Psalm 92:1, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” When understanding backs up conviction, it delivers an undeniable miracle. When thanking and praising Him is backed without understanding it becomes acts of emotion. Thanking or praising God should not be rooted in emotion because the Bible declares in Psalm 47:7, “For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.” Anytime that giving thanks and praise is short of understanding, it will be filled with emotion. It is part of understanding to know when, how and why thanking Him and praising Him will deliver. The Psalmist stated when to thank and give praises to His name. “To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night.” (Psalm 92:2) Declaring His loving kindness and His faithfulness is rooted in thanking and praising Him. As mentioned by the Psalmist, let it be consistent in the morning and every night. How to thank and praise Him is not relegated to a particular guideline but Psalm 92:3 does mention it to be: “On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.” (Psalm 92:3) The Psalmist went further by declaring why we should thank and praise Him by stating, “For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.” (Psalm 92:4) There is no limitation as to the reason for thanking and praising God. We can also be thankful and give Him praise by declaring as did the Psalmist in Psalm 92:5, “O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.” Volumes and pages of book will never be enough to identify what thanking and praising God has done or could bring forth. However, the Psalmist brought out some of the effects of thanking and praising in Psalm 92:7, “When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.” There is no structured pattern for when, how, and why we should render thanks and praises to God, but the written Word of God is for our learning from those who have been there, passed through and are backed by various undeniable testimonies. Spending time to learn and do just like the Word requests will undoubtedly be a blessing. Spending time in the Word of God will give life while spending time in the worlds of this life will not lead to life. Live the Word of God and live outside of the world while still living in the world.

Prayer for today: Father, fill me with the knowledge of your Word in all wisdom and understanding. 

 As a believer of the living Word of God, what kind of situation is considered as no hope by all that surrounds you? Your situation is clearly defined as no hope and all that surrounds you are only waiting to see you get over the grief of your situation. Also, in your response and behavior, there is demonstration of no hope and that all is lost. Today, do not take the Word of God only as an advice but rather take it as the prophetic living Word of God so that your situation is not of death but to the glory of God. Lazarus was not sleeping but he was dead. Lazarus was dead cold and there was no evidence of life in him. Lazarus had been prepared and positioned among the dead. Sorrow, grief and pain had taken over the popular position among the family and neighbors in regard to the death of Lazarus. Your situation has not gone down to the place of the dead just like that of Lazarus. His sisters and family knew that he was dead and he could not possibly come back to life. His sisters were wondering why there was delay from Jesus. As a result of the fact that Jesus delayed His arrival to the situation, Lazarus gained a position among the dead. Jesus is the healing Healer; He alone is the One who reverses the irreversible. He is the One who shows up in every time of need and He never fails to deliver. Above all, Jesus is the God of the eleventh hour because He does not operate with man-made time. Before Jesus could raise Lazarus, He warned, “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John11:26) Jesus questioned about the location of the dead, “…Where have you laid him…?” (John 11:34) After getting the location, Jesus gave a command: “Take away the stone…” (John 11:39) After Jesus’ response to the situation, He emphasized the need for believe. Jesus believed that God was going to bring Lazarus back to life and as a result, Jesus did not wait for Lazarus to rise before He thanked God for Lazarus’ rising from dead. “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’” (John 11:41) Thanking Him before thanksgiving will bring an end to your painful situation. Lazarus was commanded back to life by Jesus and he was let loose and let go. Thanking God before thanksgiving provokes the hand of God for the undeniable.

Prayer for today: Father I ask in Jesus name for a heart of thanks giving.

RUN OR WALK
1 Kings 17:1-16

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) As a believer that claims to know God, have you ever run when you only needed to walk, or have you been in a situation where you needed to walk instead of run? Whenever there is a failure to wait on God, man will be wasted in the journey of life. In the life of every believer, there is a time to walk, and there is a time to run. Elijah, a man of great exploit, declared upon the land in the presence of King Ahab, “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”(1 Kings 17:1) Elijah made a declaration against rain on the land, and it was just as he said it. Right after sealing the rain from heaven, the Word of God commanded Elijah, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.” (1 Kings 17:3) How could a man of such a caliber have to get out and hide? If Elijah could speak a word to stop rain, he should have had what it took to withstand any force that arose from King Ahab. It was time for Elijah to run, and he could not have positioned himself in danger. A man that could be declared as a mouthpiece of God did not hesitate to follow God’s command. Are you on ground where you have a need to run, but your title is deceiving you from not running? What has to be done for you to stand out and not be a victim of unforeseen circumstances? Are you to run, or are you to walk? Running or walking is not only limited unto those that are yet to receive titles in the body of Christ, but to all in the body of Christ. King David, having been ordained as king over the children of Israel, ran when his life was in danger in the presence of Saul. David did not resign himself to the fact that he had been ordained to be king, and would not have had any reason not to run. David ran for his life, and when there was a need for walking, he also walked. Is there any situation in your life that calls for running or walking? Wait on the Lord, and He will not fail to direct you.

Prayer for today: Help me Lord God, to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Keep me from being a victim of the wicked.

KEEP WAITING
Luke 15:11-32

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) The Apostle Paul has been there, passed through, and lived in what it means to be in a state of lack, and not be in need. To be in need where there is lack could be a direct result of an inability to wait for God’s hand to move. Why not wait for the hand of God? In the parable of the prodigal, or the lost son, it was clearly demonstrated that the prodigal son entered a state of lack because he could not wait for his appointed time. The parable mentioned that the prodigal son was the younger of the two sons who could not wait for the portion of the inheritance that would have fallen to Him. Why the rush where there is so much to receive in the place of waiting? Have you entered into a self-designed rush lately? Not being able to wait is to abiding in waste. The prodigal son got his portion of the inheritance and took a journey to a far country, and wasted his inheritance. Jesus’ parable is not a play write-up; it is to place His writing in the life of believers for learning, correction, and for instruction as a guide in every walk of life. Evidently in life, any type of abundance set for man, that’s given at the wrong time, will lavishly be exhausted, and will not be appreciated as much, compared to the one that will get it while going through the pain of waiting. The prodigal son did not wait. As a result, he was bound to end up wasted. The prodigal son went where he was not called to go because his timing in the journey of life had been interrupted by his inability to wait for God’s time. Luke 15: 13-14, “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want.” Any time a person walks out of God’s timing, they are walking into a curse of timing of lack. Obedience brings forth blessing, while disobedience brings forth cursing. Wait on God, and you will never step into mistakes. It is absolutely true that no one ever complained of falling, or stepping, into grievous mistakes while waiting on God. Waiting on God is a source of God’s grace for anyone that takes to waiting on Him. Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” God will wait for those that will wait on Him.

Prayer for today: O Lord, my God, and my Father I ask for the grace of enablement to be constantly, and consistently, waiting on You before I make any move.