The Strongest Point in prayer

Sunday12 February
READ: Matt. 6: 9
MORE LESSON: Psa. 65: 1 - 2

Jesus gave us a prototype of prayer that is acceptable to Heaven. In Matt. 6: 9, Jesus taught the disciples to pray by addressing the Father who is in Heaven. The very first statement He taught them to say to the Father is, ...Hallowed be thy name. If in all the long lines of the prayer, the very first thing that the Lord taught them to do was to praise God's name, then praise and thanksgiving must be the most important part of prayer. In ranking of things, the highest is always put first. When you say a thing is number one, it means that it is the most important and the best.
Even in writing exams, it is good to give your strongest points first. You should first attempt the question you know best because when the examiner marks your first point and he is already impressed, it will motivate him to make sense out of the rest of your points as he already has a good impression of you. Who knows, some examiners might even be too impatient to read carefully through your work, they just scan through your initial points and judge your entire work based on your initial points. This is why your strongest point should always come first.
In prayer, your strongest point should come first. However, contrary to what many think, the strongest point is not praying about the most pressing problem. Your strongest point is simply to say 'thank You Jesus.' Jesus taught the disciples to pray by giving the strongest point first and the strongest point was Hallowed be thy name. That is the equivalent of saying, “Thank You Father.” Giving thanks is the highest point of prayer. It doesn't matter how pressing the problem is; whether you are sad or happy; come what may, the first and strongest point in prayer is to thank Jesus. Thanking God in prayer should not be a religious prelude that one routinely skims through so that one can get into the 'real prayer'. Thanking God is not the introductory part of prayer as many use it today; thanking God is the real prayer.
Jesus showed us this in the prayer that He taught and the prayers He prayed. When Jesus was faced with a situation of feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and fish, He simply blessed God and the food multiplied (Matt 14: 19). When Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus, He simply said, “Thank You Father,” and he who was dead for four days came back to life (John 11: 41). Thanksgiving is the heart and height of prayer. This is why saying “Thank You Jesus” should be a part of your daily life. Start your day by saying it and end your day saying it. Say it both formally and informally, say it consciously and unconsciously. Thanksgiving is the most important prayer and it is the strongest point in prayer.

Prayer/Action
* Give God thanks for the gift of a new day, in the name of Jesus.
* Thank the Lord for the things you believe He will do for you today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in the year of shining light, my life shall not be barren of glory, in the mighty name of Jesus.

The Five Fingers of the Word

Saturday 11 February
READ: Rom. 4: 17-22
MORE LESSON: Matt. 7: 24 - 27

There is no faith outside of the Word of God. Real faith is based upon what God has said. A man can be optimistic and believe that things will turn out well but that is not faith. Faith is when that conviction that things will work well is based on a revelation from the Word of God, spoken or written, that you have received.
This is why you need to keep on hearing the Word. The more of the Word in you, the more faith you have. The more faith you have, the more the quality of your life. There are five things you must do with the Word of God for it to benefit you. They are like the five fingers that work together for a good grasp of anything in the hand. The five fingers are hearing the Word, reading the Word, memorising the Word, meditating upon the Word and doing the Word. You need to do all these five with the Word: hear, read, memorize, meditate and do the Word. When you do all these, your profiting will appear to all, as written in 1 Tim 4:15-16, Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
It starts by hearing the Word but if you merely hear and don't meditate on what you hear, you will soon lose it. Meditation is creating time after hearing the Word to think and ponder upon it. Reading the Word is also important, you can hear someone preach to you, however when you read the Word, God gives you revelations that are very personal to you. A great Word-life is not built on just hearing what others read and preach to you, you also need to personally read and thereby get personal revelation which will benefit you, and you can even share with others. Memorising the Word is storing up scriptures in your mind, making the Word available in the soft copy of your thinking so that it can be available for use at all times. The last finger which, many times, is missing in people's life is doing the Word. No matter how much you hear, read, meditate or memorise, until you do the Word, there will be no change in your situation.
The Word of God is the sword of the spirit (Eph 6: 17). To be able to use it to defend yourself and attack the devil, you need a firm hold on it. The five fingers of the hand are needed to firmly hold a sword in battle. The five fingers are needed for the Word of God to build strong faith in your spirit. This will make you to be mighty in battle and a conqueror in every area of your life. The sword of the spirit will not fall from your hand, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that the Word of God will have its full course in your life, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray for grace to be a doer of the Word, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Shepherd of my soul, I give You full control of my destiny; rule and reign in my life unhindered, in the name of Jesus.

The Force of Comfort

Friday10 February
READ: John 14: 16 – 20
MORE LESSON: John 14: 26 -27

There are things that are not natural and need a higher force to make them happen. If you see water flowing uphill, then you should know that it cannot be a natural flow. There must be a force, like a pump, that makes the water to flow up. In the same way the natural inclination of man is more to pity-party and grief than to celebration. Men are more prone to worry and mourning than joy, especially with prevalent situations in the world. If you want to live in continuous joy and celebration in these times, you need a force to propel your joy.
When Jesus was leaving the earth, He spoke to His disciples. I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you: John 14:16-18. Jesus knew that the times will be demanding and the natural inclination of men will be to despair so He gave the Holy Spirit to comfort His people by a supernatural force that is beyond situations and circumstances. It is by the force of the Spirit that a man moves from mourning to joy. It takes the Holy Spirit to move from a memory of pain to joy.
The first reference that Jesus made to the Holy Spirit was to call Him the Comforter. This means that the first ministry of the Holy Ghost to the believer is to comfort. The Lord is concerned about your pain and He has an antidote for it. The number one medicine for pain is the Holy Ghost. So, when a thing that causes you pain happens, just engage the antidote to pain; instead of getting angry with God or saying 'why me?', just start praying in the Holy Ghost. On the hospital bed, don't complain; speak in tongue. Maybe, you prayed but still you were involved in an accident, don't turn back on God, start praying in the Holy Ghost even in the midst of the pain. He is the Spirit of comfort. As a woman in labour, the pain is definitely much, but don't abuse your husband or start shouting your mother and father's names. Respond to the pain by bouts of speaking in tongues. When you do that the child will respond well. When you are writing exam and you are stuck, just speak in tongues under your breath.
There are always challenges in life but the answer is not mourning, complaining or pretending as if you have all your acts together. The answer is in the force of the Holy Ghost giving you comfort.

Prayer/Action
* Speak words of comfort to everyone who mourns in zion.
* Let the power of the Comforter swallow up the spirit of grief, mourning and sorrow, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every force and spirit of confusion, restlessness and fear, I banish you from my year, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Bless the Lord II

Thursday 9 February
READ: Psa. 103: 1 - 5
MORE LESSON: Psa. 115: 16 - 18

The psalmist shows us that if we must be able to bless the Lord at all times, we must make a habit of remembering His benefits. It is only those who have mastered the art of not forgetting the benefits of the Lord that will be able to bless God whatever happens. In order for us to easily remember the benefits of the Lord, the Bible lists some of them for us. The first benefit listed in the text is the forgiveness of sins. The salvation of your soul is enough reason for you to be eternally grateful to God. How much can a man ever pay for salvation and forgiveness of his sins? The only way to repay God for forgiving us is to praise Him in word and action.
The next item listed by the psalmist is that it is the Lord who heals all your diseases. Jesus paid for your healing by His blood. When a child of God is in health, he doesn't really appreciate how much the Lord has done for him. The world is full of diverse kinds of sickness, diseases and calamities that have taken the joy from the lives of many; but the Lord healed your diseases. Even if you are sick, it is not because He has not healed you; it is because you have not received it. The price has been paid for your healing. In the name of Jesus, I declare your healing to speedily appear (Isa. 58: 8).
Psa. 103: 4 says, Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Destruction, death and accidents are flying all over the nations. It is because of the Lord's mercies and loving kindness that you are alive. The fact that you are alive today is enough testimony of the faithfulness of God and enough reason for you to bless Him.
Another reason to bless the Lord is because He satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. God doesn't just give you good things; He satisfies you with good things. There are many complaints because of the prevalent economic situation. However, if you are very thoughtful, you will realise that you have enough reasons to thank God. He has not allowed famine, hunger and dearth to kill you. He has taken care of you; like a shepherd He has fed you. You may not have everything you wish for but you have enough to be grateful for. This is the reason you must bless the Lord with all your heart and must never forget His benefits. Lift up your hand and say, “Thank You Jesus!”

Prayer/Action
* Lord, thank You for taking away my debt of sin and giving me a new life of hope, in Jesus’ name.
* Daddy, thank You for daily benefits that I enjoy from You, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, I redeem my times and seasons in the month of February from wickedness and the power of darkness, in the mighty name of Jesus.