I have learnt over time, that there are certain blessings you don’t have to pray for. The scriptures rightly tell us what to do if we want these blessings activated in our lives, finances, and relationships. One of such blessings is the blessing of longevity.
Long life comes from honoring one’s parents.
Eph 6:1-3 [NLT] Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise:If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
So rather than praying for a long life, focus on honoring your parents- biological and spiritual.
Likewise, the blessing of favor has an instruction attached.
Ps 5:12 [ESV] For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
This simply means for you to be favored, you have to be righteous. It’s as simple as that. You cannot be living in sin and expect the favor of God to rest upon you.
Let’s see how this verse is explained in another translation
Ps 5:12 [AMPC] For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).
A life of compromise cannot attract the favor of God.
Look at Joseph. What made him favored in the prison? It was his life of righteousness that God saw and decided to show him favor.
Gen 39:21 [KJV] But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
While it is good to pray for the favor of God, it is better to lead a life of righteousness.
There are many secrets to being blessed, all encapsulated in God’s word.
However, I’d like to share one of them with you this morning!
Let’s examine the scripture.
2Sa 6:11 (KJV) And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.
The ark of the Lord here was why the house of Obededom was being blessed.
God has given us express instruction for the coming year on Kisses and Huggs Club and in Shouts of Grace Center!
This is what we have started in the mornings with Prayer Storm and in the evenings with Praise Storm.
We are building an ark unto the Lord with our daily prayers and praise. This is why I encourage you to participate in what we are doing on Global Prayer and Praise Storms (GPPS).
It is a covenant to PRAY in the mornings (30 Mins) and PRAISE in the nights (30 Mins)
The Prayer and Praise sessions are also available afterward on YouTube because of different time zones.
Let us come together and build this ark together! Go to kissesandhuggs.org to learn more.
Let’s delve into another scripture to explore the significance of having an ark in our lives.
2Sa 6:12 (KJV) And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
Look at that. The Lord blessed his house and all that pertain unto him!
This is what I pray for you in the coming year!
May God bless you and bless all that pertain unto you in Jesus’ name!
Pray these prayers:
O Ark of Glory, come into my tabernacle after the order of Obed-Edom, in Jesus name
I receive grace and strength to pray and praise daily in the coming year through Global Prayer and Praise storms in Jesus’ name
Lord, let your ark rest in my house and my abode in Jesus’ name!