OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: SATURDAY, JULY 22ND 2017- MISDIRECTED REQUESTS

Memorise: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:3
Read: Genesis 30:1-2
1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Bible in one year: 2nd Samuel 19-20, Ezekiel 13:8-19

1. In Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord taught His disciples the right way to pray. Prayer is an outcry for assistance.
2. It summons your ally to join forces with you in your fight against your foes in order to be victorious.
3. Usually, when an individual encounters a problem too big to handle, he will call for the help of others.
4. In the midst of a famine, when Elijah went to ask for water and food from the widow of Zarephath, he was simply praying (1st King 17:8-16). Also, when this widow’s son died and she cried to the man of God to restore him back to life, that was a prayer (1st Kings 17:17-23). Furthermore, when Rachel asked Jacob to give her children, she was praying (Genesis 30:1). In 2nd Kings 6:25-29, we see a woman praying to the king for help in enforcing her agreement to feed on another woman’s son after her own son had been devoured.
5. From all these cases, it can be established that prayer can be made to individuals, kings, men of God and ultimately, to God Himself. People also pray to the devil and his agents, when they go to them for help.
6. There are some believers who go to their villages to cry to their unsaved parents for help over a nagging issue. Such parents are compelled to consult their oracles and apply charms in resolving these issues. When this occurs, that believer has been brought into covenant with the idols consulted, thereby giving the demonic spirits behind such idols the right to manipulate their lives. 
7. Be very careful who you run to for help!
8. When Rachel asked Jacob to give her children in Genesis 30:1, Jacob got angry. Rachel even threatened to commit suicide if she did not have children. Her husband’s response in Genesis 30:2b says it all: “Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?”
9. She was directing her right request to the wrong quarters. What she was asking was beyond his ability.
10. Many times, we pray to the wrong person or send our desires to those who cannot truly help us. The Bible in Psalm 60:11 says, “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.”
11. Are you channelling your request to men instead of God? Stop doing so today!
12. God is the only one with all the resources to meet all your needs; therefore, it is wise to direct your entire requests and cries to Him alone. As you do so, He will hear you.

Some believers see their spiritual father or mother as their Saviour. They so much believe once they get to these people mentioned above all will be sorted. They address them as such also. Our father Pastor E.A Adeboye has admonished everyone channelling their request to man instead of God to stop doing so today. God is the All sufficient one and He can do all things. It’s well with us even as we do so in Jesus name. Pastor E.A Adeboye is a great blessing to our generation and may he continue to be even as he is strengthen on every side in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, visit all the widows in my local church; meet their needs and that of their children. Also, keep them pure and ready for your coming.
HYMN
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
You wilt find a solace there.

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