A PRAYER FOR SEPTEMBER

Loving father, I thank you for seeing me through the year. I thank you also for bringing me to the month of September. May this month bring answers to my prayers and a miracle for my misery. May September flourish with faithfulness and love from you as I declare your goodness over my life and that of my family and friends.

The number nine represents the cycle of

Gestation. May this month be a sign that you our good Lord will unlock the wombs of your daughters praying for the sound of the cry of a baby in their homes and may mothers who are pregnant be delivered of the babies without complications. We also pray that in this month of September, our children shall be blessed in their health, studies and wellbeing. May they find favour and may that favour lead them to success, prosperity and protection.

And for us Lord, may it please you to give us grace to balance our affliction, strength for every weakness and the spirit of praise amidst heaviness and pain. Beautiful saviour, may every seed of greatness you have placed within us spring and bring forth growth. May greatness flourish in our lives and may our praise of you never run out.

Arise O Lord and let your foes flee for everyone seeking to do us harm seeks to fight against you. May we also realize when we seek to do others harm, it is you we seek to do battle with.

Bless us Lord and we shall be blessed. Save us Lord and we shall be saved.

Keep us Lord and we shall be kept.

Honour us Lord and we shall be honoured.

Amen

#wepraytothelord

PASSIONATE GOD

“Look, I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together” (Revelation 3:20).

God gave you a heart, and he has placed in you passions, desires, and dreams. But unless they are under his control, they will be misused, they will be abused, they will be misapplied, they will be misdirected, and they will be wasted in your life. All around the world, there are millions of passionate people with interests and dreams and ambitions that are being misused and abused. And it breaks God’s heart. That’s why, in spite of their talent and their passion, those people are unhappy. Because when your passions are misused, it makes you miserable.

Some of you might be thinking, “I’m not really passionate about anything right now.” You know what that means, don’t you? It means you are disconnected from God. You cannot be connected to God and dispassionate. When you are plugged in to God, it’s like plugging in to 220 volts. You get passionate!

God is a passionate God. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in his image. God is emotional. God gets jealous when he sees you ignoring him for something else. God has loved you with an everlasting love. No matter what you’ve done, he will always love you. That’s passion!

When you spend time with God on a daily basis and you get plugged in, you can’t help but be passionate. You start to develop God’s heart for the world. You start to feel the way he does. Who you hang out with really does make a difference.

I can prove that with any teenager. Put a teenage kid with a group of dispassionate kids who are apathetic about everything, and that kid will become apathetic within a matter of weeks. Why? Who you hang out with makes a difference.

Would you like to have more energy in life? More enthusiasm? More get up and go? Let me tell you where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words “en theos” — “en” meaning “in” and “theos” meaning “God.” When you get “en theos,” you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get, the more bored and apathetic you become with life. You’ve got to open your heart to Jesus.

Jesus Christ has been standing and knocking at the door of your life for a long time. But he’s a gentleman. He’s not going to bust the door down. You’ve got to open it up.

REMEMBER THIS: Jesus is standing at the door of your heart knocking. He wants you to let him in.

ASSIGNMENT: Prayer Ps 51

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for being patient and for waiting at the door of my heart all the while. Forgive me for keeping my Lord standing. I am open to you Lord. My heart, my mind, my soul I open all to you. Come and take over all that is me.

Heart Transplant

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”.

We have all had our heart broken in some way — maybe by disappointment, fear, shame, rejection, failure, or ridicule. I would say to you, as your friend, I am sorry. I really am. I care about the hurt that you have been through. God cares about you and cares too about those life threatening situations that have left you broken and filled with hurt. As odd as this may sound, God hurts with you. What was God doing when you were weeping? He was weeping, too.

In fact, it is in your pain that God is closest to you, whether you realize it or not.

The word of God says in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”. How does he do that? He saves us by giving us a heart transplant. It is his specialty, in fact.

God says, “For the heart that is guilty, I will give you a heart that is forgiven. For the heart that is resentful, I will give you a heart that is full of peace. For the heart that is anxious, I will give you a heart that is confident. For the heart that is lonely, I will give you a heart full of love. The heart that has been bitter and angry, I will give you a heart that is forgiving, loving and generous instead. Let me do a heart transplant in you. I will set you free.”

Why do we need freedom? Because we are all enslaved. We are slaves to the expectations of other people. We are slaves to past memories. We are slaves to future fears. We are slaves to current pressure. We are slaves to the opinion of society, and the list goes on and on and on.

But all you have to do is open your heart to Jesus Christ and give him your heart. Say like David in Psalm 119:32, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding”.

We must stop limiting God! We can’t even imagine how much he wants to do with our lives. Open your heart to him, and let him transplant it for his own.

REMEMBER THIS: God is close to the brokenhearted.

PRAYER: Lord all that I am, all that I will ever be is yours. Give me a heart like yours so I may love like you and be all you created me to be. Amen

MEASURE YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

2 Peter 3:17-18; But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!

All around the world, people go to church, hear sermons, pray and even fast, but many are not growing spiritually.

It is all too common for church goers to conclude they are believers and even believers to assume that these actions fulfill Christian obligations. They may complete a checklist but still have an idle relationship with God. Do you see evidence in your own life that you’re maturing in your walk with the Lord or your growth is stagnant? Let me emphasize here that you do not measure spiritual growth by your ability to speak in tongues, or by what you think you have as a result of answered prayers, or how long you spend in church.

Growth in spiritual life is a journey we must embark on everyday of our lives.

To blossom spiritually, we must be ready and willing to return to God. This happens the moment God makes us new, cleansing us of unrighteousness and adopting us as His own children. Then, we can begin to grow. However, even with this new life, we can be stagnant.

There are several indicators that reveal the quality of our Christian journey. Today, let’s explore a few of them. First, growing believers should sense a deepening hunger for Christ. As we experience more of Jesus, who is the bread of life (John 6:35), our desire for Him will increase. Second, believers dwelling closely with the Savior will notice that their discernment of sin sharpens. Faulty teaching and thinking become more obvious as we accumulate truth within our spirit. Third, our sphere of love should continuously expand. In time, the Holy Spirit enables us to care for people who previously were either unnoticed or difficult to accept.

Do you have a hunger for God and an increasing awareness of sin? Is your love available only for those who match your personal standard of performance—or do you find yourself caring about even difficult people? These are important questions to ask when evaluating your spiritual growth.

REMEMBER THIS: Growth in spiritual life is a journey we must embark on everyday of our lives.

ASSIGNMENT: Kindly make time today to answer sincerely the questions above. (If you think we should speak more kindly send a DM)

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me grow spiritually because I know on my own I can’t make it for you are the way, the truth and the life.

My lips are sealed (Matt 16:20)

Jesus strictly ordered his disciples not to tell anyone he was the Christ. The order was to seal their lips. Why would he have his disciples seal their lips about his messianic role and presence in the lives of the people. Why should they be silent about the arrival of the long awaited King?

We see that the disciples by this time were now well aware of who Jesus was based on the revelation given to Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one. Jesus ordered them not to tell anybody he was the Christ because the revelation was not to Peter alone. Everybody one way or another was to be granted the revelation of who Jesus is. Jesus wanted to share the revelation of who he is to everyone. So he told them not to stop the revelatory process. In other words, everyone will experience me. In other words, you too will experience who he is and the experience with birth your revelation. So when Jesus told his disciples not to tell ‘you’, he wanted you to see him for who he really is. You understand why the sickness did not kill you, why the lack did not leave you broken. Now you know better that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Just like Peter, you too will have an experience leading to a divine revelation of who Jesus is.

His death brought about a lot of revelations about who he is. Ah, you remember the Roman Centurion in Matt 27:54, Mark 15:39, Luke 23:47. Yes you do. You remember too what he said “surely this man was the son of God”. That is what I am writing about. That is revelation. That is why Jesus told them not to tell you so you see and know yourself. He will reveal himself to you on a level you can relate with; His Word ( John 1:1-5), through the Sacraments (Luke 22:19), even through a stranger; some have welcomed angels without knowing (Heb 13:2). Jesus could choose to reveal himself to you through an illness (John 9:3) a setback, or even a disappointment.

I don’t know HOW He will do it, but I know He will. I don’t know WHEN but I know He will. What I do know is the WHY; because He wants to reveal himself to you so your lips will confess like Peter’ “you are the Christ the holy one of God”.

ASSIGNMENT: Speak to seven people this week about Jesus Christ. One for each day of the week.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for my life and thank you because for each day is a revelation of how beautiful you are and how much you love me. May my life be a revelation of who you by my way of living. Amen

Love and blessings

F|B

You are light

Darkness cannot put out your light

In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it…. (John 1:4-5)

I know you have read that Scripture before, but have you given a thought to the meaning of the text?

Whenever things around you get dark, perhaps a period of pain, confusion, discouragement, and you feel you cannot stand the weight of what is going on around you, just remember: God put something inside of you. It is called. Light. It is called hope. You have the Light of the world in you, and try as they may, all the forces of hell can’t put it out.

Even at your weakest point, even when you feel like the light within you is so small, darkness is still no match for you. You are the light of the world.

Let me show you what I mean. Imagine with me for a moment that you’re in a large auditorium that has no windows or doors to let in light. The place is so dark that you can’t see anything, not even your hand in front of your face. Imagine again one little lightning bug flying around that auditorium. Every eye in there would turn toward it. As small as that little light is in comparison to the great darkness around it, you would still be able to see it. That massive blackness wouldn’t be able to do a thing to shut off that bug. Everywhere he flew, the darkness would just have to yield. It would always be dispelled by his light.

Well, you are like that bug. The darkness gives in when you come around. Have you forgotten you are beautifully and wonderfully made? When the circumstances around you begin to get dark and black and you’re tempted to despair and give up, think about that lightning bug.

Meditate on the fact that Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, is in you and he is shinning in you and through you. Don’t let the darkness back you into a corner. Don’t let sin dim your light because if it does you too will diminish to darkness.

ASSIGNMENT: Talk to a homeless person. Encourage him or her, and give the person a little gift; maybe some cups of rice and condiments. (Just do the little you can. Just help those you can. Feel free to plan the visit between now and December)

REMEMBER THIS: The darkness around you is no match for the light of Christ in you.

FURTHER READING: Ephesians 5:8-16

PRAYER: Heavenly Father thank you for sending your son as light for the world. I choose once again light. I choose to be better. I choose kindness and love and shun hatred and violence. Perfect my choice and make be radiate the light of Christ. Amen

PRAYER FOR THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

through whom authority is rightly administered, laws enacted and judgement decreed, assist with thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of Nigeria. Grant him good health and let him know those in his administration who are sycophants and not true nation builders. May his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion and human life by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of those in the chambers and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the actualization of the Nigerian dream; equitable distribution of resources, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; may perpetuate to us the blessing of one nation bound in freedom peace and unity.

#wepraytothelord

Favoured

Let us pray

I know you circumstances may make you be feel not good enough. But I tell you otherwise. You may be feeling like despite all you have done, you’re still at the start line. Let me remind you; slow and steady wins the race. I need you to know you have come a long way irrespective of where you are right now in life. For all we have and are, let us be thankful to God. Join me in thanking God for everything even as we pray that each day will take us closer to our major breakthrough. Let us do our part. God will do his own part. He always does.

Pray with me:

Take me there Lord for I come to you not knowing which way to take. Take him there and lead her there. Take us there Lord for on our own we won’t go far because we will give up. We have been broken and wounded. We have been victimized, exploited, and preyed on. Lord we are growing weary and tired. We are running out of strength and out of energy. We know you are there and are watching. Lead us on I pray. Give us the grace not to stop trying or give into discouragement when we get so weak and tired knowing that with you the dawn is closer than we even know.

#wepraytothelord