Abiding in God

Thursday 16 March
READ: John 15: 4 - 8
MORE LESSON: Luke 13: 6 - 8

God expects fruits from your life. The Bible therefore shows us the secret of fruitfulness; which is, abiding in God. A man will never be fruitful if he is the kind of Christian that is in today and out tomorrow. A little church and a little party will not take a man anywhere. A little holiness and then a little sin will lead to a life of frustration. You must abide entirely in God.
The Bible draws an analogy between a tree and being rooted in God. As long as the branches of a tree are vitally connected to the stem which is connected to the root, every supply reaches the branches. A connected branch doesn't need supplication to the root before nutrient and water flow into it through the stem. In the same way, connectivity to God makes blessings to naturally flow to you. A well connected child of God may not even have prayed for certain blessings but they just flow to him as a natural consequence of his abiding in God.
Abiding in God means abiding in His Word. Abiding in God means a vibrant prayer life. When you pray in the spirit abundantly and enjoy communion with the Holy Spirit daily, some blessings will flow naturally to you that you might not even remember asking for. It is when you pray in tongues, enjoying God and abiding in Him, that you access those blessings. Abiding in God involves serving God with your time by being a worker in His vineyard. When you stay with God and work for Him, you may not even fast and pray for a life partner but as you abide serving diligently, God just locates you and connects you with the person He has for you. Giving tithes and offerings is part of abiding in God. You might love God and continue to give to Him, spend your resources for the expansion of His Kingdom and help others, and you notice that you keep experiencing blessings that you cannot account for by your fasting. God blesses you naturally as you abide in Him.
You must stay in God, with God and for God. John 15:7 says, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Abiding in God is the secret of answered prayers. The reason many people's prayers are not answered is because they are not abiding. They just dash in when they have a need and try to con God's hand by much tears and prayers. If God peradventure answers them, you won't see them again until there is another problem. How do you explain a Sunday-to-Sunday Christian? He is not abiding; he is only visiting. It is time for you to abide in God so that all-round fruitfulness can be yours.

Prayer/Action
* I receive grace to abide in Jesus Christ all the days of my life, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, because I am connected to You, let there be a flow of Your blessings into my life, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every spirit of loneliness, discouragement and abandonment, flee from me, in the name of Jesus.

Destroying Jezebel

Wednesday 15 March
READ: 1 Kings 21: 1 - 15
MORE LESSON: Rev. 2: 20 – 23

1 Kings 16: 30 – 33 talks about Ahab, a king in Israel who did more evil than all other kings before him. This was because he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal of the Zidonians. Jezebel influenced and encouraged Ahab to become an enemy of God and to build altars for Baal in Israel. Nine hundred and fifty demonic priests ate at Jezebel's table every day. She killed God's prophets and was set to eliminate the memorial of God from Israel and enthrone the gods of her fatherland. She was a principality and actually the one ruling her husband. Any where a woman assumes authority over the man in the home and is the one that determines what happens and what does not, there is a curse. It is not love for a man to be controlled by the woman in the home, or for the woman to become a dictator. Each has a place in the home and each listens to the other; takes counsel from each other, submits to God and submits to each other in love as the Bible commands. However, the man is the head of the home.
Jezebel promoted immorality anywhere she operated. She had demonic powers and witchcraft and she determined what King Ahab would do or not do. She controlled the land and did what even her husband the king would not dare to do. There was a man called Naboth who owned a vineyard that King Ahab coveted. Ahab asked Naboth to sell to him his vineyard and Naboth said that he couldn't give out the heritage of his fathers. It is right for children to decide that they will not sell the spiritual inheritance that their fathers hand over to them but rather build on it. King Ahab was sad because Naboth would not sell his vineyard to him and his countenance showed it when he got home. Jezebel asked him what the matter was and when he explained. Jezebel said, “Is that all; don't worry, go and eat. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth.” That was the kind of woman that Jezebel was. She sent orders to the rulers of the city where Naboth was and commanded them to stage a plot and murder Naboth. Immediately the rulers received her letter, they gathered the whole land and killed Naboth. She finished Naboth and told her husband to go and take the vineyard for free as the owner that didn't want to sell it is dead.
God raised Jehu the Son of Nimshi to destroy Jezebel according to the written judgment. God used the sword of judgment in the hand of Jehu to destroy Jezebel. Every spirit of Jezebel must be destroyed in our home, church and nation. We must pray against every operation of Jezebel in our midst.

Prayer/Action
* In the name of Jesus, I raise a judgment against every Jezebel that has risen against my life.
* I cut off the influence of Jezebel from my life and home, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Where others are spending sweat, toil, and needless hard labour, I shall spend grace, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Athaliah must Die II

Tuesday 14 March
READ: 2 Chron 23: 1 - 14
MORE LESSON: 2 Kings 11: 1 - 18

Yesterday we considered the story of Athaliah; a woman that held the land of Judah under her control and didn't want to let go. She killed in order to hold unto the throne. It is important to point out, however, that beyond the person of the woman called Athaliah, there is a wicked spirit that works through such people that makes them operate the way they do. The spirit at work in Athaliah is the force of wickedness that makes people to do wrong. Such a spirit makes a ruler do what is evil in the sight of God and makes them force the people to go against God. The spirit thrives in ignorance and darkness; it doesn't want the people under its rule to be enlightened so that they will not see the truth and be set free. The spirit loves to create fear so the people are always afraid to break out of its yoke. This spirit propagates wickedness in the land and brings people under the yoke of wickedness. It was this spirit that was at work in Ahab and Jezebel's family as they led Israel astray. It was this same spirit that Athaliah their daughter introduced into the ruling house in Judah and she corrupted the house of David.
It is necessary to see how Athaliah was dealt with. In 2 Chron. 23, the priests of God arose and decided that they had had enough of her rule. They strategised, prayed and invoked the Covenant of the God of Israel which He made with the house of David. These priests stationed themselves at strategic places and they made the Lord's choice to be king in Jerusalem.
According to scriptures, when Athaliah killed all the seed of the House of David, there was a one year old boy that was hidden and nurtured by the priests for six years. The priest prepared Joash, a rightful son of David, to reign in the land according to the Lord's way. At the right time; they took him and put a crown on his head and declared him king. When Athaliah heard this, she rushed into the temple of God to confront them. Meanwhile, these priests had strategically occupied positions and when she got in, they confronted her, grabbed her and killed her. The Bible says that they carried the sword in God's presence and used it to slaughter the rebellious woman. The sword to kill Athaliah can only be found in God's presence. Until the priests of God physically and spiritually confronted the reign of wickedness, nothing happened.
It is time to end the reign of Athaliah in your life, family and in our nation. The sword of God's presence must be used and as kings and priests, we must arise. Every ruler and ruling spirit that the Lord has not planted over your life, family and nation, is destroyed, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that every force of darkness operating in the seat of power over your nation be broken now, in Jesus’ name.
* Declare that the covenant by the blood of Jesus speak against all evil rule and enemy's activities in your life and family, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I receive easy and un-obstructable access to God and helpers of my destiny today, in the name of Jesus.

Athaliah must Die I

Monday 13 March
READ: 2 Chron. 23: 11 - 1
MORE LESSON: 2 Chron. 22: 1 - 12

The kings of Judah were descendants of David but some of them followed the path of the idolatrous kings of the ten-tribes of Israel. One of such kings that led Judah astray was Jehoram, the son of King Jehoshaphat. Jehoram had married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Athaliah was the princess of the wicked duo of Ahab and Jezebel who ruled Israel, led them into idolatry and killed the priests of God. Athaliah was born into a power-drunk family and was used to exercising control in Israel. Afterwards, she got married to Jehoram the king of Judah and became queen in Judah. She started to exercise power more wickedly and influenced her husband to do evil.
After the death of her husband, Arabian raiders invaded the royal family in Judah and killed the king's children, leaving only Ahaziah the son of Athaliah. Ahaziah became king in Judah and so Athaliah was the Queen Mother. The wicked woman continued to control the land as she influenced her son to rule in wickedness. After a while, Ahaziah, Athaliah's son, died and the throne was by right to go to another person born within the royal family of the lineage of David. Athaliah decided that even though her husband and son through whom she ruled the land were dead, she would not let go of the throne. So, she killed everyone that had a right to the throne. She killed all the heirs and royal family members and sat on the throne as the sole ruler of Judah, a land she came to through marriage.
There are wicked men who have this kind of controlling spirit, who always want to rule and control people. This is evidenced in the trend in their lives; they are always looking for power and never want to let go of the place of power. There are men and women in Nigeria who have this spirit of Athaliah. They hate being anywhere else than the place of power. They can do anything; kill, throw the land into confusion or destroy, just to be in the place of power. People with this kind of controlling spirit always seek to hold the whole land and nation captive to themselves or their family.
Athaliah took over the land of Judah and turned it into a den of idolatry. She turned the land over to Baal, the idol of her father's house. There are Athaliahs in homes, families and nations and they have to be dealt with. These are people that push every other person down so that everyone worships and cringes as they reign with terror. Such people will not be corrected and no one can speak contrary to what they say. The way to deal with such spirits and people is to invoke the judgement of God. Death is the only way to stop them.

Prayer/Action
* Every wicked personality exerting control over my life and family, I command you to die by fire, in Jesus’ name.
* I command all forces of wickedness working against my life and destiny to lose their hold, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
With God on my side, I shall outrun all my enemies to glory this month, in the name of Jesus.