Revival Prayer

Saturday 30 May
READ: Dan. 9:3-16
MORE LESSONS: Jer. 29:12-14

The request that a man offers to God will determine the type of answer he gets. Survival prayers will bring bread and butter but may not bring the type that Daniel got in answer to his revival prayer. Survival prayers are about “me”, “mine”, “ours” and “I”, and are mostly about temporal things. The prayer of Daniel in today’s reading differs significantly from survival prayer. It was a prayer of total repentance to the extent that Daniel did not exonerate himself.

He said, We have sinned.... Neither have we harkened unto thy servants the prophets,...: Dan.9:5-9. Then he pleaded,... I beseech thee, let thine anger and they fury be turned away...: v16. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive...: v19. Such must be the prayer of a man who wants to experience revival - it must be deep, truthful, humble and pleading. This is not to say that survival prayers are not good; after all, the Lord taught us to ask for our daily bread. But we must also set aside time for revival prayer, not only for ourselves but also for our family, church and nation. Then there shall be revival and God will save our land.

Revival prayer seeks to restore a man back to perfect union with God. It is the prayer that seeks for the will of God to be done in a man’s life. It goes beyond immediate temporary needs to seeking to bring eternal result. The good thing about such prayers is that they bring other results beyond what is requested. It is one stone that can kill two birds. Revival prayer can bring survival answers along with the revival. You should therefore grow to pray revival prayers more as mature Christians. You must grow beyond asking for your daily bread only; you must also pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done. You must learn to agonise for lost souls in your family and beyond. You must spend quality time praying for your leaders, the nation and divine purpose. This is Jesus’ pattern of prayer and must be yours also.

Prayer/Action
* Today, pray for the revival of the city where you stay and the people you live with.
* Ask God to give you the burden for issues beyond your personal needs and grant you grace to intercede for divine purposes.
* Today, find out someone’s prayer request and take it to the Lord in prayer.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
My joy shall not be short-lived; my glory another will not take and my future shall be guaranteed, in the name of Jesus

Pray for Nigeria

Friday 29 May
READ: Psa. 122:6-9
MORE LESSON: Neh. 2:1 - 8

God is a very present help in trouble (Psa. 46:1). Every individual needs help because as diverse as our faces are, so are our troubles, but we thank God who gives immediate help when we call. It is not only individuals that need help, even nations do; Nigeria needs the help of God. If there is ever a time to pray for Nigeria, it is now. And when you pray for Nigeria, you are praying for yourself, especially if you are a Nigerian, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee: Psa. 122:6. Your prosperity is linked to your praying for your nation.

Nehemiah has heard about the condition of Jerusalem and is moved to the point of prayer and fasting. After praying for Jerusalem, he goes to King Artaxerxes, still burdened for his nation. We need people that will carry the burden of Nigeria in the place of prayer. The prayer of Nehemiah obviously works because there and then, the king asks him what he wants done. Then Nehemiah does the incredible, The king said unto me, for what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king . . . Neh 2:4-5. When the king asks Nehemiah what he wants, in the twinkle of an eye, Nehemiah speaks to Heaven again before he speaks to the king. I believe he must have prayed, Lord anything I ask this man, let him do it for me. He has done a lot of praying in the secret place before he comes to the king, so he doesn't need hours of prayer in the king's presence. He just does a short prayer and the king goes ahead to give him everything he asks for. Eventually, the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt by the order and financial support of a heathen king whose own predecessors destroyed the walls. This is because a man prays.

There is help for Nigeria from the Lord but you must not keep quiet. It is time for us all to arise and take the responsibility to pray against evil, terrorism, political unrest, bad governance, economic instability and war in our land. Do not assume that God knows what should be and what will be, will be. Nehemiah doesn't assume that God will just do it; he fasts and prays for his nation. As we stand in the gap for our nation, I assure you there shall be help for Nigeria. The enemies of this nation shall be confounded and Jesus shall be glorified over Nigeria. I see the hand of God stretched over Nigeria today to keep it from evil and to grant it peace and help from above-Say Amen if you believe. Amen!

Prayer/Action
* Pray Psa. 121 for Nigeria and its people.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
The cloud of glory, rest upon me today and give my destiny rest, in the name of Jesus.

Visa to Heaven

Thursday 28 May
READ: Psa. 15:1-5
MORE LESSONS: Psa. 24:3-5

One great desire of many people today is to get an immigrant visa to a developed nation, especially United States of America. Young people in particular are doing anything(negative and positive) to get this visa. But then, there is a visa that is far more useful and of eternal value than American immigrant visa: the heavenly immigrant visa, without which you are eternally doomed.

As expected, there are conditions for qualifying for this visa and for retaining it. Some of the conditions are outlined in today’s text:(1) Walking uprightly - without blame (v2). To be blameless is to be without blemish, irreproachable, having no outstanding fault (Psa. 19:13), being sound, having an undivided commitment to God (Deut. 18:13). This implies integrity, sincerity and whole-hearted devotion to God and to His laws (Gen. 17:1; Psa. 119:1). (2) Working righteousness (v2); righteousness means goodness, the act of doing right and having a right standing before God, without which no man can qualify for Heaven.

(3) Speaking the truth from the inward part (v20) which is speaking the truth from the heart (Psa. 12:2; Isa. 29:13). (4)Being free from backbiting (v3); all seekers of heavenly citizenship must abstain from slandering other people, speaking evil or falsely accusing others. (5) Not doing evil to others (Rom. 12:17). (6) Receiving no reproach about neighbours (Psa. 15:3). A Heaven seeker does not gladly repeat on account of or rejoice at another man’s misfortune. (7) Not keeping the company of evil doers rejected by God (Psa. 1:1,4). (8) Keeping one’s word even to one’s hurt (v4; Lev. 27:10). (9) Not taking advantage of one in need to increase riches (v5). (10) Refusing bribe (v5) because it aids corruption. (11) Protecting the innocent (v5).

Today, make a conscious effort to walk by these principles and let others see you as a sincere icon of righteousness and angels with their beauty and music will celebrate your approval and eventual entrance to Heaven. When life is over on this side, where will be your next abode for eternity?

Prayer/Action
* Take a thorough study of the following scriptures and use them to pray for yourself:
* Psa. 15:1-5
* Psa. 1:1-3.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Oh Lord, I wait on you, let me not wait in vain and let not my expectations be cut short, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Discovery for Recovery

Wednesday 27 May
READ: Judges 16:1-21
MORE LESSONS: I Sam. 30:8

Discovery is to find knowledge of what hitherto has been unknown or hidden, while recovery is to restore what was missing. Only God can never have a reason to discover or recover because nothing is ever hidden to Him nor does He ever have a loss. There are several reasons why a man can have a loss. It could be by carelessness, mistake, satanic attack, cheating, sin, ignorance etc but the most important thing is recovery.

However, to recover in life, a man has to first discover that something is missing or lost and only then can the journey of recovery begin. Like Samson, many people today both within and outside the Kingdom of God are seriously ignorant of their losses, and so they cannot recover. By carelessness and carnal living, Samson lost his power to a woman. The most terrible aspect of it was that he didn't know anything had happened to him until there was a shout that his enemies were around (Judg. 16:20). What a disaster! What a sleep of death!

Another man who had such a disaster was King Saul but the difference was that King Saul knew God had departed (I Sam. 28:15). Unfortunately, Saul did not recover because although he knew the problem, the steps he took toward recovery were wrong, unlike Samson who recovered because he eventually discovered what was lost and sought the help of God through prayer.

The challenge however is if you desire recovery in destiny, you must begin from the place of discovery. You must take stock of your life and destiny, your work, property, relationship with God and men and ask yourself, Is anything missing or is hidden or a loss that you don't know like Samson? God forbid that you should discover when it is too late. God’s promise is that you will recover.

Ask God to open your eyes to your hidden losses before the philistines show up to pluck off your eyes and disgrace you like Samson.

Prayer/Action
*Ask God to expose your hidden losses today.
*Tell God you believe in His power to restore all things to you.
*Declare that there shall be no more loss in your destiny.
Fill your heart with expectation of recovery today and you will testify.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
He that digs a grave for my destiny shall be buried in it himself and no plot against me shall see the light of day, in Jesus’ name.