He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
God, The Embodiment of Goodness and Mercy
Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever .
– Psalms 23:6
PRAYER: FATHER, thank You for Your Goodness and Mercy towards me and my family. May Your Goodness and Mercy follow me all the days of my life. I ask that Your Goodness and Mercy be shown to all who are unsaved today in Jesus Name!
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth, I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.
Psalm 61 :1
Sometimes life can become so challenging and all hope is lost, with no friends to call on, and no helpers to beckon on. At such times we need to remember that our God is always a helper to cry out to. He listens, He cares and understands all the challenges we might be passing through. God wants his people to call upon Him for help.
Dear Saints, let us be assured that the Lord is a strength to the fainting hearts. He gives energy to his beloved who truly trust upon his name, He supplies grace to the weary hearts and fills it with gladness and Joy. He guides us through the paths of life to a safe and secured place in Him. What a relief, to know that God is guiding us through life.
God defends his people by the power of his might, The troubles, attacks and wars ravaging the nations daily are real and men and woman have been victims, but the Lord guides his own people to a Place of Refuge
Why not put your faith and confidence in God, cry unto him in faith, believe He will keep you from all troubles and lead you to his resting place.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I cry to you to help me as I walk the narrow way in this wicked and crooked world. Help me always to put my trust in You. Amen.
I Will Arise
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father; I have sinned against heaven and before thee
– Luke 15:18
Life is about choices everyday. We make decisions and take responsibilities each day. Yesterday’s decision is today’s reality, and your ability to make the right decisions per time makes you a responsible person. The prodigal son came to a point where he needed to make a life changing decision, and Bible records that, “And when he came to himself, he said…” – Luke 15:17b. This phrase suggests him coming to terms with his present predicament. He didn’t just come to his senses, but took a decision and followed it up by taking responsibility. There was no shifting of blames for his condition, no making of baseless excuses, but he rather said to himself, “I will arise…”, and he did.
Have you fallen so low that it looks like there is no hope of rising? Take a cue from the prodigal son, and arise (Proverbs 24:16). God is saying to you today, ‘Arise from that shame’, ‘Arise from that defeat’, ‘Arise from that mess’ and so forth. In the words of a man who had firsthand experience of life’s troubles, “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease” – Job 14:7. If there is such hope for a tree stump, much more, there is hope for you. Arise!
PRAYER: FATHER, thank You for past victories in my most trying times. I pray that You will grant me grace to take responsibility and make the right decisions daily in Jesus Name!
The Blessed Life: Hope for the Persecuted
You are blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s Kingdom – Matthew 5:10MSG
It is of utmost importance to know that part of the blessings of following Jesus is persecution (suffering, provoked by our commitment to Christ) – Mark 10:29-30. This truth is confirmed by the various books of the Bible – from the Patriarchs to the Prophets, and down to the Apostles in the New Testament. Each of these saints, who walked with God, had their share of this suffering for His sake. As we declare our intention to follow Jesus, the world tends to turn its fangs against us, but the good news is, “Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him who loved us” – Romans 8:37AMP.
The believer of today also suffers persecutions such as victimization in the workplace, being disowned by family, imprisonment, denial of rights, and so on. Saints of old counted it a great joy and privilege to suffer for Christ’s sake (Acts 5:41), so also must we see persecution. The Apostle James in his charge to us exhorts, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” – James 1:2 NLT
Christ, in the latter part of today’s opening text makes it clear that persecution drives us deeper into the Kingdom. This implies that the more we are persecuted, the closer we are to the Kingdom of God. The persecution you encounter today is not to break you, but to make you conformed to the Image of the Son of God, and qualify you for the Kingdom.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for the privilege of suffering for Your sake. I ask for grace to wax stronger in persecution and endure till the end in Jesus’ Name – Amen!
The Blessed Life: The Merciful
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy – Matthew 5:7
It is scriptural that whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7-8). This is also true with mercy as shown by the teaching of Christ on the mount. Christ taught that we are blessed when we show mercy; the reward is reaping mercy in turn. The Apostle Paul also corroborated Christ’s teaching when he wrote to the Ephesian Church, “And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” – Ephesians 4:32AMP.
If we sow mercy, we shall also reap mercy as taught by Christ. Life is short, and is not meant to be lived for ourselves, but for Christ and others’ welfare. According to the Prophet Hosea, when we sow in righteousness, we will reap in mercy (Hosea 10:12). For no man ever reaps what he has not sown, but every man reaps according to that which he has sown. Christ further illustrates his teaching on mercy by the parable of the unmerciful servant, and His conclusion was, “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” “So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” – Matthew 18:32-33, 35.
Indeed, prayer will be an effort in futility without showing mercy to our fellow humans. If our prayer must gain ascendency, and if we must obtain mercy from God and others, then we must show mercy. Sow mercy from today, and you will reap mercy in return.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for Your mercy over my life. Give me the grace to also show mercy to others in Jesus’ Name – Amen!
Prayer Devotional 