HEED THIS INVITATION – Thursday September 28th 2017
Memorise:
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:37
7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
7:39 (But
this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)
MESSAGE:
“How
should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except
their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?”
Deuteronomy 32:30
Although
praying corporately is good, it should never be regarded as a
substitute to a vibrant personal prayer life. Some people quote the
above scripture to justify remaining at the level of corporate prayers,
and as a result they consider efforts towards personal prayers to be a
waste. It is not a wasted effort! God wants to relate with us
individually and develop a personal relationship with us, just as much
as He wants to relate with us as a group. Open Heaven 28 September 2017:
Thursday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Heed this
invitation. For this reason, in Isaiah 51:2, He said this to us:
“Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.”
Even
when we are in a group meeting, God still wants to maintain a personal
link with each of us.
God is a personal God. When two brothers came to
give an offering to God, the Lord related with them individually (Genesis 4:3-10). How often do you spend time alone with God?
Moreover,
there are great benefits that come from staying alone with God. If we
look at the example of the widow of the prophet in 2nd Kings 4:1-7,
we can see some of the benefits of individual prayers. When she was
asked to shut the door on herself, several things happened to her, one
of which is that she went in empty but came out full. She took several
empty vessels with her into the room, and all the vessels were filled
up. Even today, as you personally separate yourself to access the Throne
of Grace, your empty vessels will be made full. In today’s Bible
reading, while attending the feast of the Jews, the Lord made a call.
Although it was made publicly, it was a personal call. He said anyone
who was thirsty could come to Him and be filled. If you can cultivate
your personal relationship with God by creating regular time to be in
His presence, you will always be filled, even when you enter His
presence empty. Today, the Lord is sending you an invitation to come
into His presence and He will fill you up. Your emptiness can be
completely swallowed up as you spend personal time with Him. Are you
ready to have your emptiness filled? How hungry are you? It is your
level of hunger and thirst for Him that will determine how filled you
will get, So, how hungry or thirsty are you today?
Action Point:
Identify things that are working against your ability to spend time alone with God and prayerfully deal with them.
Open
Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye,
the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of
Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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