Category Archives: Devotions

PERSISTENT PRAYER

FAITH CAPSULE: A persistent prayer before God calls for Asking, Seeking, Knocking before God.

Luke 18:1-30

To be seeking God with prayer demands praying in the word of God.
Prayer calls for faith to gain from God.
The word of apostle speaks to all, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)
What is it that you are asking God to change in your life yet with no manifestation? 
To seek God with prayer demands giving self to continual prayer, a persistent prayer before God. 
A persistent prayer before God calls for Asking, Seeking, Knocking before God until the answer is delivered.
It is the character of God not to ignore the calling on Him.
God always answers yes, no, or wait when calls on Him with persistent prayer.
The parable of Jesus in Luke 18:1-8 records for all to know that God is a caring God that will not ignore persistent just as a judge could not.
A widow needed justice for an adversary. 
The persistence of the widow prompts the response of the judge.
Luke 18:4-5 documents, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward, he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
Jesus speaks in response to the judge, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
For your expectation that seems with no manifestation at sight, there is reason to engage persistent prayer by asking, seeking, and knocking that is the evidence of FAITH.
In the time of expectation for manifestation, it is worth knowing that:
FAITH should not be a mouth noise.
FAITH is not a fanfare (a display or elaboration) but to engage God to experience manifestation for expectation.
FAITH is not an effort to impress anyone but press on to experience God.
With faith, be one with persistent prayer by asking, seeking, and knocking the way of God, give heart to God.
With heart given to God, eyes will observe His ways as Proverbs 23:26 says, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.”
Ask that you begin to see in His ways, to live a life for God, not of waste life.

Prayer for today: Ask that God enables you to know His way in all the days He has given you.

COUNT ON GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: Count on God with your commitment.

1 Samuel 13

The life journey demands to know not to be committed to no one but God.
Jesus selected few to walk along with Him day and night, but He could not commit Himself to anyone. The bible records, “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men.” (John 2:24) 
Jesus did not commit Himself to anyone. 
Who do you commit yourself to as your help?
Who do you commit to with your expectations? 
God is indeed the Caring taker of caretaker. 
God has not failed; He will not fail anyone that counts on Him with commitment.
God is waiting to act for those who wait on Him as the caring father. Isaiah 64:4 testifies, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”
What is it that a man does have to offer you?
God is enough for all to be committed to always.
Looking for help from the wrong sources is evidence of limiting the caring love of God. 
Often help does not come from where one is counting for as the source.
God confirmed Saul as the king for the children of Israel, but he could not count on God enough for his help. 
God called Saul the king, but he looks outside of God, the evidence of not committing on God. 
Saul, at his war against Philistines, could not wait for the role of the Prophet of God to carry out the burnt offering. 
Saul disobeyed the law of God when he engaged in the burnt offering, the assignment which belonged to Samuel, the priest of God. 
1 Samuel 13:11-12 records the confrontation of Saul by Samuel after his burnt offering, “…What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” Committing to man instead of God is an error, an avenue to self-destruction. 
Meditate on the testimonies of the caring of God continually to disallow a failure like King Saul.
Meditate on what God can do, what He has done, and what He is doing to provoke the blessing of God. 
Think about it, it is God alone that has brought you this far, and He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Are you wondering where your help will come for you? 
Help from God does not fail for one that counts on God.
God is enough and will attend to one that counts on Him with commitment.

Prayer for today: Ask God to enable you to commit only to Him.

CHALLENGING SITUATION

FAITH CAPSULE: What is the challenging situation that holds you?

John 11:1-44

Challenge can be a difficult task or problem that is hard to experience or exist in life.
When a challenge resists solution and persists with pain, it often takes over one with the challenge.
Are you with any challenging situation that denies moving forward physically, spiritually, or emotionally in living life? 
One experiencing a challenging situation has been taken over by a challenge until the deliverance of God takes charge.
What is having you, denying you not to live life as desired?
What is the challenging situation that is having you?
In the Bible, one Lazarus with the sisters (Mary and Martha) was in a challenging situation of sick that had him.  
Mark of untimely death had Lazarus with an attempt to take him away permanently. 
Lazarus was tied up and rolled up in a tomb. 
The challenging situation of sickness had Lazarus.
Lazarus was dead but regained life at the arrival of Jesus with thanks offering to God. John 11:41-43 records, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
As a believer or non-believer, what is the challenging situation that holds you?
Blindness is the challenging situation that held a man down the roadside until he had a visitation of Jesus for his deliverance. Luke 18:35-38 records, “Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’”
Blindness had the man down by the roadside, and he could not move as desired. 
The challenging situation took over the blind man.
One with lameness as a challenging situation could not walk, bound to crawl.
With lame, there is no means to rise but bound to become a victim of stagnation in this wicked world.
In the journey of life where stagnation persists, delay and denial will disrupt getting to the expected end. 
Lameness in life can be a position or a condition where no man desires to be.
Lameness shall prompt stagnation in life.
Peter and John operated as agents that delivered a man that a challenging situation had his life.
Peter and John had more to offer him. Bible records, “And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So, he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.” (Acts 3:4-5)
The lame man gave attention with expectation for his deliverance from the challenging situation over his life.
In life, with a focus on God with expectation for manifestation, deliverance shall be encountered.

Prayer for today: Ask against every force that is holding you down.

PRAYER PARTS

FAITH CAPSULE: Three parts of prayer to engage.

Acts 12

PART ONE
In John 6:28, records question before Jesus, “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
In verse 29, Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
To believe in whom God sent is working the work.
One that believes is LIVING BY HIS WORD?
PRAYER
ASK that God enable you to understand and know to be living life by His word to work the works of God.
Among reasons why not work the works of God can be the evidence sleeping in the place to be awake.
Acts 12:1-6 documents that Herod killed James and was about to kill Peter.
Peter was asleep.
The church must have been asleep not praying for James but, the church awoke after the death of James to pray for the deliverance of Peter, that was sleeping. 
PRAYER
Ask that God enables you to be awake, not to become a victim of sleeping in the place of praying. Lord God, keep me awake!
Jesus said to His disciples when He took them to pray with Him in Matthew 26:40, “Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?”
Are you one that knows to pray but not knows to watch?
Jesus never tells us to pray but watching and praying is what He repeatedly requests.
ASK that God give you the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to engage Him watching and praying with consistency. 
PART TWO
One that is walking with God, before God or walking in Him, do not set back in the calling of God.
When the calling of deliverance for Lot and his family from destruction answered for Lot, the wife walking behind not with or before Lot became a victim of looking back. Genesis 19:26 records, “But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
PRAYER
ASK that God deliver you from everywhere you are looking away from His calling over your life.
ASK that you shall not be a victim of looking back instead of looking forward in Him.
PART THREE
Revelations 4:11 records, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
All are created by God, for God to exist for His glory.
What is it that is reducing one not to live life for God?
What is it that you know consciously or unconsciously not to be living life for His glory?
Among forces that are making one not live life for God are:
Knowing or unknowing sin committed reduces one not to live for the glory of God.
Ignorant makes a destitute of the believer.
PRAYER
ASK that every sin or sinning before Him consciously to be separated from you that you will be full of His glory. 
ASK that God deliver you from every force of distraction that derails man from following Him diligently.

GIVE SELF TO GOD

FAITH CAPSULE: In disappointment time, do not be discouraged.

Luke 5:1-11

To arrive at the center of divine assignment demands following in the calling of God, not answering as a fan for God.
A fan is with limited commitment to God, unlike a follower of God that seeks God diligently.
At a point in time, four fishermen forsook all and followed Jesus. 
In life, to follow in serving God demands to forsake all. 
What holding you down not to forsake, to follow in serving God?  
Four professional fishermen at the right time at the right place failed to catch fish. 
The four fishermen could not give up until daybreak, yet they caught nothing. 
As they were washing their nets and ready to pack for the day with nothing to show for as professional fishermen, Jesus showed up, “Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.” (Luke 5:3) 
Despite a lack of success with catching fish through night hours, their kindness was intact as they allowed the stranger (Jesus) to use their vessel without any refusal.
After Jesus finished teaching the multitude, He turned to the fishermen and gave them a word, His word as stated in Luke 5:4“…Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 
Always take note that, in times of disappointment, the word of God will answer as a terminating force to turn disappointment to an appointed time.
With the question of faith not of doubt, Simon responded to Jesus, “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.” (Luke 5: 5) 
In disappointment time, do not be discouraged, but give yourself to the word of God that will reverse the irreversible. 
Are you with experience to have been grounded on a ground you are to get a result but not?
Begin to listen, hear, and see in the word of God to position you for transformation. 
The response gave a result of gain.
Luke 5:6 records, “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”  
Are you toiling with no result to show?
It does not matter how long you have been toiling with nothing to show, but it is possible to encounter an unfailing God that does not fail for a breakthrough.
In life, take a position to listen to gain an understanding that gives a knowing edge that leads to a breakthrough.
They listened to gain understanding with the knowledge to breakthrough. 
Give it all for Jesus, and He shall settle you. 

Prayer for today: Ask that the word of God shall locate you with direction for your breakthrough.