Heavenly Father, whose in Heaven, blessed and sacred is your name, may your kingdom come and may your will be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven. Father, this morning as I petition your throne; I must first thank you for allowing me to see another day, for allowing my limbs to have activity, for allowing my mind to be regulated, my steps ordered, my head anointed, my heart beating and my blood running warm through my veins. God I thank you because even when I don’t do what I know I should, you still bless me. When I don’t go where I should, you still walk with me. When I don’t say what I know I should, you still give me power in my tongue. When I don’t love like I should, you still allow folks to love me. God, I thank you because even when I don’t deserve to live and I’m too mean to die; you still allow me a fresh anointing to see another day so I must thank you. Now God, I come to you this morning as a filthy rag asking to be cleaned. God I need you to go in and do surgery on the inside of me so that I can be better than I am. God I need you to search my heart and remove hate, search my lips and remove gossip and search my head and mind and remove all the things that prevent me from being a better worker for you. God, I need you bind the enemies attacks on my life today, on the lives of my loved ones, my friends and even my enemies. Oh God, we need your help down here. Somebody is fighting a battle within themselves, today and they’re losing. God someone is fighting the demons of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs, sex, peer pressure, bullying, being abused and used; bind them now. God I ask that you bless the person reading this because they are going through something now and they can’t understand the reason for it but I am not asking you to explain it to them but I am asking you to give them strength to endure until the end comes. God somebody reading this is dealing with the sickness of a loved one, the loss of a loved one, the abuse at the hands of someone who said they loved them, sickness or disease, depression, debt that can’t get from under, obstacles they can’t go over and a mountain they don’t have the strength to climb; God do it for them today. Somebody is asking a special request from you, God, and although I don’t know what it is, I am asking on their behalf that you fill it, if it is your will. Somebody is asking for healing, heal now. Somebody is looking for deliverance; deliver them like only you can. Somebody has been running from you, going from church to church or not going to church at all but I know that you can stop their running today. Let them know that your doors are always open and that they can come. God, this world is in an uproar and we need your touch. Touch all those who are claiming to stand for you yet they are doing their own thing. Touch all those who are standing for you and doing the right thing. Touch those who don’t know what to do because I know that you do. We need you down here God and although we can live without you, our living wouldn’t be the same nor would it be worth it. Oh God, I need you and I don’t want to go along without you. Continue to bless me so that I may be able to be a blessing to others. Continue to go with me so that I may continue to go for others. Continue to be just who you are God because there is no other like you. Thank you God for giving me life, thank you for giving me a fresh anointing and thank you for blessing me even when I don’t deserve it. Now, God as I submit this prayer to you I ask that you touch that person whose faith is wavering because they think you’ve forgotten about them. Whisper into their spirit and let them know that no matter how hard this road gets, they are not alone. Do it now God like I know that you can. This prayer I submit to you, this day, because I know that tomorrow is not promised. In your name I pray, amen.
Daily Devotional – 10/09/12 “God’s favor!”
Stop feeling like you’re inadequate (not deserving) to be where you are because you’ve been placed there for a purpose! Yea, see; you’re looking at the folks around you who seem to have more experience on paper but you’ve been experienced through grace. They may even have the years under their belt but you have the belt of faith tied around your waist, so you’re covered. Why do you think you’re there? You didn’t even think you would get the job but then after the second interview you realized that it was yours. No, it wasn’t because of you but it was because of whose covering you. Don’t you know by now that God’s favor precedes you? While folks are trying to figure out how you got blessed with what you got, you don’t have to explain because what is already understood doesn’t have to be.
Oh, somebody’s spirit needs to be ministered too this morning, so let me break this thang down for you. When you’re covered by God’s favor, it’ll go before you into that job interview/promotion, doctor’s appointment, car lot when you’re trying to get financed for a loan, mortgage company when you’re trying to get approved for that home you want and even to the bank when you trying to get the financial backing to start your business. Yea, when you’re covered by God’s unmerited favor (Unmerited means not deserved which means even though we don’t deserve it, God gives it anyway… I’ll give you a few moments to let that soak in your spirit.); you got collateral that doesn’t have to be appraised, you have a signature line of credit that doesn’t have to have a credit report ran on it and you have a never ending balance that will never decrease or increase with interest. This is why Ephesians 1:11 says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” See, when God predestines us, it means that He has already decided our path, our fate, our life, our trials, our tribulations, our storms, our spouse, etc., before we were even created because predestines means to determine beforehand; preordain; to set apart for a particular use, purpose or to appoint or ordain beforehand. Isn’t this great news? God knew I would be ministering to you in this form even when I didn’t. He knew that this gift that He had blessed me with would make room for me because He had already predestined my life so when I have a momentary loss of common sense to think that I can’t, I’ll quickly snap out of it to know that I can. Will you? God has already designed your life, so trust Him and go where He sends you, say what He wants you to say, do what He wants you to do and live as He wants you to live because you are destined for greatness because He has always designed it beforehand. So believe it and then receive it!
Yea, when you’re covered by God’s favor, man can say no but God is saying keep going! When you’re covered by God’s favor, the doctors can say you’re dying while God is saying keep living. When you’re covered by God’s favor, folks can say you’ll never be nothing while God is saying you are already something. Oh, when you’re covered by God’s favor it’ll speak for you when you have no words, it’ll go for you when you have no more energy to walk, it’ll pull you up when folks have knocked you down and it’ll heal the wounds from folk stabbing you in the back. Oh, God’s favor will cover you in your storm, it’ll protect you when folks are speaking bad over your life, it’ll increase your finances when you don’t think you’ll have enough, it’ll increase your medicine when you know you should be out of it, it’ll increase the gas in your car when you know you should have run out by now, it’ll strengthen your eyesight when you can’t see in the rain, it’ll increase your energy when you couldn’t keep your eyes open while driving, it’ll increase your love for others even after you’ve been hurt so many times before and it’ll even increase your forgiveness when that’s the last thing you’ll want to do. God’s favor is having a friend close by even when you think you’re alone, it’s being full when you know you haven’t taken a bite to eat, it’s laughing when you know you should be crying, it’s loving when you know you should be hating and it’s forgiving and forgetting even when you know they aren’t even worth your forgiveness. God’s favor is flawless and it doesn’t cost an arm and leg to get. Oh, I am grateful for His favor because even when we are in our mess, it covers us; when we should be scared, it calms our fears; when we should be counted out, it makes us able to be counted on and when we should have been dead, it allows us to live. God’s favor is worthy of having and He’ll give it to you if you ask!
Daily Devotional – 10/08/12 “Yea, It’s Monday and??”
Yea, I know it’s Monday but where is the same joy you had on yesterday? Where is the smile you woke up with on Saturday? Where is that pep in your step you had when you left work on Friday? Where is that strong faith you displayed while singing in church yesterday? Or that determination you had to be better after the altar call prayer? Where are you this morning? Don’t you know that just because the days of the week change, your faith shouldn’t? Monday comes around at the same time every week so stop blaming it for your bad mood. No, it isn’t the side of the bed you got up on because it’s the same every morning. Stop allowing yourself to be a different person every time the wind blows. Be the person God has made you to be everyday because He has a purpose for your problem, He has a plan for your pain, He has a solution for your suffering, He has a blessing waiting after your battle, a shout after your struggle, a silver lining after your storm and a story after sickness. Yea, God has something for you but you have to believe that. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Yea, see, He won’t allow you to go through hell only to come out hellish but He’ll take you through hell and then bring you out a helpmate. He’ll take you through cancer to make you caring. He’ll take you through heartache to make you happy. He’ll take you through unemployment to make you understanding. He’ll take you through being lied on so that you may live. He’ll take you through lying on folks to making you a leader among many. He’ll take you through backbiting to make you the best. He’ll take you from gossiping to delivering His gospel. He’ll take you from being lost to loving. He’ll take you from wandering to being a witness and from dying to doing! Yes, God will! This is why Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Yea, it’s Monday but you’re living when somebody, who was healthy, laid down on last night and didn’t get up this morning. Somebody was on their way to work this morning but didn’t make it because somebody else ran the red light. Somebody was depressed and took their life, yet you’re still living through your pain. Somebody had to identify the body of a loved one who overdosed on drugs, yet you left yours sleeping at home. Some parent buried their child this morning yet you dropped yours off at school. So be grateful for what you have and although you wish it could be more somebody has much less! So be grateful. Somebody woke up this morning worse than you are yet you’re still complaining. You’re upset because you had to get from under the covers when someone is sleeping under a cardboard box. You’re mad because the house was cold and you had to turn on the heat but imagine the woman sleeping in a car who can’t afford to run the heat because she only has a few dollars left for gas. You’re cursing because you don’t feel like cooking breakfast but just stop for a moment and think about the single dad who is trying to figure out the next meal for him and his kids. While you are complaining about the temperature outside, somebody is living in it every day and night. All I am saying is, stop blaming Monday for your blue mood because it’s all you. Yea, things aren’t going like you want them too but it’ll get better. Your bank account may be smaller than you want it to be but you can work on that. Your job may not be the career you want but you can change that. Your body may not be the shape/size you want, work on it. You don’t have to blame Monday because just like it came, Tuesday will be here before you know it bringing the exact same issues unless you change the issue, not the day.
Daily Devotional – 10/5/12 “You have to rise to get it!”
As I sit and I think about my life, I get happy all by myself. See, I don’t have to be at church with the music playing and the pastor pumping me up to praise God because I can do it all by myself simply by thinking about all He has done for lil ole me! Yea, I won’t allow rocks to cry out for me because when I think about the fact that I could be preparing to bury my child but I’m not, I rejoice. I could be saying my final goodbyes to my momma but I am not or she could be saying her final goodbyes to me yet she’s not, I rejoice! When I think about how much worse my life could be and it’s not, I rejoice. When I walk into a job that was meant specifically for me when somebody has been waiting at the unemployment office since 5AM, I rejoice. When I can pick up the phone and call my husband, my children, my sisters, my brothers, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, my best friends, my grandma and they all know my voice, I rejoice. When I can cut on the computer and see my name typed on a cover of a book that can be purchased online, I yet rejoice! I rejoice because I am blessed like that! I REJOICE BECAUSE I AM BLESSED LIKE THAT
When God promised that your gifts would make room for you, He keeps His end of the promise but do you believe? When God says that your weeping may endure for a night but you’ll get joy in the morning, do you believe it? When God says that power of life and death is in the power of your tongue, do you believe it? When God says ask and it SHALL be given, do you believe it? When God says your healing is only a prayer away, do you believe it? No, all your days won’t be good but they won’t all be bad either but in order for you to get something that you need or even something that you want, you have to have faith and then rise up and get it. Every time Jesus healed folk in the bible, He told them to rise up, go or stand up and receive your healing because your faith has made you well. Don’t believe me, let me show you.
- Luke 17:19, “And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
- Luke 7:50, “Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
- Mark 5:34, “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
- Matthew 9:22, “Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.”
- Matthew 8:13, “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.”
All you have to do is believe it for yourself, have faith that it can be done, ask for it and then rise up to get it! This is why 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight,” because if we used only our sight to take us into places or to meet folk, we would probably miss out on a lot of things. So today, I stopped by today to tell you that in order to get your healing, your blessing, your gift, your tears dried, your bank account increased, your territory enlarged, your heart mended, your mind regulated, your situation changed, your obstacles moved, your husband or your wife, your career, your home, your car, your happiness back, your sleep back, comfort and sun after your storm; you need to have some faith that can’t be shaken by the storm, moved by the wind, knocked down by folk, stepped on by your enemies and counted out by you; that mustard seed type faith and then get up and move because with YOUR faith and God’s promise ALL things are possible.
Daily Devotional – 10/4/12 “God removes simply to improve!”
#Dose4u – God has to remove in order to improve. God isn’t punishing you just because you’ve lost some things or people, so stop wallowing in your self made pity pit!
Yea, I know that you may be upset because of how things have happened to you or over some things or folks who you’ve lost but baby, God isn’t punishing you. He is simply removing some things in order to be able to improve some things.
- That no good man/woman walked off and now you’re depressed when you should be rejoicing because they were blocking your spouse that God is trying to send your way. 1 Corinthians 7:15 says, “But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.” See, when you allow God to send the person that is for you, they won’t walk away when the going gets tough, they won’t throw in the towel when the money is getting low and bills are still due and they won’t give up on you when you’re sick or when you’re down and out because they’ve been made to stand right by your side. Just wait for them!
- You got the nerve to be mad because your house was foreclosed on and now you’re renting an apartment when you should be realizing the God in it. Your rent is probably cheaper, your light bill is lower, you don’t have to be responsible for repairs when stuff break and someone else is cutting your grass and you don’t even have to pay them. These reasons alone are worth shouting over. Be glad for the change because now you’ll better appreciate the next home you’ll be blessed with when you know better you do better. Proverbs 24:3 says, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.”
- Ok, the job laid you off… SO! Get up and get a new one or better yet go get some of those food stamps and unemployment benefits you’ve been paying for anyway while God sends you your career. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
- Your car was repossessed or stopped working, ok, now what? Crying over it won’t bring it back. Call the finance company and work out a payment plan, catch the bus, call some of those friends you always help or save until you can pay cash for one. God knew you were spending most of your paycheck trying to pay the monthly note yet you wouldn’t pay your tithes. You washed and wiped on that car more than you did they clothes you were and you didn’t even realize how much it was consuming your life, so God had to make some changes. Now, all you have to do is trust in God to replace it with what He knows you need because Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
- Oh, you got cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, arthritis, migraines, sinus pressure, tooth ache, headache, leg ache, foot ache, hand ache, shoulder ache… just all over ache but don’t you know that you’re still able to feel which means you’re alive? No, please don’t think I am downplaying any of the conditions above because I don’t personally know how dialysis, chemo, daily medication and all the time pain actually feels but what I’m saying is… If you’re still able to live through all of these things, then live and don’t allow it to consume the person you used to be. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” You are better than your burdens, stronger than your sickness, wiser than your wounds and your problem is nothing compared to your purpose. Cry out to the Lord, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise (Jeremiah 17:14) and watch Him work.
- Don’t self-destruct over the death of a loved one because they aren’t here to suffer anymore yet rejoice over their living and then you live because Romans 14:8 says, “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Death of loved ones aren’t because of things we do but death is the way we all have to go in order to live again. This is why Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
God isn’t making you suffer yet He is simply making you tougher. Psalm 71:20 says, “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” Yea, God has to remove things in order to improve them. If you lose a stone from your ring, don’t you have to remove it from your hand in order for it to be fixed better than what it was? God is the same way. The only way to restore things is for the old things to be moved. You can’t sweep the trash from under a rug if you don’t first move it. So allow God to move the things that He needs to because when God removes, He improves the things He gives back, better and greater than they were before! So trust Him to do what He promises He’ll do and stop doubting. Hosea 6:1 says, “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” No matter what you have to go through, if you trust and believe in the power that God has, He will do exactly what He says He will. Yes, God has to remove things but it’s simply to make them better than they were before He gives them back. Material things you’ll get back on this side but the folk you’ve lost; you’ll get them back on the other side. Will you make it there? Make you better, every day, in order to reap Heaven’s reward.
Lakisha, the Author 