Faith Capsule: It is worthy to know and pray against known and unknown adversaries that are set to deny breakthrough.

Daniel 10

1 Samuel 1:5-6 recorded, “But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.  And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.” Hannah was barren because the Lord closed her womb. However, when she engaged in prayer of persistency Eli the priest saw her; mistook her for drunk and prayed for her stating, “…Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” (1 Samuel 1:17) Prayer rendered to God on behalf of Hannah opened up her closed womb. Is there any door that needs to open up on your behalf you?
Elijah was a man like us and he prayed that heaven be shut heaven from raining and indeed heaven was shut and there was no rain for three years and six months. 1 Kings 17:1 recorded Elijah’s prayer, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” When it was time for heaven to open, Elijah prayed and heaven opened with rain. Evidently, prayer opens or shut heaven when a man is in a good standing as was stated by Elijah.
Jesus, our Lord and Savior needed to pray for heaven to open on His behalf. The bible recorded, “…when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.” (Luke 3:21) While Jesus prayed heaven opened. Are you aware that prayer is your heaven opener?
Daniel needed an open understanding for vision that came to him. He went in prayer. Daniel’s prayer was heard meaning heaven opened up on his behalf but the adversary withstood answer that was released to him. It is written, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:12-13) Daniel’s situation is a confirmation that prayer opens door but adversary was on standby to deny or delay man from open door.
Paul the apostle declared in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” As you pray for your open door, it is worthy to also know and pray against known and unknown adversaries that are set to deny your breakthrough.

Prayer for today:Ask that adversaries that are set to deny your breakthrough be permanently terminated.

Faith capsule: Faith is a tangible (concrete, real, noticeable) force not a theory.

Hebrews 11

Faith is spiritual channel that connects to divine virtue. Faith is your discovery of your right in God.
Every provision in redemption is only accessible by faith. Everyone was touching Him, only one was tapping from Him. Faith taps into divine virtue. The documentation of the woman with the issue of blood is a testimony. It is written, “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 25:28)  The woman received instant healing. Jesus knew power had gone out of Him when He responded by wanting to know who touched Him in a thronging crowd. After the woman showed up, Jesus responded to her stating, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:34)
Crowds were thronging a blind man was gaining through to Him without any man’s aid but was aided by the faith that was deep in his heart when ha faithfully cried out to Him by calling uncommon name. Mark 10:47, “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many attempted to keep him quiet but the more he cried out and Jesus responded when He stood still and commanded him to be called. (Mark 10:49)
Faith is of the heart not of face. God searches the heart to see faith (Jeremiah 17:10)
Faith is not a principle it is a weapon.
Faith is a spiritual force that is, a take-able force that you hold onto. Ephesians 6:16 buttressed, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
Faith is a tangible (concrete, real, noticeable) force not a theory (philosophy, system). Jesus saw the faith of men that tore roof where there was no way to enter seeking healing for the paralytic man. (Mark 2:1-6)
Believing God is not faith, engaging God is faith. Faith that works is the one that involves engaging the word of God. Faith is inner conviction that faith cannot fail. The certain woman was convinced and did not allow the crowd to deny her stretching out to tap on Jesus. The blind man’s faith was hanged on calling in an uncommon calling and the crowd failed to keep him shut up. Jesus stood still and responded to the blind why the crowd became onlooker. The certain woman and blind Bartimaeus’ faith elevated them.

Prayer for today: Pray and ask for the spirit of faith to have a place in you.

Faith Capsule: Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused every man and woman’s generational curse.

Numbers 12

Consider this, during the days of Moses, “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. ² So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it…” (Numbers 12:1-3) The dissension of Aaron and Miriam was a blow to the whole population of the children of Israel. Delay answered in the lives that did not violate God. The innocent suffered set back, young ones could not move forward all paid the price for what they did not do. Are you wondering or seeking why sudden stagnation or delay where doors have been opened? What are the causes of your stagnation or delay? Consider taking it to God in prayer for His intervention. The dissension of Aaron and Miriam caused them delay and stagnation on the course of their journey when, “Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.” Just because of Miriam the whole entourage suffered stagnation. Miriam’s situation is not an unlikely incident in the present day.
Adam and Eve’s disobedience was the cause of curse to all generation. Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  Death was not in the plan of God for man but Adam and Eve provoked God with their act of disobedience and death came to place for all man. The situation of Adam and Eve can be understood but the excuse was not acceptable to God. Disobedience of Adam and Eve opened up the door of death for all man. At times when challenges such as stagnation, mockery, rejection come to place in the life of an individual, the source is either known or unknown. In the book of Genesis, it was mentioned how Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused every man and woman’s generational curse.
Are you experiencing any kind of stagnation in any area of life with no idea of its source? There is no door which prayer cannot open. For Miriam’s case, the Bible stated, “…Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” (Numbers 12:13) Undoubtedly, the prayer of Moses changed the situation from stagnation into motion. Concerning your stagnation, consider crying out to the Lord for His divine intervention. Today, working out one’s salvation through the blood of Jesus is not a discouragement but an encouraging avenue to seek God for His lovingkindness and mercy.

Prayer for today: Ask God to open your understand concerning all that confronts you.

Faith Capsule: God’s willingness to help us is stronger than our desire to be helped by God.

2 Chronicles 14, 15, 16

The book of Isaiah 30:18 documented, “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.” Going by the scriptural verse, it is safe to conclude that God is God that waits for us to wait on Him. God waiting for us to wait on Him testifies to the truth that anytime we take our challenges to a caring God the challenges shall be permanently terminated. A failure not to take challenges to God for testifies to not relying on God.
Asa faced a confronting challenge when Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. (2 Chronicles 14:9) Asa knew he was not able to fight the battle when he called on God for help because of his reliance on God.
2 Chronicles 14:12-13 stated how God responded to help Asa because Asa relied on Him, “So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much spoil.” When God fight our battle the battle becomes a permanent termination. Later in Asa’s reign, he could not rely on God but failed by not waiting on God that always wait for us to call on Him.
It happened that when Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, Asa turned to Ben-Hadad of Syria for help. The result of Asa’s turning to Ben-Hadad does not settle well for Asa before God. As a result, “…Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.” Asa did not do well by not relying on God and it testified to the truth that Asa’s heart was not loyal to God when Hanani the seer stated in his word to Asa, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) Having a loyal heart before God is to know and always wait on God. Activate a loyal heart for God and His eyes will locate you to show Himself strong on your behalf.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to have a loyal heart for God.

Faith Capsule: Along the way, one should not just take any way because not all ways will  lead one somewhere.

Exodus 33

The book of Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” The way that seems right is potentially a dangerous way; the way that seems right is not a confirmed way and it is possibly a guessing way. The way that seems right does not always have life in its end but death. Avoiding a way that seems right is engaging the way of God. There is nothing to lose anytime we engage God in prayer for direction before taking to steps of life. In life, every decision demands a direction that should lead to successful ending. The only possible way of getting to a successful ending is inside of God’s direction. It was clear that God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of the bondage of over four hundred years to the Promised Land but it was not liberty for Moses to take to his own way. On the way, one should not just take any way because not all ways will lead one somewhere.
Despite God’s calling of Moses as the shepherd, he could not make a move without asking God for His way. He did not assume any way as being the right way. Moses always asked God for direction. The book of Exodus 33:13 documented, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” With Moses’ requisite, it is evident that in the way of God there is the ability to know God. The way of God is encased the grace of God. The way of God is the way of going up from where you are now but not going down. In the way of God there is an unfailing promise to be delivered. The way of God is the way out of bondage. The way of God delivers victory at all avenues of life. In the way of God, everything   it takes not to be replaced by the enemy is in place. The only condition is to ask and know how to endure the challenges of the giants along the way. The failure to ask or to hear as directed is the avenue to self-destruction. God responded to Moses’ request for direction in Exodus 33:14, “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” The Word of God is God and His word is His presence. When you engage His word, His word will have a place in you. You will be in the right place as you engage your journey. Take to the word of God for direction

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to know and constantly turn to Him for direction; ask God to deliver you from taking any way that seems right to you.