FAITH CAPSULE: Is your prayer with seriousness or is it to gain the attention of man?

Daniel 6

Bishop David Oyedepo of the Winners’ Fellowship once stated that, “Prayer is like a labor room where undeniable proofs are given birth to.” Prayer is indeed a labor and, when it is actively engaged, it delivers undeniable miracles. Prayer is the antidote for suffering. The Bible confirms it by stating, “Is anyone suffering let him pray” (James 5:13). Prayer demands that it is to be engaged earnestly (serious intention, purpose or effort). The seriousness, which prayer demands is evident when the Bible stated, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:17-18). Elijah prayed earnestly (he prayed with seriousness and purpose). Is your prayer with seriousness or is it to gain the attention of man? Prayer is seeking God. Seeking God diligently must require more labor than just seeking God. The word of God confirms that those that seek God diligently get rewarded by God (Hebrews 11:6). The need for praying earnestly was evident in Jesus’ prayer engagement. It is written, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus praying and sweating like great drops of blood falling testifies to how laborious prayer is. Are you one that is expecting to engage prayer differently from God’s way and get result? Think of it, if Jesus did, we are not exempted from doing just as He did. Once, the disciples were curious why their prayer could not deliver as expected.
It is written, “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). David’s testimony points out the labor that is in prayer. Taking time out three times a day to pray is indeed a labor that is worth the while because it is certain to deliver. Daniel is another one whose engagement to prayer three times a day set him for deliverance from the hand of his persecutors. It is written, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel made prayer his life style by committing himself to prayer three times a day. Make prayer your constant engagement and the world will not endanger you.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be standing and not sleeping in praying.

FAITH CAPSULE: Answering to title in and out of the church is not an evidence of faith.

Luke 17:11-19

Faith is responding with action to His command, while we are yet to receive our request. It is recorded that when Jesus entered a certain village ten lepers stood afar off lifted up their voices calling for mercy. Jesus responded, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14) The lepers acted faithfully when they were redirected from crying out their request to go and show their bodies to the priest without having got their healing. Their healing came only when they were on their way (…it was that as they went, they were cleansed). Evidently, it is faith to respond by acting to have received request when answer to request is yet at hand.
Obviously, volumes of book will not be enough to identify great exploits that were faith rooted in the Bible. Operating faith is God provoking agent because the word makes us to realize that without faith God is not pleased. (Hebrews 11:6) If without faith God is not please, operating faith is what pleases God. Imagine what a father that is constantly pleased with his child will do to a pleasing child. In living life, there is no substitute for faith and let there be no backup plan in the place of faith.
Constant engagement with the source of faith (word of God) is what keeps faith growing and alive. A faith that is alive and growing is the kind of faith that God is looking for in us. Man’s title or position in or outside of the church is not the evidence of faith. Truly, faith is alive in many with title but busy programs are hindering spending time on the source that makes faith growth. Jesus addressed the issue of the quantity of faith in His conversation with His disciples. It is written, “And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 16:5-6) A mustard seed is a very small seed and when it is alive and growing it grows to become big. Do you want an increase faith just like the apostles? Titles will not increase faith; running of program at the maximum level or running from program to program is not a source of growing faith. Increase in studying the word; more attention to the word increases faith. Be faith-full and be pleasing to God in your walk of life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace that causes man not to stop desiring for more of the word.

FAITH CAPSULE: Faith is not assuming that God knows what our need or desire is about.

Luke 18:35-43

The word of God describes faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3) Looking at the description of faith, it is clear that no one is born with it but it comes to one when one makes a conscious approach to engage the source of faith. The Bible describes the source of faith when it states, “…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Whatever comes to one can also go from one if the source for getting it ceases to flow. To avoid faith from stopping to come, hearing, hearing, hearing and hearing the word of God should be a continuous and non-stop engagement.
Here is a way of looking at what faith is about:
Faith is not assuming that God knows what your challenge is/are because you are crying out in His presence or in His passing by.
Once, Jesus was near to Jericho when a blind man cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38) There was concerted effort to get the blind man quieted by the crowd but the more he cried out louder. Jesus responded to the blind man’s crying by asking him, “…what do you want Me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41) Going by Jesus’ question, does it mean that Jesus did not know what the blind man wanted when He asked about what to be done for the blind man? The Bible recorded that God knows us before we were formed in the womb. (Jeremiah 1:5) Surely, Jesus knows tomorrow from today and that buttress the truth that He knew what the need of the blind man was about. Jesus wanted to hear it from the blind man what the blind man wanted. Just by Jesus’ response, it can be agreed on that faith is also being specific and direct in our request; faith is not assuming that God knows what our need or desire is about. Faith is to know that when we ask God hears and God answers according to His will for us. In your crying out to God (if you have faith) ignore what your neighbor’s reaction would be call out loud wherever you are and He will hear when you call. Be specific in your request and the multitude of mockery would be permanently silent when Jesus responds to your request like that of the blind man.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to deny every mouth shutting agent by having them become terminated and not come your way where and when you need to open your mouth loud and be specific in your asking.

FAITH CAPSULE: The gift of God is an undeniable vessel that will take a man through to his breakthrough miracle.

Genesis 41

Every gift that God gives is a good gift that delivers and bring forth breakthrough to man in the journey of life. To any man that is able to identify with the gift of God, breakthrough in the journey of life is undeniable. On the journey of life, some are pushing while some are riding. The gift of God is a like a vessel that will cause man to ride seamlessly where others are pushing with all effort and not much to show forth. Without doubt, the gift of God is the most undeniable vessel that will take a man through to his breakthrough miracle. Joseph’s ride into his breakthrough was his gift of interpreting visions. Joseph rode on interpreting dreams of others into his breakthrough from prisoner to Prime Minister. The bible recorded, “…the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”(Genesis 40:5-8)
Joseph identified with the gift of God that was in his life and it set him for his miracle breakthrough. The gift in Joseph and the ability to identify with the gift led him to the center of his miracle breakthrough. It is written, “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.’” (Genesis 41:15) Are you paying attention enough to identify what the Lord is enabling you to touch others for His glory? God must have deposited something in your life that will give you a ride to your breakthrough. Until you realize what it is, your struggle continues. Joseph answered to Pharaoh’s request by interpreting Pharaoh’s dream. After Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he was rewarded by being presented with the signet ring and given a powerful position over all of Egypt. With Joseph’s breakthrough, his garment was changed and his story was rewritten for many generations to learn from. It is written concerning Joseph, “And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ So he set him over all the land of Egypt.’” (Genesis 41:43) Joseph rode on dreams, from prison to power over Egypt.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to recognize your miracle breakthrough vessel. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Those that truly take to Him have actually entered into the right way.

Psalms25
 

In living life there are only two ways out of which man makes a choice. The two ways are, the way of life (the right way) and the way of death (the wrong way). Which way is yours? When man takes to the right way man will end up in the right place. However, when man takes to the wrong way man will end up in the wrong place. Jesus once identified Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6) Those that truly take to Jesus’ way have actually entered into the right way. In Him there is life abundantly. In Him no one fails; in Him there is victory. Which way is yours? The God we serve is a not a slave master but a saving God. The right to make the choice of way belongs to each and every of His creation. One must have a choice of way because there is no middle ground. In life, no one can walk two ways at the same time.
Which way is yours? Most times, commitment is not convenience. Commitment can be full of pain but will always turn out to be gainful. Are you engaging in a way that seems right to you? When a way seems to be right to man, it ends up as a dead end. The book of Proverbs 14:12 buttress, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”  The only reason you have constantly ended up at a dead end is because you have taken the wrong way. The wrong way is not true; it is full of lying, deception and manipulation. God is God and He alone knows all of our heart, He knows the steps we are taking. Today if you will turn to the right way, you will enter and dwell with Him and He will lead you without failing. It is one thing to know the right way; it is another to be conscious of being in the right way. One that is conscious of the right way will constantly take to the right way.  King David never lost consciousness in asking for God’s way. In Psalm 25:7, David asked “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” Engage yourself with the way that is right. Jesus the way and the truth will lead you right; He will teach you and salvation shall not be a strange issue to you. In His way there is deliverance and preservation and once that is in place in the life of a man, victory is certain over all confronting issues.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be constant and consistent living in the way of God.