One thing we can daily pray for is the mercy of God over our children. God’s mercy is able to preserve, to protect, and to deliver.
God is declared in the scriptures as the father of all mercies. This means he has mercy at his disposal. We can easily reach him and ask for his mercy whenever we need to.
As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
Psalm 40:11[ ESV]
Children, God’s promise is that he will not restrain his mercy from you. His love and faithfulness are always on standby to preserve you.
So whenever the devil comes with doubts, you can easily read out God’s promise of mercy and calm your mind.
As Parents, we should always pray for this dimension of God over our children, that they will continually enjoy God’s mercy in all that they do.
The mercy of God preserves, hence, children need not be afraid or entertain fear in any form. Rather, they should be confident that the mercy, love, and faithfulness of God will always preserve them.
Declaration: My children are continually preserved by God’s mercy, love, and faithfulness. Amen
Prayer: Lord, preserve me by your mercy
Action Plan: Write out scriptures that talk about this dimension of God.
Recognizing and following Christ as the good shepherd is what will ensure you go in the right direction. And to follow, you need to trust.
Every sheep that will get the best from its shepherd must learn how to be still. Being still means to trust in the shepherd’s person, that he would never lead them to a place of danger or harm nor will he leave them in the face of trouble.
They trust him to take them to where the choicest grasses are and the cleanest of water is.
The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need. He gives me rest in green pastures. He leads me to calm waters. Psalm 23:1-2 ICB
They follow behind him, and when he stops, they stop too. An obedient sheep knows to stay within the safe boundaries created by the shepherd.
It is not in the sheep’s place to teach the shepherd what to do but to watch, listen to and obey the shepherd at all times. This is what following Christ means.
Do you obey your parents at home? When they tell you not to do something because of the bad things that could happen to you, do you listen to them? Or you do as you like, thinking you know what’s best for you?
A sheep doesn’t know what’s best for it. Only the shepherd does. Are you a good sheep following Jesus as your shepherd? Do you obey Him by obeying your parent’s instructions? These questions will help you know if you are following Christ.
The most important question that you need to ask yourself right now is this—have you accepted Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour? If yes, are you obeying His leading? If not, do so today.
May the Lord make you a good sheep. Amen.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe you are the son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I want to be a sheep in your flock. Please be my shepherd. In your mighty name, I pray. Amen.
Action point: Work on your relationship with the good Shepherd.
Declaration: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
At every point in time, we will always need people around us. We need people to do certain things for us. No one was created to be an island. We were made to live and work with people.
Kings are surrounded by chiefs and elders. Governors are surrounded by advisers and special advisers. Some special advisers also have special advisers, who will critically look at situations and proffer solutions.
In the bible, we see a scene between two kings, which ought to have ended well, but for those around one of these Kings.
The king of the children of Ammon died and David, king of Israel, sent his servants to pay condolence to this son of the late king.
Naturally, this wouldn’t have been an issue, but for those surrounding the king.
But the chiefs of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Does it seem to you that David is honouring your father by sending comforters to you? has he not sent his servants to go through the town and make secret observation of it, and overcome it?
2 Sam 10:3 [BBE]
This goes to tell you that you can’t allow just anyone into your space. You can’t submit your destiny to just any random guy.
All through marriage, you will be making decisions, so you want to be careful who you align with because a wrong decision can affect you for the rest of your life.
A supposedly harmless condolence visit led to two bloody wars, loss of lives and properties.
Another scenario we see is in the life of King Ahasuerus. He gave an instruction that Queen Vashti should come out and entertain his guests. For reasons best known to her, the Queen refused.
Now Ahasuerus was a good man. He probably would have forgiven her, but for those surrounding him.
If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
Est 1:19 [NKJV]
What is my point this morning?
Watch those who surround you. Watch those you allow into your personal space. Watch your association. They will influence you in the long run.
That is why the bible says light and darkness cannot walk hand in hand.
You cannot claim to be Christian and be moving freely with unbelievers.
You cannot claim to be a child of light and be surrounded by sons and daughters of baal. It doesn’t work that way.
To you, who need to make the right decision as regards who to settle with, receive illumination!
To you, who need to pull out of that wrong relationship, receive strength!
Shalom!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not end up with the wrong man/woman
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will lead and put you in the right association.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Cor 15:33[KJV] Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
The phrase ‘pray for your husband’ is not a cliché. It is something you should do as a matter of responsibility. This is because the man, who is the head of the home, is saddled with the responsibility of taking certain decisions from time to time. A wrong decision can put the family ten years behind. Conversely, the right decision can propel the family.
One major area you should focus your prayer on is those surrounding your husband. You see, a man doesn’t just cheat on his wife. Someone close to him must have suggested it to him. A man doesn’t wake up from sleep one morning and begins to beat up his wife. Somebody somewhere around him must have suggested it to him.
It’s good to pray for the business of your husband. How about his friends, business partners? How about those with which he sits on a daily basis to make decisions?
Let’s see a story from the bible.
The king threw a party, and being in high spirits, wanted to show forth his wife’s beauty to all and sundry.
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven unsexed servants who were waiting before Ahasuerus the king, That Vashti the queen was to come before him, crowned with her crown, and let the people and the captains see her: for she was very beautiful. But when the servants gave her the king’s order, Vashti the queen said she would not come: then the king was very angry, and his heart was burning with wrath.
Est 1:10-12 [BBE]
The king was very angry, and the next thing he did was consult those who were closest to him.
And the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times,… What is to be done by law to Vashti the queen, because she has not done what King Ahasuerus, by his servants, gave her orders to do?
Est 1:13a,15 [BBE]
Are you trying to tell me the king did not know what was to be done by law? No, he knew exactly what to do. He only needed the input of the wise men who were probably his cabinet members.
If they had advised the king otherwise, he would have done their bidding.
It’s beautiful when you pray for your husband, but don’t stop there. Pray for those surrounding him, so that one day, they won’t advise him to make a decision that will affect you negatively.
“So if it pleases the king, here is a suggestion: Let the king give a royal command and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media. The laws of Persia and Media cannot be changed. The royal command should be that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Let the king also give her royal position to someone else who is better than she is.
Est 1:19 [ERV]
May your royal position not be given to someone else!
Shalom!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will go the extra mile in praying for my husband.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask God to surround your husband with the right people.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Est 1:19 [CEV]Your Majesty, if you agree, you should write for the Medes and Persians a law that can never be changed. This law would keep Queen Vashti from ever seeing you again. Then you could let someone who respects you be queen in her place.
We are still on the journey of learning how to glorify God. Today, we will yet consider more ways to glorify God with your body; one way actually.
The way you eat.
Yes, your eating habit goes a long way to determine how you prioritize God.
Food is necessary, no doubt. We need it for our bodies to function well. Like fuel to a car, so is food for our bodies. The food you eat nourishes your body, helping it to develop as it should be. But how you eat and what you eat matters a lot.
As important as food is to you, not all food is nutritious for you. Yes, chocolate and ice cream are good, but they are not necessarily food and shouldn’t be consumed in large quantities and regularly.
Rather, eat food that will add the required nutrients to your body t aid you to grow both physically and mentally. Eat food that boosts your body’s ability to fight off diseases or sickness, so you don’t keep falling sick every week.
Don’t eat what will leave you fat, dull, and lacking energy. This could lead to depression at school or at home when friends or classmates make fun of you.
Over time, eating bad foods will affect our internal organs, which could lead to life-threatening ailments. You don’t want to put your parents in that situation, do you?
Eating well to nourish and build our bodies up is one way of keeping it holy for God.
The bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Do you think the Holy Spirit would eat junk foods? Think about it!
You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. You do not own yourselves.
1 Cor. 6:19 [ICB]
May God give you the grace to eat nourishing and bodybuilding foods. Amen.
Action plan: Watch what you have been eating. Reduce your intake of junk foods or stop it totally.
