OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: MONDAY, JUNE 5TH 2017- DESPERATE?

Memorise: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
Read: Mark 2:1-5
1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Bible in one year: Joshua 3-5, Jeremiah 42:18-43:7

1. While some people encounter God and ask Him for nothing, some others ask for crumbs while some few ask big. Also, while some people are ready to wait until their desires are granted, some others are desperate.
2. Even though God has the ability to do all things, how fast your desires will be granted is often determined by your level of desperation.
3. Desperate people do desperate things to get results, and so, the attitude of their prayer is usually different from that of those who can wait.
4. In our Bible reading for today, when four men brought their friend who was paralysed and bedridden down to Jesus, they did not like what they saw: all the doors and windows were blocked and a big crowd surrounded the house. So what did they do? After studying the situation, these four friends observed that only the roof was free, and an idea struck their minds. They wiggled their way to the roof, tore it open, and lowered their friends into the place where Jesus was. The Lord Jesus Christ had to suspend everything else He was doing to attend to their friend.
5. How desperate are you to receive your miracle? If you say you are desperate, where are the signs of your desperation?
6. Desperate people break protocol! They refuse to wait where others would, and try out new measures that others may never think of.
7. Desperate people refuse to be limited by what limits others, and they will do everything possible to get the result they desire.
8. When God sees desperate faith in action, He is most unlikely to turn it down. Infact, God allows such. Hence, Matthew 11:12 says “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
9. If you are not desperate, you would be placed at the end of the line. If you are a bit violent, you can end up in the middle of the queue, but if you are truly desperate, you will be moved to the front, irrespective of how long others have waited to get there.
10. Desperate people are persistent. They draw up the attention of other people in their bid to get what they desire.
11. Although desperate people can really be a “nuisance”, they don’t care about who they inconvenience as long as they get what they want.
12. How desperate are you for divine intervention over your situation? Cry out to God today and let Him hear the desperation in your voice and see it in your actions, and He will surely answer you.

It’s so sad that in the body of Christ, people don’t really understand the principles to activate the blessings of God. Being desperate to received what we desire from God is not a sin as many assume. When we consider Matthew‬ ‭7:7‬ which says  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” The interpretation of this verse is that we should keep knocking and searching until we receive. It also means that getting what we desire from God is beyond just asking, it might require searching. Imagine the parable of Jesus about a woman who was desperate to get her right from the wicked judge in Luke 18:1-7 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” This story is to let us know that God wants us to be persistent and desperate. May God help us. God be praised for blessing us with Pastor E.A Adeboye. May he wax stronger in Jesus name.

Key Point
A desperate fellow persistently tables just one request before God and cannot wait to receive a positive response on it.
HYMN
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
‘All, all is well.’
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

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