OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: MONDAY 18TH JUNE 2018
THEME: Want Your Prayers Answered?
HYMN 7: O Jesus, I have promised
- O Jesus, I have promised,
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my Guide. - Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
I dare not trust my judgment:
Thy way shall be my will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul. - O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend. - Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then in Heav’n receive me,
My Savior and my Friend
Memorise
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. John 15:16
Bible Reading: Proverbs 11:30-31 & Mathew 28:18-20
Proverbs 11:30-31
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Mathew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Message
Queen Esther shows us one example of how to get our request granted quickly. Although she had prepared a sumptuous banquet for the king and fed him well, she did not dwell in her own needs; neither did she make any request of him on the first banquet night.
She prepared another banquet the second night, and after being treated nice again by the Queen, we see the King himself insisting that Queen Esther ask whatever she wanted. Esther 7:2 says,
“And the King said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.”
At this point, the queen presented her request and it was granted without delay. When you follow Queen Esther’s example in your prayer life, you will get expedited answers to your prayers
Today’s memory verse reveals one of the ways to receiving expedited answers to your prayers. It clearly states that if you are fruitful, whatever you ask the Father in the Name of Jesus would be granted.
Many people do not realize the blessings that accompany the great assignment of soul-winning. I have taught my children on several occasions that the shortest route to receiving answers to their prayers is through soul-winning. This is a divine truth that cannot be wished away, because it is the word of God.
The good thing about this assignment is that you are not the one to win the souls: Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit does the job. The Holy Spirit is responsible for convicting the hearts of sinners (John 16:8). All Jesus wants of you is to make your mouth, resources and time available for His use.
What happened to Peter when he made his boat available to Jesus at the lake of Gennesaret will happen to you as you yield yourself and your resources to God for soul-winning today in Jesus’ Name (Luke 5:1-7).
It is interesting to note that after Peter surrendered his boat for God’s use, Jesus Christ did not wait for Peter to ask for a miracle; He just went ahead and granted Peter what he did not ask or bargain for: a great catch of fish that filled two boats. If he could do it for Peter, He will also do it for you when you table your requests after you have yielded your self to soul-winning
Prayer Point
Father, grant me to make myself and my resources available for soul winning today in Jesus’ Name
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 18, Acts 13:1-25
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE