Memorise: Then said his wife unto him, dost thou sill retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. Job 2:9
Read: Judges 16:24-31
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.”
25 So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
26 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.”
27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed.
28 Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left.
30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.
31 And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
Bible in one year: Isaiah 45-47, Luke 3:23-4:13
AS REVEALED BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE IN TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
1. Prayer was established by God as a means of dialogue between Himself and His covenant people.
2. Our Lord Jesus Christ engaged in prayer in His lifetime and also taught His disciples how to pray (Matthew 14:23, Matthew 6:9-13).
3. As His disciples today, we pray with the assurance of His promise in Matthew 21:22, which says: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive.”
4. The fact that our Lord engaged in all night prayer shows how significant prayer is (Luke 6:12). In Matthew 17:21, He revealed to us that some challenges in life may not be overcome without fervent prayers and fasting.
5. God’s attitude and response to prayer differs based on the identity of the person praying. 1 Peter 3:12 says: “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
6. Based on this verse of scripture, only those who are in right standing with God should expect answers to their prayers. If you have not received the gift of righteousness which comes from being born again, I implore you to give your life to Jesus today. I pray that every request you make to God as from today shall be answered by fire in Jesus’ Name.
7. Despite the obvious power of prayer and the various examples of answered prayer in the Bible, certain circumstance threaten our very existence and shake the foundations of our faith, causing us to render defeatist prayers to God.
8. A defeatist prayer is the kind of prayer made with an expectation of imminent failure, assumption of hopelessness and a resignation to fate.
9. Defeatist prayers carry a belief that God cannot intervene in the situation at hand. May you never doubt the ability of God to save you in the time of trouble in Jesus’ Name.
10. In Job 29:9, Job’s case got so bad that he was given a defeatist option of cursing God and choosing death. Similarly, after great exploits for God, followed by victories and celebrations, Elijah’s life was threatened by a wicked queen called Jezebel. He became so distressed that he prayed this defeatist prayer in 1 Kings 19:4: “… It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
11. In like manner after the Lord departed from Samson, he lost everything, including his eyesight, and he began to grind corn for his enemies in captivity. This situation forced him to pray a defeatist prayer in Judges 16:30, saying “Let me die with my enemies.”
12. Irrespective of what you are passing through, I encourage you to never render a defeatist prayer to God. Although it might not be easy, remember that your faith is toughened when it passes through fire. Therefore, have faith in God and hold on to Him. Please don’t ever give up on God!
SHORT REFLECTION BY THE LIGHT POINTERS
Believers must learn how to pray effectively and rightly. Anxiety can lead to defeatist prayer and this why apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:6 that “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” With the right prayers and faith, victory is sure for us regardless of how terrible what we are facing is. May God continually empower and increase Pastor E.A Adeboye for greater works in Jesus name.
Action Point: Father, please don’t let my faith fail in the day of adversity in Jesus’ Name
Hymn
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamp of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray
Take all my guilt away
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside
When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
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