TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 5th October 2023)
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 278TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
We bless the LORD of Heaven and Earth, who have once again, given us the opportunity to see another day. It’s of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed. In our devotional today we will be highlighting some truths on keeping the faith. God indeed says in His word that “the just shall live by faith.” If there is any time to upgrade our faith, and come to terms with the horrors of our days, it is now.
When life throws sad things at you, when expectations fail and disappointment creeps in, when people you thought were there for you, suddenly develop a nature they have been hiding all along, saying all manner of dark things against you in some cases, what do you do as a Child of GOD?
When the news of the dead of a love one demoralizes you and you cannot find the reason to live the next minute, when the enemy comes against you like a flood, the most important thing to keep alive is your faith. That is the time to lift up your faith, and say, “my redeemer lives.”
Life can be full of uncertainties. It can be full of dark times and good times. Yesterday, we spoke about doing things in God’s timing. But there are times that, despite your accuracy of spirit, and desire to synchronize your heart with God’s timings, will and ways, things will not go the way you expect.
Paul was an example. His journey of faith was full of perils and troubles. He fought with so many dark human spirits and dark hearts of governments. His life teaches that trouble does not always come because you did something evil or outside divine will.
It come because you are trying to establish divine order, will or ways; it comes because you are enforcing righteousness. But no matter how it comes, we must learn to lift up our faith to the LORD, and say “my redeemer lives.” Let me reiterate again that, the Bible says, “the just shall live by faith.” It did not say, the just shall live by struggles, fear, pain, or anything negative. Neither did He say, the just shall live by prayer, fasting, giving, singing, or going to church, as important as all these things are. He said, the just shall live by faith.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PRAYER, FASTING, AND ETC. THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER.
Understand that prayer, fasting, giving, singing, or going to Church, are only meaningful if they birth faith in us. Whatever did not impregnate faith in us, is just a form of godliness without power.
Actually, the Holy Spirit enables prayers, biblical fasting, giving, and singing; and encourages going to Church, basically to help us live by faith. If doing any of these things therefore, is not imparting faith in you, or strengthening what is already there, you are involved in forms of godliness that has no power. Friend, that is where the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire comes in!
It is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire that makes our prayers, fasting, giving, singing and even going to Church impactful. They become faith building tools because of the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.
The Bible says;
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 20-21 NKJV
The importance of faith to a Child of God, is perhaps best known by the devil, than by the Children of God today. The fierceness of Satan’s attacks against our faith, and the weak response we usually give to “faith building Churches and truths” proves it all. Faith is built by sound doctrine; what people do not want to hear all the time. And why do they not want to hear such truths?
The answer is because, they do not understand the power of having our faith built on sound doctrines. The need consciousness that present-day preachers gets the hearts of people interwoven with, is responsible for the neglect of faith building with sound doctrine.
I HAVE SAID IT REPEATEDLY, THAT MANY IN CHURCH TODAY, WILL PREFER BUILDING THEIR HOUSES THAN BUILDING THEIR FAITH.
Others will prefer building their careers, businesses, fame, families, and all they desire without giving a thought to their faith. We forget that when God says the “Just shall live by faith,” He made faith building the most important thing in the life of a Child of GOD. It is the faith of the just that will sustain his house, career, business, fame, family and all he desires in life. In simple terms, God designed that our lives be sustained by our faith. That is why Satan attacks it ferociously. Our devotional text today says it all.
The spirit realm sometimes seems to be a complicated realm. For instance, when Satan asked for Peter, to shift him like wheat, his rising profile, business, or family was not the subject of his attack. Peter’s faith was. And when Jesus moved to provide a prayer cover for him, He did not pray for his business, fame or family not to fail. He prayed that his faith should not fail because that was the focus of the attack.
A major highlight in the text says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
The subject of every satanic attack directly or indirectly is your faith. The quicker you come to terms with that, the better. Until your faith fails, your walk with God will never fail. Until your faith fails, your business will not fail. Until your faith fails, your marriage or family will not fail. Until your faith fails your ministry or calling will not fail.
The life of the redeemed of the LORD is designed to be lived by faith. Now what is faith? It is not a mental confidence. No! Peter had a mental confidence when he boasted that he will not deny Christ. But Jesus said to him before the cock crows once he will do it thrice.
The Bible defines faith as the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen. It means true faith has both substance and evidence. It is usually anchored on revelation, that is why it comes by hearing from God at an immediate present.
In other words, if God has not spoken to you about a thing at an immediate present, there cannot be true faith in you concerning that thing. True faith is a child of things (in the throne room) that have been revealed to our spiritual senses; it is a proof of things we have seen in the spirit but have not seen in the natural – a conviction of the reality of them.
APOSTLE JOHN SPOKE ABOUT THINGS THAT CAN BE SEEN, FELT AND TOUCHED IN THE SPIRIT.
Faith is usually a product of seeing from God, touching and feeling things in God that have been created to be born on earth, and taking steps that will pull them from that realm to our realm. In other words, faith is a creative force that enables the believer to create something out of nothing physical. That is why Satan attacks it. Don’t forget, Satan cannot create, he can only make use of what have been created. But with the instrumentality of faith, we can create.
We can create a marriage in God’s design, a business in God’s will, a spiritual life in God’s design, a family, and whatever is in God’s will for our lives. Faith helps us to create by seeing, touching and feeling things in the Spirit’s realm through prayer. Then, shows us what action to take, to bring them into the natural realm! That is why God made prayer a catalyst of faith, because things cannot be revealed to the spiritual senses until we have prayed effective spirit led prayers.
The Bible says;
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
Friend, any prayer that is not activating your faith by bringing you into God’s prophetic realm, is a form of godliness that has no power. True prayer mounts pressure on God to reveal Himself. True prayer is guided by truth and by the Holy Spirit. It is not religious spirit or holy flesh led. That is why it has a way of bringing us into the realm where God can be revealed. God reveals Himself sometimes by speaking or showing something to us. When that happens, faith will be born in us.
In conclusion, the Bible spoke about a faith that was once delivered to the saints. This refers to an apostolic Christian belief that was established on the revelation of Jesus Christ to the early Church. That believe can be summarized in one proclamation that Paul made; and that proclamation is, “Christ in you the hope of glory.” If you look at the Church today, there is a great falling from this faith.
People are being told to sleep with prophets and prophetesses for spiritual cleansing. Others are taught to drink the oil and treat it as the Holy Spirit. Many others are trained to give money for prayers, and other forms of sacrifices; using salt, water, brooms, and etc. to invoke deliverance or one form of supernatural intervention or the other. That is not the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
God is calling on the remnant, those He has preserved from these pollutions to rise! He is calling on us to rise and begin to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. The Bible says,
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 3 NKJV
The time to obey this call in our generation is now! What is the message of our devotional this morning? If things are not okay with you, it is your faith that the enemy is trying to attack not really your things. God is saying to us all; “come into the prayer room in such moments through songs of praise and thanksgiving, then pray unto me and I will reveal myself to you.”
When God reveals Himself to you during such moments, what the devil came to destroy will be rather fortified and you will come out victorious! That is one way to contend for your personal faith – the very faith you need to live by.
It’s my prayer that God will use these words to keep giving us an inheritance among they that are sanctified! AMEN!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalms 34:15-19 NKJV