FAITH CAPSULE: The wilderness journey is a wild journey where nothing works but faith.

Exodus 13:17-22, Matthew 4:1-17

A wilderness journey of life is possible to be a tough time.
In the wilderness journey of life, pleasant things of life are unable to be enjoyed. The time of the wilderness journey of life comes with the spiritual, financial, or emotional challenge but never beyond the intervention of God to see through.
The Bible records, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1) 
Jesus, Lord, and savior passed through the wilderness before getting to the center of His divine assignment. If Jesus, Lord, and savior is with no exemption from the wilderness journey, there should be no one to be exempted from journeying through the wilderness journey before arriving at the center of the divine assignment. 
In life, it is how wild a wilderness journey is that will determine how challenging one will engage for the glory of God.
The wilderness journey is a journey of no turning back. 
In every wilderness journey, there is no back road or short cut to arrival at the expected end but must be navigated entirely. 
The deliverance of the Israelites out of the bondage of over four hundred years, to the Promised Land, could not be through a short-cut or back road but the wilderness journey. Exodus 13:17-18 records, “Then it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.” The wilderness journey of life is not a route to avoid challenges of life, but actually, to experience the process to become positioned in the promise of God that is good for life.
The wilderness journey is not a journey which one plans for, it is a journey that puts one in the plan of God.
The wilderness journey is not a journey of comfort neither is it a journey of choice or interest. 
The wilderness journey is a journey for every man in the hand of God to pass through to learn obedience. 
It is recorded for all to know that the wilderness journey is inevitable for all that is with the calling of God. 
In your answering to the calling of God, are you seeking for a back road or short-cut to avoid the wilderness journey?
The wilderness journey is a journey of trial and temptation, it can be an un-encouraging route with pain, but with obedience to the direction of God, it is the only available avenue that leads through the promise of God into claiming the promises of God without failure. 
Any attempt to avoid the wilderness journey will make a believer become a wanderer to arrive at the wonder of God.
Engage your wilderness journey by knowing that God is able to see you through.

Prayer for today: Ask from God to enable your answering to His calling.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you praying with understanding to access God?

Matthew 6

Prayer is not a parade to impress man but to provoke the hand of God for His favor of goodness. Prayer is a labor that is not for one with the spirit of laziness. 
The prayer of Jesus in the garden demonstrates that prayer is labor that God cannot ignore. Luke 22:44 identifies the labor prayer of Jesus, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  Engage prayer laboriously as a way of life in this wicked world to be saved. 
Give yourself to prayer.
Prayer is the master key to assess receiving from God. With understanding, prayer is not assuming to receive from God but to ask, seek or knock just as Matthew 7:7 records, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
To ask or think is praying to receive as Ephesians 3:20 records, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
To ask is with action that is rooted in faith for God to see, and not deny answer.
To seek is with seeking God to receive by watching not to miss when God answers.
To knock persistently for an open door will not deny the prayer as the master key to open or to lock.
Prayer before God is asking God to change things around for good, according to His will.
Are you praying with understanding, to gain an edge from the answer to your prayer?
Are you praying to God with understanding?
The word of God points to all the importance of seeking God with understanding as Psalm 47:7 denotes, “For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.” As the word of God demands to sing praises with understand, praying before God and other ways of seeking God is not with the exemption from praying with understanding before God. 
Prayer with understanding will not be ignored by God.
With prayer, one cannot be quiet to become victorious.
Prayer is action. The evidence of having understanding and knowledge of God will always gain the attention of God. 1 Samuel 2:3 admonishes, “For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him, actions are weighed.” Let your prayer be an action that carries weights before God that will provoke God to incline His ear to your prayer.
How is your prayer life?
Are you praying to God from the head or heart?
Is your prayer rooted in the word of God or the word of your head?
Is your prayer at your convenience and without commitment before God?
Apostle Paul identifies the importance of how prayer should be to gain the attention of God, as he states in Acts 6:4, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Let praying before God become your priority as your way of life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to be praying with understanding.

FAITH CAPSULE: Increasing trouble will result in troubling challenges.  

Psalm 3

When trouble increase it becomes challenging trouble. 
Challenging trouble is a growing trouble that persists but with no sign for it to cease. 
Challenging trouble often graduates to permanent trouble.
Challenging trouble is intending to terminate the troubled ones. 
In a time of challenging trouble, faith will be constantly questioned, wanting to know the existence of your God. 
Are you worrying instead of worshipping God?
David had increasing trouble when he said, “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” (Psalm 3:1-2)
TWO WAYS AMONG WAYS DAVID APPROACHED HIS TROUBLE.
One of the testimonies of how David dealt with increasing trouble in his life records, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” (Psalm 3:3)  
David acknowledged the awesomeness of God instead of allowing his trouble to overtake his life. He refused to be reduced or excused himself from worshiping God. 
Acknowledging God in a time of increasing trouble is a way of thanking God; it is a way to provoke the hand of God for His intervention.
Acknowledging God in a time of troubling challenge is expressing what the Lord God can do, as David states, “One who lifts up my head…”
Acknowledging God in a time of troubling challenge is an action that God cannot ignore. 2 Samuel 2:3 testifies, “For the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by Him, actions are weighed.” Acknowledge God in your troubling challenge and God will look unto you to acknowledge you.
Second testimony of how David dealt with his troubling challenge records, “I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:4) 
Crying is not a sign of weakness. 
The crying of David in the time of his increasing trouble was not hidden before God, it was not a silent cry. David cried out with his voice; it was not just a cry in his heart but a cry that went out loud to God at His holy hill. 
It is worthy to cry out loud to God and not be quiet to become victorious. 
The word of God requests that we open our mouth wide. (Psalm 81:10) Open your mouth wide and God will fill your open mouth. David testifies that the Lord heard him from His holy hill. God is not a partial God, Romans 2:11 points it out, “For there is no partiality with God.” 
In your challenging trouble, do not count on crying out to any man, but cry out to God and He will hear your cry as He heard to attend David. 
Regardless of how long your challenge persists, you make it a point to resist and insist on worshipping God for His divine intervention. Be encouraged He is faithful to perfect that which He performs on your behalf.

Prayer for today: Ask for the wisdom of God in approaching a troubling challenge.

FAITH CAPSULE: Maintain yourself with God alone.

Jude 1

Maintaining self with God demands seeking God diligently.
Maintaining self with God is knowing God, to continually keep track in the line of the word of God, not compromising the word of God.
Maintaining self with God is not knowing about God, the evidence of not mindful of God.
Maintaining self with God demonstrates love for God by way of living life.
How can a man know God, to love God?
To know God starts by listening to the word of God.
With listening to the word of God comes understanding of the will of God God for all. The word of Jesus testifies to the importance of listening to gain an understanding of knowing God in John 8:43, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” 
The word of Jesus represents Jesus. To know Him and love Him is listening to His word, to gain an understanding of God.
No man was born with an understanding and knowledge to know God but except in the written word of God to encounter, to understand and know God. The bible buttressed: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)  
The Bible points out what it takes to be maintaining self with God:
Acts 6:4, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Jude 20-21, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Give yourself to the written word of God that will build you up to maintain you with God.
With no exception, all should continually but not casually give self to the word of God.
Maintain self with God by praying the word of God that is the power of God for direction not to fall.
Allow the entrance of the word of God that gives light not to become a victim of the darkness of the wicked world.
The entrance of the word of God will fill you to be faithful.
Are you an acclaimed believer of God that is claiming to be maintaining life with God but yet remains at the same spot, with no upgrade which is the sign of growth in the things of God?
Search yourself to identify your growth in God to maintain self with God.
God is a good God that waits to act for those that wait on Him.
Maintaining self with God is waiting on God not to be wasted in the journey of life. 
Give self to God’s word continually. 

Prayer for today: Ask for you to be enabled to maintain with God continually.