but only by the help of God.

Prayer/Action
* Thank You Lord because You are my self-sufficient Helper.
* Oh God, my self-sufficient Helper, send me help early in my destiny, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Again anoint yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to saturate and anoint you , spirit, soul and body for an unfailing year in the mighty name of Jesus.