EXPLOIT
1 kings 17:1-7

Many times believers are quoting the Word of God without a depth of understanding. As a result, it does not produce the expected result. If you lack depth of understand in the Word, it will not produce result. God is not a God of accident. James 5:17 describes how “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.” It is true that Elijah was a manlike ours and just because he was a man like ours is not a license for us to do what he did if we lack what it takes to be accessible to God. The Word is an encouragement to the fact that what Elijah did is not impossible to be done today. Three points in the word enable Elijah: First, he recognized God for whom He is when he demonstrated understanding of Jeremiah 12:16, “And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people.’” Once you sacrifice your time in learning and understanding His words then operating His word will set you up for exploits. Secondly, your stand before God is very important and it will be the determinant of the exploits you carry out in His Name. Do you have the understanding of what it is taking a stand before Him? Psalm 24:3- 4, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.” Thank God for Jesus Christ; for shedding His blood to allow accessibility to the throne of Grace. With the grace of God being in place, living just as prescribed by the Psalmist is not impossible. Any acclaimed believer that lives with clean hands, pure heart and no any form of idol should be able to stand before Him just like Elijah did. Having a pure heart is what will bring you to the face of God. Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Lastly, Elijah carried out the exploit because he had the boldness and the character. His boldness was in the living God and he recognized that His God is alive. His character was doing what it takes to stand. He had clean hands and a pure heart. The combination of boldness and character will make a winner out of you on any given ground, to the glory of the Almighty God.

Prayer for today: Ask Him to wash your hands; not just your hands but from your head to the soul of your feet.

PRAYER IS WEAPON
Luke 22:39-46

Prayer is the weapon of destruction over every destructive force that surface on the face of earth. As a believer that wants to stand on the ground of calling, it is impossible to be asleep and be awake for prayer. A believer that is often asleep is constantly at risk. Prayer will cease and gaining entrance to heaven could be a failure. The ten virgins were all purposeful in their agenda. They all went out to meet the bridegroom. Matthew 25:3-5, “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” Having gone far in their pursuit to enter with the bridegroom, sleeping should have been avoided by getting busy in their waiting. They fell asleep and foolishness became their identity. How are you waiting? Can you tell if and when your oil is running out? You have come too far in this journey to begin to entertain foolishness. How would you have known that your oil is running out when you are asleep and not awake? A believer that is on ground of prayer and goes down, away from prayer into sleeping is having a sorrow sleep. Disciples of Jesus were on prayer ground at Gethsemane, when they were asked by Jesus to pray so that they would not enter into temptation (Lk.22:40). They all slept and could not hold on in prayer. Jesus came back and found them sleeping. He questioned them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Luke 22:46) Are you awake? The only way for you to avoid temptation is to be awake in the Lord. It does not matter how long you have been walking in the Lord, you need to stay awake and be alive. Peter walked with Him, dined with Him, but sleep sneaked up on him when he slept in the prison. Peter had people praying on his behalf. Can you boast of anyone praying on your behalf when you do not even have any prayer partner or group? Where there is no prayer sleep has taken the front seat, prayer is in the back seat while temptation is the reigning driver. The biggest trap that is involved in sleep is temptation, just as Jesus emphasized. A believer that takes prayer serious will pave the way for his or her heaven right here on earth. Daniel is one of few examples. In Daniel’s life, prayer was made a captain over captivity. While in captivity, he outlived four different rulers that did not know God: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. He was able to prevail because prayer was his major weapon.

Prayer for today: Ask the Father in Jesus name to endue you with the grace that makes a believer become constant and consistent in prayer.

REMOVE AND MOVE
Genesis 11:27-3, Genesis 12:1-5

What is it that needs to be removed from your life before you can be moved to the center of God’s assignment for your life? In anyone’s life, whenever hindrance is set in place, man will be offset from getting settled in his placement for life. Terah, the father of Abraham was a clear example when he was set to move from the land of Ur to Canaan but failed to get to Canaan. Genesis 11:31, “And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.” In truth and indeed, Terah removed himself but was not able to move to his final destination. To begin a journey and not complete is worse than not getting started on a journey. Terah could not remove himself fully in order to move to his final destination in life. There was no documentation in the Bible that specifically revealed the reason for Terah’s stagnation of not getting to the center of his journey. It was the same Canaan Land where he had decided to move to that Abraham eventually departed to when God called him out of his family. What could have caused Terah’s stagnation from getting to his desire in life? What is it that is stopping you from moving to your center of assignment? Could Terah’s stagnation be a result of comfort instead of commitment? Also, Could distraction be a factor that derailed his desired plan to get going on the journey of his life. There was no clear evidence of why Terah did not get through but it is clear that where he stopped was not his final destination. Life is a journey but getting to final destination is as important as getting the journey started. At every step in the right direction there will always be a need for things or entanglements to be removed so as to get to the final destination of the journey. Whenever there is a failure to remove what needs to be removed, getting through suffers by becoming stagnant. The Bible stated, “So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.”(Genesis 11:32) Terah died in Haran despite many years on his side to complete the journey that he started. He failed by not moving to his ground of destination. Unlike Abraham, Terah was not called by God to move. Despite that, it is absolutely a lesson of consciousness for every believer to know to focus on every journey in order to disallow stagnation. Moving into our desired ground is directly rooted in total removal from our past.
 

Prayer for today: Ask God, for whatever it is that will not allow your getting to the center of God’s assignment for your life to be terminated.

LET GOD
Psalm 68, Acts 12

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let also those who hate Him flee before Him (Psalm 68:1). How much are you letting Him or how much will you let Him? To consciously let God is to let go from all that is forcing against you on the journey of life. To let God is to be able to trust in waiting for the move of His hand at His appointed time. Daniel was set up to be permanently terminated because of the goodness of God upon his life. He was reported to the king for petitioning his God. Daniel acted against the decree that forbade petitioning another God. Daniel’s act was punishable by death in the den of the lion. Daniel did not contest nor force against the decree. Daniel let God arise on his behalf by his provoking action as recorded in Daniel 6:10, “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 knew his God and he waited on Him so He could rise on his behalf. Resting on the promises of God by obeying His commands will also let God arise in every area of bondage. In the same Psalm 68:6, it is written “He brings out those who are bound into prosperity”. God is faithful to His Word and working His Word in the lives of those that will let Him. Peter the apostle was in bondage and was set to be killed. While Peter was set to be killed, God was set to bring him out of the bondage of death. When it was time for God to get Peter out from the bondage of death, there was no negotiation with the prison officer, but there was manifestation of His power to let go. Peter, being led by the angel of God, was let go from chains and the gates of bondage. Acts 12:10, “When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.” Peter was let go by the Lord’s doing and because it was of the Lord, the gates opened on their own accord. Just as He rose on the third day, God will rise on your behalf as you seek Him for a way out of bondage or any form of stagnation.

Prayer for today: whatever has you bound, the gates will open up for you of their own accord in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

EMPTY PRIDE
Philippians 2

Do you ask yourself if you have the mind of Christ or the mind of Christ has you? Whichever way it goes, to be having or to have the mind of Christ is to live by the word of Christ. Paul, the Apostle, gave an encouraging word when he stated in Philippians 2:5,” Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The absence of the mind of Christ will make operating like Christ absolutely impossible. The Apostle Paul in his writing went further and pointed out what the mind of Christ is about in Philippians 2:8, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Christ humbled Himself and became obedient. Without humility, there is no way for any believer to be obedient to the commands of God. This is the revelation of why a majority of the self-acclaimed Christ followers today are operating without any distinction or power demonstration. Evidently, whenever the mind of Christ is not in place the power inhabited in His name is misplaced by those that confess Him. The word of God is not just for memorization but for meditation to be able to observe and do accordingly. Also, the word is not for decoration but for interpretation and application in every area of life. To be humble is to be obedient to what God requires from His children. It is apparent in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, to lack humility will lead to disobedience. All that was required of Naaman to be delivered from his state of leprosy was simple obedience to the command of Elisha, “…Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” (2 Kings 5:10) The empty pride in Naaman’s life could not allow him to respond in obedience to the man of God. The word describes Naaman’s response, “But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12) Rage and pride are evidence of a lack of humility and they lead to disobedience just like Naaman was before he turned, went back and humbled himself by washing in the Jordan River. Operating the mind of Christ is the only source of power for any believer that desires to operate the power in Jesus name.

Prayer for today: Lord let the mind of Christ become my portion to the glory of Your name.