📃 Bible 📃

GOD WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me. Psalm 66:20 Our God is faithful and merciful to His children. In this Psalm, King David praises God because He accepted his prayer. You will see in the words of today's verse, that David speaks of himself personally when he says, "Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer," so the prayers answered here are those of David. By using this testimony of David and many other testimonies in the Bible, I assure you that indeed God faithfully answers the prayers of His people. However, many criteria determine whether a person's prayer will be answered. In this Psalm, David begins by saying, "I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer." (Psalm 66:17-19) You see, David says his prayers would not have been heard if he had cherished sin in his heart. Indeed, God hears and answers prayers, but some things can hinder our prayers. Isaiah 59:1-2 says, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear." God is faithful and ready to hear and answer our prayers, but sin separates us from God and causes our prayers to be unacceptable to Him. When you see that your prayers are not being answered, know that the problem lies with you, not with God. There are many hindrances to our prayers, but the main hindrance discussed here today is sin. So do not be surprised if you see others' prayers being answered while yours are not. It is not that God has favouritism. Examine your life; maybe you are living a life that pleases God, but there is a certain sin troubling you. Strive to overcome it. Make every effort to live a holy life. God also listens to the prayers of sinners, but those prayers must be of repentance and asking for forgiveness. Only then should other prayers follow. If you have not prayed for mercy and forgiveness from God and been forgiven, all your other prayers are invalid. So repent first before asking God for your other needs. Prayer:  Lord, you are faithful. You listen to and answer our prayers. I pray that you grant me the grace to live a life that pleases you so that my prayers may find favour before you. Amen.

If You Find God, You Find Peace **"And He said, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'" Exodus 33:14** When God is with you when you go through difficult situations, He will give you rest, you will have peace and assurance of getting through safely because you know God is with you. Having God's presence with you does not mean you will not face challenges in your life, no! But it means that having God makes it different. In Psalm 23:4, God's word says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." In this verse, we see that David had assurance and peace in his heart because God was with him. Also, in the book of Isaiah 43:2, God's word says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame scorch you." When God says He is with you, be assured that everything will be alright. Now, the important thing in today’s world is, "Make sure in your life, at all times, you remain in God's presence." Do not allow anything or anyone to be a reason for you to be far from God. The cost of walking outside of God's presence is too high. Moses refused to continue with the journey to Egypt without God's presence and said to God, "If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Exodus 33:15" Just think, the whole nation stood still until they were sure that God was with them. How about you? Shouldn't you do much more? I urge you again, at any cost, to ensure your relationship with God is right. Do not let sin separate you from God, your desires. Whether someone has offended or hurt you and you have not been able to forgive them, ask God to help you. Do not let the desires of the flesh cause you to fall out with God, nor the desire for wealth and money. Be faithful in everything you do, and you will see God's presence cover and prosper you in everything you do. Prayer: Oh Lord, I ask for your presence to be with me always. May your Holy Spirit be with me, and may he teach me how to walk with Him in obedience and humility. Amen

GOD HAS APPROVED YOU "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 The most important thing in life is for God to approve you. When God approves you, no one can reject you. Even if opponents arise, God's ways are unstoppable; they will be amazed as the one they oppose is elevated daily because God has approved them. In the Good News Translation (GNT), this verse is translated as, "Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work..." 2 Timothy 2:15 GNT. The emphasis in this translation is on being approved by God. The first step to obtaining approval is to be accepted by God. Know this: all of us who believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as our Savior have already received God's approval, he has accepted us as his children. The major problem for many people is self-rejection before God due to their weaknesses; they see themselves as unworthy before God and believe God does not accept them. God's word tells us that it is important when we approach God, we do so as people who are already accepted by Him. A believer should not go before God as a cast-out. The second step concerns our lives here on earth. As we live here, we should also present ourselves as those accepted by God. Let me give you an example of a common mistake. Someone may believe in Jesus, have repented of their sins, and fully believe they are forgiven, but if you ask them if they would go to heaven if they die today, they might say they don't know. They are not sure they are accepted by God. If you have doubts about your personal relationship with God, you cannot be confident before people about your faith and purpose here on earth. Timothy was encouraged by Paul to be confident and assured of his approval before God and the work of God he was doing here on earth. So today, be diligent and strive to overcome all doubts and insecurities about yourself and the work you are doing. Be confident that what you are doing is right and that God is with you. Amen. Prayer: Lord Jesus, strengthen my faith, give me confidence and assurance that You are with me and that I am approved by You, so that I may live a victorious life always. Amen.

Your words define you "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." Proverbs 10:11 God has given us authority as stated in Matthew 16:19, which says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This authority to bind and loose is exercised through our mouths. Your mouth carries great authority, capable of building up or destroying things on this earth. Today's word says, "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life." This life comes from the words that proceed from the mouth of the righteous. The lesson to learn here is this; you will be known what kind of person you are based on what comes out of your mouth. "Your words define you." This verse highlights the difference between two people, the righteous and the wicked. Their difference is evident in the words that proceeds from their mouths. Now, you must pay attention and re-evaluate what comes out of your mouth. What do you say about the situations around you? When you face challenges, what comes out of your mouth? The key observation here is that you will know what kind of person you truly are, especially when you are provoked. When provoked, what words come out of your mouth? The other day in our word, I shared this verse, which I would like us to revisit today, 1 Peter 2:21-23, which says, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." When Jesus was persecuted and mistreated, he did not utter evil words against those people because his mouth was full of life. Even at the end, he said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" Luke 23:34 The word of God today tells you not to be a wicked person with violent words but to have your words filled with grace. Do not repay evil with evil. Do not speak evil to others; let your mouth be filled with words of blessing, wisdom, and knowledge, words that can help someone going through challenges and difficult times in their life. And also, for those who are lost, let your words be a means to gently and lovingly bring them back to God. Amen. Prayer: Oh LORD, purify my mouth and fill it with your words of life so that my mouth may be a fountain of life. Amen.

PRAYER HAS THE POWER TO REMOVE EVIL "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Psalm 7:9 There are things in our lives and in the world at large that cannot change until God is involved, because there is a great spiritual power from Satan that enables these things to exist and continue to operate. The Word of God says in Acts 10:38, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." You see that word "under the power"? For Jesus to save those who were oppressed, He needed the power of Holy Spirit, and it is also written there "God was with Him". Because some people cannot be freed from the oppression of the enemy without God's intervention. The Word of God also says in the book of Isaiah 59:14-16, "So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him." To end evil and strengthen the righteous, God must be involved. Because the origin of all evil and wickedness is Satan, and the origin of all good is God. You can not end evil and wickedness without Gods help. We you deal with evil people you Must know they are Agents of Satan where they know it or they don't. David, although he was the king of Israel and had the power to fight those wicked people. For him it was just to make one decree as a king but he knew he needed God, which is why he prayed. In your life, child of God, wickedness and oppression cannot just end on their own, or you can not end them by your own strength, prayer is needed. And even if you are a good person, you still need prayers for protection, because if you don't, the enemy will attack and destroy you completely. Prayer is the way to invite God to intervene our affairs. Therefore, take heart in the Lord and pray diligently. Prayer: Holy Spirit, I ask you to give me strength in prayer, to stand and pray for your righteousness in my life, and I also pray, "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just."