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.
You should learn how to pray from the Bible. The bible is full of so many power-packed prayers from ordinary people like you and me; people who faced one issue or another at different times in bible history.
It’s a reservoir of prayers said out of fear, pain, and loneliness. Some were faced with destruction and had to cry out for help. Some more said prayers out of confusion, hopelessness, and despair.
Prayers for mercy, deliverance, and strength are found in the bible, said by people who were faced with huge challenges. This is one of the reasons you should learn to pray from the Bible.
Sometimes, God can lead you to a particular book, chapter, and verse in the bible as a guide to pray with. Remember the part where obedience was mentioned, in the last post? When directed to read from the bible, obey. That way, you get to know what God wants to teach or tell you about that burning issue in your mind.
Someone you can read about in the Bible is David. His story will encourage you to pray from the Bible. You will see the many times and ways he prayed to God. He asked for help, encouragement, forgiveness, provision, and deliverance. He even asked God to punish him alone and not the people for the sin he committed in 1 Chron. 21:1-13.
David praised and worshipped God a lot in the psalms. His prayers also show that he too had fears and prayed about them. He had hope in God to save him from all his enemies. And the Bible records that God gave him victory over all his enemies.
Learn to pray from the Bible. When David was afraid, lost, and unsure of what to do –
“Later David prayed to the Lord. David said, “Should I go up to any of the cities of Judah? The lord said to David, “Go”. David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord answered, “To Hebron”. 1 Sam. 2:1 ICB
When he sinned against God in 2 Sam. 2:12, he owned up to it immediately – “
…I have sinned against the Lord.”
As you learn how to pray from the Bible, which includes reading and meditation from the bible, God will bless you.
Prayer: Lord, as you lead me to read the bible, help me to grasp the meaning of what I read. Help me meditate on these readings so I can learn how to pray. Amen.
Action point: Read some Psalms of David. Note the different ways he prayed for help, forgiveness, and other things.
The Fear and Mercy Of God was taught by Rev. Dunamis Okunowo on the 1st of August 2021 at Shouts of Grace Center, Joke Plaza, Beside Trans Amusement Park, Bodija-UI Road, Ibadan. The first service of the day was on ‘The Fear Of God’ while the second service was on ‘The Mercy of God.’
Some of the points Rev Dunamis made during the first service are as follows:
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (KJV)
That Scripture talks about several things we are to do in order to be able to understand the fear of God.
Receive
Hide
Incline (set at an angle)
Apply
Cry
Lift up your voice
Seek
Search
It is when you fulfil these parameters that you will come to understand what the fear of God is.
Fearing the LORD is a basic quality every believer must have.
What you do not understand, you cannot do.
The fear of God is awe, reverence… not being frightened or scared or trembling.
What establishes your relevance in heaven is your relationship with God.
During the second service Rev Dunamis talked around The Mercy of God. He made the following points:
You are a product of God’s mercy. You are the one that God has shown mercy.
Rest in God’s mercy. Lean on His mercy.
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:6 (KJV)
But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Genesis 39:21 (KJV)
The mercy of God sets you apart.
You do not get married by looks, but by the mercies of God.
One of the greatest things God has done for you is mercy.
And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.
2 Chronicles 1:8 (KJV)
Mercy has a voice. Inside mercy there is prosperity.
To listen to messages of Rev Dunamis, go HERE or HERE
The mercy of God is one beautiful thing we enjoy from God daily. The bible tells us so
“The Lord’s love never ends. His mercies never stop. They are new every morning. Lord, your loyalty is great.” Lamentations 3:21 ICB.
God displays a basic and constant part of Himself through showing us mercy. That you didn’t need to be perfect before He sent Jesus to die for you. In your imperfect state He saw the need for His mercy in your life.
This mercy of God goes beyond Him just making us wake up and rise up from our beds every day. It shows in many ways that even you can’t count or see. Or can you name all the times God has shown you mercy in times you didn’t know you needed mercy? Some favourable things that have happened to you were just His way of showing you His mercy.
The times when you don’t ask for or even know that you need the mercy of God, He has shown up for you. Because that is His specialty. He sees the future ahead of you. He knows what is going to happen if you make friends with some classmates with questionable characters in school. That’s why He made your parents not allow you go to the party they invited you to. He knows everything about your life – He is your Creator.
The mercy of God is a constant reminder that He is still alive and working in your life. No matter what you may be happening to you right now, know that His mercies are working for you. Ask Him daily for His mercies as much as you can. He never tires of hearing you ask. Remember that they are new every morning.
May the mercy of God be yours forever and ever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer: My Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercies over me. Thank you that they are new every day. I ask that you daily load me with your mercies. In Jesus; name, amen.
Action Plan: Never forget to ask for the mercies of God daily.
This morning, we will be looking at a couple of scriptures in 2 Corinthians 4
Verse 1: Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
Okay, there is something we have to keep on seeing. “Seeing we have this ministry…” There is something we must keep in our perspective. It is the reason for the season. It is the reason for which God has laid on us individually. You see, you must come to a place where you have to lay hands on that which He has laid hold on you for. You have to keep on seeing the assignment; it is the big picture. It is that which you have to focus on.
The moment Abraham began to see something else, there were issues.
“And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless…” (Genesis 15:2a KJV)
What you see matters a lot. What you dwell on will either fill you with energy and enthusiasm or drain you and leave you dry and weak.
That verse goes on to say “as we have received mercy.”
That is powerful. We are all products of His mercy. You need to lift up your hand right now and say, “Lord, thank you for your mercy!” The mercies of God endureth forever. It is by His mercy that we have not been consumed. His word says “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion.” Thank God because you are a child of His mercy. Jesus took His blood as an offering, He was the offering and the offerer, and He went ahead into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat!
That is why God has been merciful to you and I. When I make the most costly mistakes in which I think I am a goner, the blood of Jesus begins to speak mercy! That blood speaks better things!
And the next thing it says is “we faint not”
How come we must refuse to faint, get wearied or give up? Two things there,
1. Seeing what we have
2. We have received mercy
There is something I have because of His mercy. I must focus on that and refuse to cooperate with the devil’s antics to get me depressed!
Here is amplified version of verse 1
Therefore, since we do hold and engage in this ministry by the mercy of God [granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, and especially salvation], we do not get discouraged (spiritless and despondent with fear) or become faint with weariness and exhaustion
Make up your mind. The fact that you are not in a relationship yet, should not get you discouraged in any way. Why? The mercies of God will find and locate you. The fact that your courtship got broken and you are so discouraged about it all is not enough to make you stop going to worship in His presence. The fact that you have issues in your marriage should not leave you despondent with fear! God’s mercy is what we have received and that mercy will bail you out and dispel darkness in your life!
To be continued tomorrow
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will see correctly. The light of God will dispel every darkness in me.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, let your light dispel darkness in my life.
