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Short-Sighted Sons

And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country . . . Luke 15:11-13 There are sons who are obviously short sighted in their understanding of who a father is. In this chapter, I want to share what I believe are the characteristics of short sighted sons.

1. A short sighted son is someone who sees his relationship with his father as a time-related contract rather than a lifelong experience. A short sighted son sees his relationship with his father as some short term encounter that he must go through. He relates with his father as though he were some lecturer who must be endured during a three-year course in the university. This sharply contrasts with permanent and continuous relationships that sons are supposed to have with their fathers.

A Father is a Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He loved to climb the tree to the top, eat the mangoes, take a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by and the little boy grew up. He no longer played around the tree everyday. One day the boy came back to the tree looking sad. “Come play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore,” the boy replied.”I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, but I don’t have money... but you can pick my mangoes and sell them. Then you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. The boy did not come back after he picked the mangoes. The tree was lonely and sad.

One day the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me” the tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry but I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy did not come back to visit the tree.

The tree was lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was so delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. But the boy said, “I am so sad and I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”

The kind old tree said, “You can use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up again for a long time. After many years the boy returned again to the same tree. “Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes for you...” the tree said.

“I don’t have teeth to bite anyway,” the boy replied. The tree said, “I have no more trunk for you to climb on and play.” “I am too old for that now,” the boy said. Then the tree said, “I really can’t give you anything...the only thing left are my dying roots” the tree said with tears. The boy replied, “I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.”

The tree answered, “Old tree roots are the best place to lean and rest on. Come, come sit down with me and rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears. The tree is the father. When we were young, we loved to play with him. When we grew up, we left him only to come to him when we needed something or we were in trouble. Throughout life and through all the changing scenes of life fathers play a role to presumptuous children who think the fathers have nothing else to offer.

Presumptuous and short-sighted sons say, “My father’s time is past. He is irrelevant to the times.” But time, the weather, the elements and the realities of life will reveal to all of such people that a father is forever a father!

2. A short-sighted son sees his father as someone who is outmoded. Many fathers are seen as food that has an expiry date or some item that has become outmoded or irrelevant. But a father never becomes irrelevant. Actually, fathers become more relevant as time goes by. If your mind is open and you have a humble spirit you will recognize that a father is not outmoded or irrelevant.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Many of the blessings spoken in the Bible were given by fathers in the very last hours of their lives. Those words spoken by old departing fathers have affected generations of people. Isaac prophesied over his children in his last days. Obviously, he had not become irrelevant to the lives of his children. If he had been irrelevant what he said would not have come to pass.

3. A short-sighted son sees his relationship with his father in terms of certain “portions” he will get from his father. Indeed, a short-sighted son has a limited understanding of the things he will get from his father. The prodigal son walked away from his father after asking for his “portion”. Some children see the relationship with their fathers in terms of money or items that they can receive. Because of this, they do not benefit from the true blessing of the father. For instance, some children look at their parents as someone to pay their school fees. Beyond school fees they do not expect or want anything else from their fathers. There are other children, like the boy in this story, who see their parents as people who will give them an inheritance. They are interested in the inheritance, seeing it as the only and worthwhile thing they can receive from their father. Some children even want their parents to die so they can acquire what their parents have.

Because of this short-sighted approach they lose out on the many intangible, but even more powerful aspects that a father brings to a son’s life.

4. A short-sighted son does not see the invisible, non-tangible contributions that a father makes by his presence and influence. There are many invisible and non-tangible things that a father brings into a child’s life. How myopic can you be to think that your father’s usefulness is limited to paying your school fees? How truly myopic the prodigal son was when he thought his father’s usefulness was limited to a portion of inheritance! What did he do with the portion of inheritance? Did he prosper with the portion of inheritance? Was he successful with a portion of inheritance? Did his life change even though he had that portion of inheritance?

Certainly not! He became poorer and lost everything even though he had gone away with a complete portion of inheritance. Obviously there were certain unseen and perhaps intangible things that his father possessed that he had not yet received. Indeed he had a portion of inheritance but he had not received the wisdom and maturity that his father had to give. Without the wisdom, prudence and understanding of a father, money often amounts to nothing. A father does not only pay school fees. A father provides stability, wisdom, direction, influence, guidance, security, safety and a host of other intangible blessings.

5. A short-sighted son is someone who quickly thinks he has received all he could ever receive from his father. A short-sighted son therefore disconnects from the umbilical cord long before he should have. He is quick to conclude that he has received everything the father has to offer.

There are many people who feel that they have received all the teachings that their father has. I have met many people who say within themselves, “I know what he teaches. I know what he has to say. I know what he does.” You may ask, “How do I know?” It is the easiest thing in the world to perceive when you are with people who think they know you and they know all about you. Remember this is what the devil said to Jesus, “I know thee, who thou art.” It is this line of thinking that evil spirits latch onto and inspire sons to abandon their fathers or leave the house unceremoniously. I often notice pastors who think they know all about me. I smile to myself as they walk away with a portion they think they have received only to waste it and amount to nothing.

Sometimes a father gives a portion away but keeps some things which he intends to give at the very end. Isaac gave things to his sons at the very end of his life which he did not bother to give earlier. How immature and narrow-minded you show yourself to be when you think you have walked away with every bit of knowledge and wisdom your father has. The Karate Master There was once a master who was the karate champion of all the provinces. He was well versed in a hundred punches, kicking, knee and elbow strikes. He was also an expert in one hundred open hand techniques such as knife hands. He also knew a hundred grappling locks, restraints and throws. Above all, he had ten vital point strikes which were his winning moves. This made up a total of three hundred and ten important karate moves.

He took a special liking to one of his pupils to whom he taught a total of three hundred and nine tricks. Somehow, he never got around to teaching him the last vital move.

As the months went by the pupil became so good at karate that he boasted that he could beat everyone including his master. Indeed, he said it was only out of respect for his age and gratitude for what he had been taught that he would not humiliate his master. In the process of time the master heard about his pupil’s bragging and decided to teach his disciple a lesson. He offered himself for a match with his pupil and crowds gathered to watch the only young man who could defeat the master.

When the gong sounded the disciple rushed at his master only to be confronted with the unfamiliar three hundred and tenth karate strike. The master lifted his former pupil above his head and flung him headlong to the ground amidst loud cheers from the audience.

Later, when he was asked how he was able to defeat such a strong young man the master confessed that he had reserved the three hundred and tenth secret technique for himself in case of such an event. Indeed, there are many sons and disciples who think they have learnt everything that there is to learn, only to discover to their dismay that there were many more things that they could have learnt.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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The Temperaments and Sex

The Sanguine Husband and Sex

1. He is so responsive it does not take much to turn him on.

2. He is so open about everything he does that his wife is always aware of his mood.

3. Has a great appetite for everything including lovemaking.

4. Most have very few hang-ups about sex. They usually enjoy it.

5. Sex, like food, is one of the most important things in life to them. They are usually reluctant to take “no” for an answer when they want food or sex.

6. Can easily be hurt and feel deflated if his wife does not respond to his gestures of love.

7. May be more easily unfaithful if not sexually satisfied because:

a. The conquest of another woman is important to satisfy his ego and he finds lonely, unfulfilled women easy prey to his charm.

b. He is weak-willed and emotionally excitable and is therefore open to the unscrupulous woman.

The Sanguine Wife and Sex

1. She enjoys sex: • It is important to her.

 • She is unrestrained about sex.

• She will do almost anything sexually, if taught. • She overcomes most sexual inhibitions and can become aggressive. • She is not cadaveric in sex.

2. Men feel comfortable in her presence.

3. Her charming personality makes her a hit for all types of men and in her naiveté she can turn them on without knowing. She usually thinks she’s just being friendly.

4. Does not take too much coaxing to get her into the mood to make love.

5. Usually maintains a good attitude about sex in spite of what she might have heard before marriage.

6. She can be sexually aggressive and do the inviting.

7. She has a tremendous desire to please her husband and with a reasonable amount of encouragement will usually succeed in this area of marriage provided her partner does not hammer away at her faults in other areas.

The Choleric Husband and Sex

1. He does not indulge in much foreplay. He just wants it quickly and then he is on his way! He soon learns, however, that he has to be tender and loving.

2. Appears to be a great lover on the surface.

3. Unable to lavish affection on spouse, and impatient––this makes adjustment difficult for wife.

4. He is likely to take his wife into the bedroom without the slightest sex education himself. This is because he is usually impulsive and thinks that things will work out.

5. Learns quickly. Is practical and will therefore make necessary changes to lovemaking. If he finds that affection is exciting and that watching the woman he loves respond to his love is extremely fulfilling he will go for it.

The Choleric Wife and Sex

1. She can either make her husband very happy or unhappy sexually. If she has had a good upbringing, teaching and parents, she is exciting and creative. If she has had bad teaching, molestation by a parent/an adult, or other traumatic experiences, she is very difficult sexually (because she is opinionated).

2. If she observed a warm, loving relationship between her parents while growing up, she will enter marriage expecting to enjoy lovemaking and because cholerics usually achieve what they set out to do, she and her husband will not be disappointed in their sexual life.

3. If she has been raised in an unhappy home or environment, has been molested, or often endured traumatic experiences in childhood or has a mind that “sex is dirty” she may encounter serious difficulty in relating properly to her husband. This is because the choleric forms such strong opinions about things that once she has that idea, it is difficult (but not impossible) to change.

4. Since choleric wives are not usually given to open affection they may stifle their husband’s advances before their own motor rolls into action.

5. If not spirit-filled, the choleric wife may emasculate her husband by dominating and leading him in everything, including sex.

6. If she isn’t interested in sex herself, she and her usually phlegmatic husband may go for long periods without sex.

7. The choleric wife must not interpret a phlegmatic husband’s passivity about sex to mean he enjoys abstinence. In the end, an explosion will occur that will have a very serious and undesirable effect on the marriage.

The Melancholic Husband and Sex

1. Is a supreme idealist.

2. Usually goes into marriage without sex education because he believes the ideal will happen.

3. If his wife is amorous, exciting and very expressive, things may work out fine.

4. If he marries someone as naïve as he is, he and his wife may return from the honeymoon depressed.

5. A shaky sex life can make a melancholic husband very unhappy and depressed. This depression will turn his wife off.

6. Melancholics usually find it difficult to seek counselling and wait until their marriage is almost breaking to get help.

7. The melancholic husband is able to express true love more than any other temperament.

8. He is usually a loyal and faithful partner unless he indulges in impure thoughts that lead to promiscuity.

9. When the melancholic loves his wife he will almost overextend himself in thoughtfulness, kindness and emotion.

10. He is usually very romantic. He does the things that delight the romantic heart of a woman like playing soft music, dimming lights, using perfume, etc.

11. His analytical nature makes him learn quickly what pleases his wife and then he enjoys bringing her fulfilment.

12. If everything goes well for them they make great lovers. But since life does not turn out perfectly and the melancholic is such a perfectionist, he may almost refuse to accept anything less than perfection.

13. Little things like dirty dishes in the sink, or a messy floor can turn a melancholic off sexually.

14. He is likely to interpret, as rejection, his wife’s lack of immediate response to sex when he initiates lovemaking. If his wife tries to play a little hard-to-get-sex he is likely to think she does not desire him and may give up before she can reveal her true feelings.

The Melancholic Wife and Sex

1. Is an unpredictable love partner because she has the greatest of all mood swings.

2. On some occasions she can be as exciting and stimulating as any sanguine. On other occasions she has absolutely no interest in anything, including love. At times, she may meet her husband at the door and sweep him of his feet right into the bedroom but at other times she may ignore his arrival completely.

3. She is the supreme romantic and her moods are as apparent as the noonday sun.

4. When in the mood for love, she resorts to dinner by candlelight, soft music, and heavy perfume.

5. She is capable of enjoying ecstatic love at heights that would choke other temperaments, but she does not do that frequently.

6. To her, quality in sex life is preferable to quantity.

7. Of all the temperaments she is the one who gives love as a reward for good behaviour and no man enjoys that.

8. She can be excessively religious about sex especially if her mother had a problem in this area.

9. She may use religious arguments and Bible verses to excuse her sexual abstinence.

10. Probably, the real reason for her sexual abstinence may be that she has a fixed idea before marriage that sex is not a good thing.

11. She may hardly give herself the opportunity to learn that sex is good and desirable.

12. Is usually interested in sex when she wants to get pregnant and have children.

13. Seemingly little things can be turned into huge problems for the melancholic wife, for example, her husband’s

a. inability to balance the cheque book,

b. failure to run an errand,

c. neglect to bath.

These may thoroughly upset her and send her into quiet revenge. She has to realize that she is cheating herself out of both the enjoyment of lovemaking and the loving approval of her husband.

14. She has the potential of being an exciting and fulfilling love partner if her weaknesses do not overpower her strengths.

The Phlegmatic Husband and Sex

1. Does not say much about the bedroom life––is close-mouthed concerning his personal life.

2. Most comments about his intimate life will come from his angry spouse who is usually also very biased.

3. Usually would have little trouble gaining the love of his wife because he rarely embarrasses or insults her, sarcasm is just not his way and he will usually not embarrass her publicly or say anything derogatory.

4. Since he rarely gets angry or creates irritation, he usually extinguishes his partners fire by a soft answer before bedtime.

5. Phlegmatics are more prone to letting their wives initiate lovemaking.

6. His wife may soon feel unloved because he does not assume initiative in the bedroom––wife sometimes loses respect for him because he does not assert his manhood.

7. May produce resentment in his wife because he is stingy, politely stubborn and self-indulgent, which is equal to being selfish.

8. Usually finds it difficult to talk about anything and therefore does not tell his wife what he finds exciting about lovemaking.

9. He will silently endure less enjoyable relations with his wife for years and therefore rob both he and his wife of many ecstatic sexual experiences.

The Phlegmatic Wife and Sex

1. Will usually give in to her more forceful mate than to create turmoil.

2. Is easily satisfied and will often turn her attention to her children if trouble arises between her husband and herself.

3. She rarely initiates lovemaking but will almost never turn her husband down because she wants to please him.

4. Her lovemaking is greatly affected by fear and anxiety (she may fear pregnancy, disclosure, embarrassment and a host of other real and imagined dilemmas). She can easily be afraid that her husband may lose respect for her if she appears too eager or forward in lovemaking.

5. She must learn to create and maintain interest in her personal appearance like hair, attire and weight to please her husband.

6. Her disorganization may cause such resentment in her husband that it may spill into their bedroom life.

7. Her husband must endeavour to be a strong, gentle and thoughtful lover who learns how a woman functions best and take time to arouse her to orgasm.

8. Once she learns the art of lovemaking, her desire for the experience will overpower her tendency to be passive thus making her an exciting partner.

9. Her husband must be someone who verbally assures her of her worth and his love so that she can draw courage to overcome her fears.

10. Must learn to overcome her inability to speak about the way she feels and communicate with her spouse about their sex life.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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Communication in Marriage

Speaking the truth in love to one another makes us grow up in our relationship with God. Similarly, speaking the truth in love to each other as married people makes us grow closer to each other.

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Ephesians 4:15

A husband and wife must be the best of friends; share every success, disappointment, joy and pain together.

Speak

Husband and wife must always make the effort to speak to each other (the children in turn learn this). A clear sign of unhappiness is when the couple are very quiet at home but immediately a visitor arrives, they begin to talk. They, however, revert to silence when the visitor leaves.

1. Communication results in growth.

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Ephesians 4:15

2. Speaking brings relief and healing.

I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show mine opinion. For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.

Job 32:17-20

3. Choose to speak life.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Proverbs 18:21

(a) Speak good things about your spouse, e.g. “I love you, you are wonderful, you look sweet, your food was good, you look charming”, etc.

(b) Confess positive things about your marriage.

(c) Express your love to each other verbally.

(d) Speak about things that you do/do not like.

(e) Speak to edify.

Speak the Truth

1. Speak the truth, and be transparent to each other.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25

2. If we are allowed to think about these things, then we can say them.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

3. Do not pretend. The truth will show up later, but it may be too late.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Colossians 4:6

Speak the Truth in Love

1. Speak the truth by all means, but speak it in love.

This means:

(a) Be careful how you communicate what you have to say.

(b) Be careful when you communicate what you have to say.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Proverbs 25:11

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!

Proverbs 15:23

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

Isaiah 50:4

2. Do not be carried away by your emotional distress.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Colossians 4:6

I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show mine opinion. For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.

Job 32:17-20

Avoid These Things

(a) Shouting

(b) Insulting

(c) Arguing to win6

(d) Always bursting into tears

(e) Doing all the talking without listening to the other side

(f) Always keeping quiet and refusing to communicate

(g) Avoid words like “never” and “always” which confer a permanent negative verdict on the person. Some examples are:

i. You are always late!

ii. You are never there when I need you!

iii. You never do anything right

Some Examples of Things Not to Say

(a)I will slap you!

(b) I will divorce you!

(c) “Swine!”, “Twerp!”

(d) You are hopeless!

(e) You are hopeless!

(f) I blame myself for marrying you!

(g) You can go to hell!

(h) You call yourself a man!

(i) I hate you!

(j) Can’t you be like Mr. X or Madam Y?

(k) You are ugly, you are a witch!

(l) This marriage will not last

(m) I don’t think we are meant for each other

(n) Prostitute!

(o) Bitch!

(p) If you misbehave, I’ll leave you!

(q) I don’t love you anymore!

Other Ways of Communicating

(a) Giving of gifts/presents.

(b) Touching and kissing.

(c) Writing of notes/letters etc.

(d) Signs and gestures.

(e) Singing (indirectly conveying a message in song––this can be good or bad; always choose the good).

by Dag Heward-Mills

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Ruth

1. Ruth 1:16-17 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee:  for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:  thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:  Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried:  the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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Overcome in Your Marriage by Fighting to Survive

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

You must fight to gain control and bear fruit in your short life on this earth. Few of us can live in this world without getting married. Most of us need marriage and need women in our lives. To say that marriage will help your ministry is to over-simplify things. The written Scriptures reveal many negative things about marriage and women that should scare any Christian. Marriage can be more of an extra war than a form of help.

Marriage will help your ministry, but marriage will also introduce certain problems and conflicts into your life. Without marriage, you will also be subject to another group of problems. Where there are no oxen, stables and rooms are very clean. Once you have cows, you are going to have the problem of cleaning up your surroundings.

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4

Choosing to marry is to choose the kind of problem you want to have. It is going to be either this problem or that problem. You must gain the upper hand in the marriage experience so that you can fulfil your calling.

A declaration of war must be made. You must accept that you are at war because you are married. Accept that your marriage may be a section of the war you are called to fight. You will have to learn new survival strategies. You will have to develop ways to adapt and to live as a warrior. Instead of enjoying a soft life of ease, pleasure and satisfaction, your marriage may simply be war.

Once you are married you are stuck! She is stuck to you and you are stuck to her! You have to stay with what you’ve got! You have to fight and you have to survive without becoming bitter, immoral or divorced. Can you overcome? Can you survive? Yes, you can and yes, you will!

Accept the fact that you may have entered into a war by getting into marriage. Satan wants to use your marriage to turn you into a phantom of what you were actually called to be. Many married people do not fulfil their calling or their ministries. Many married pastors are phantoms of what they were really called to be.

Fight the “spirit of the phantom”! There is a devil that wants to use your marriage to turn you into a phantom of yourself. Satan wants you to become a fraction of what you were born to be.

Satan’s plan is to destroy you through your marriage. Through the problems of your marriage, satan intends to lead you to the spirit of fornication, adultery, bitterness and hatred. This is the strategy to turn you into a phantom. You must do any and everything not to become irrelevant in ministry through divorce. Identify the spirit of fornication that is sent to turn you into a phantom in ministry. You must do any and everything not to become irrelevant in ministry through marriage.

Identify the spirit of bitterness that is sent to fight against you. Do not allow bitterness to turn you into a phantom. Bitterness will change your spirit and make you cynical and angry. Therefore you must do anything and everything to forgive your spouse. Otherwise, you will become irrelevant in ministry. Declare that you will walk in forgiveness and that you will love whomever God has given you!

You must overcome discouragement! Take consolation in the fact that you are not alone. Most of the things that you experience are also being experienced by others. Know that women can be used as weapons of war. You are a winner! You are more than a conqueror! Your destiny is clear! You have overcome in every situation!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Warning: There is a Woman in the Basket

Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is appearing.” I asked, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a measuring BASKET.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.” Then the cover of lead was raised, and THERE IN THE BASKET SAT A WOMAN!He said, “THIS IS WICKEDNESS,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth.

Zechariah 5:5-8 (NIV)

This is a prophetic book. It is a book that speaks prophetically about women and their marriages to ministers of the gospel. Marriage brings out the true, and often surprising, behaviour of Christian women. A prophetic revelation is an uncovering of hidden realities so that there can be light and deliverance for God’s people.

The scripture above shows an interesting vision from the prophet Zechariah. He saw a basket before him and asked the angel, “What is this?”

The basket represented the iniquity of the people in the land. But there was more to come. The basket had a lid. And when the lid was removed, behold, there was a woman in the basket!

This vision shows that there is a basket with a surprise woman in it. This vision shows how a woman can be a surprise to you. This book is a revelation about the women that are hiding in the basket, ready to be revealed in your life. The woman who will come into your life is in a covered basket. She may be the greatest surprise of your life!

When the woman in the basket was uncovered, the angel exclaimed to Zechariah; “This is wickedness”! In other words, wickedness would be manifested by and through this woman. This is wickedness! What a shock! What kind of wickedness is this? It is the surprise wickedness that would come to Zechariah and to the world through the woman.

The angel quickly slammed the lid shut to contain the wickedness in the basket. He wanted to prevent the wickedness in the basket from coming out. The wickedness in the basket was the woman. Don’t forget the statement, “This is wickedness”.

Many pastors have been surprised by what was in their basket. Just as Zechariah was shocked when a woman came out of the basket, they are surprised that a woman or a wife could be the source of problems. There are many who can say that the greatest problem of their lives is the marriage they are in. Many pastors who do not do well have difficult marriages.

Instead of the angel saying, “This is a nice person,” or, “This is a gift to you,” he said, “This is wickedness”! The angel could have said, “This is the greatest blessing of your life.” He could have said, “This is something precious that will make you happy.” But he did not! He said, “This is wickedness”! The woman you see in the basket will be the instrument of wickedness against you!

In this book, we are going to learn about the different surprises that men of God have experienced from the basket. For some of them, the most appropriate exclamation has been, “This is wickedness”!

Perhaps, within your basket is a perfect pretender or a silent beauty. Some people open their basket and find a “Wild Cat”, a “Jezebel” or a “Poor Performer”. This is wickedness! Other ministers have been shocked to discover a “Quarrelsome Queen” within their basket.

There are pastors who feel ashamed to describe The Unmotivated Asexual personality they have married. Perhaps, the greatest surprise in the basket is the “Quarrelsome Queen” and the “Unyielding Opposer”, because the woman they met in church was once so pleasant and so caring. This is wickedness!

Indeed, it must have been a surprise when the basket yielded no other than a woman who was a “Prison Officer” as well. Who would have ever thought of getting married to a “Prison Officer”? This is wickedness! In the basket was the one who would keep them in a virtual prison for the rest of their lives.

There are still more surprises to come from this basket of wickedness. A divorce-prone beauty can rise out of the basket to send you to the divorce courts at one point or another of your life. Little did you know that the woman you were getting married to was not capable of submitting to a man!

I can only imagine the shock that some men have had when they discovered that they were actually married to a mental patient. “My wife is depressed, anxious and irritable. My home is an unofficial mental institution. There is no peace and it does not make sense because there should be a lot of peace.”

It is sad to hear the lamentations of some husbands as they describe the Uncaring Independent woman they have. And what of the “ Loveless Oldie”? She is the surprise who will rise out of the basket in her middle age!

It is time to believe that the vision of Zechariah’s basket is a reality. It is time to be ready for the surprises that lay in wait for men of God. It is time to be ready to combat the wickedness that is hidden in the basket of life.

The Spirit of Cleopatra

One day, I had a surprising revelation. Whilst counselling a stubborn, “unchanging” wife to love her husband and be nice to him, I heard a voice saying, “It is Cleopatra. It is Cleopatra.” I was amazed because the Lord was showing me the spirit I was dealing with. I was dealing with “the spirit of Cleopatra”.

Indeed, some men open their basket of marriage and find in it the spirit of Cleopatra. What on earth is the spirit of Cleopatra? I researched a bit and found out many amazing things about the spirit of Cleopatra.

The spirit of Cleopatra comes to draw you, to seduce you, only to rear up in pride like a cobra. Everyone has seen a picture of a rearing cobra that lifts itself up in readiness to strike.

Why does a cobra rear up in pride? A cobra rears up to oppose you, to attack you, to bite you, to accuse you and to destroy you. The spirit of Cleopatra is an evil spirit that possesses some women and makes them rear up in pride to oppose you. Through the spirit of Cleopatra, your career and ministry can be brought to an end.

Cleopatra is famous for being brought to Caesar rolled up in a rug. When the rug was rolled out, there was beautiful Cleopatra. Cleopatra then proceeded to seduce and charm Caesar. The sign of Cleopatra is called the “Uraeus”. The “Uraeus”, Cleopatra’s symbol, is the sign of the rearing cobra!

A woman with the spirit of Cleopatra is brought to you nicely wrapped and beautifully presented! It is because of the beautiful presentation of this person that you are attracted, captured and seduced in the first place.

After you are married, you will see the cobra rear itself. When the cobra rears itself, it is your time to experience the pride, the opposition, the accusations and the sharp bite from a woman. People who are married to the spirit of Cleopatra experience a proud woman full of opposition, unending reasons, arguments, accusations and fault-finding. The spirit of Cleopatra will sting you and end your ministry. May you be delivered from the evil spirit of Cleopatra from today!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Ten Keys to Understanding Your Attraction to Women

1.Understand What Beauty Is

The unspoken cry of many young men is: "I see a beautiful girl!  I want to have a beautiful girl!  I want to marry a beautiful girl."   However, many young men do not understand their attraction to women. God is very concerned about who you get attracted to.  The person you get attracted to may become your girlfriend or your wife.  She may then destroy you or she may help you.  Many things are going to happen and much “water is going to pass under the bridge”.  Will your marriage make you or break you?  This is what God is concerned about.

When God was instructing the Israelites, He was very concerned about whom they became attracted to. He knew that those who became close to the Israelites could turn their hearts away from Him.  God knew that the wife would influence the husband and the husband would influence the wife.  I am a married man. I influence my wife and my wife influences me.  It’s as simple as that. Sometimes men think that as the head of the home they will always lead the way.  But you must realize that your wife does influence you.

Solomon was a great man.  He had seven hundred wives and three hundred “official” girlfriends. (Imagine how many baby dedications he had to attend)!   Solomon was a wise man.  One day, Solomon prayed to God in a way that really touched God’s heart.  He didn’t ask for money or a new car; he rather asked God to give him wisdom to be a good leader.  God was so touched that He decided to give Solomon more wisdom as well as all the riches he did not ask for.

My brother, can you see that Solomon really loved God?  Can you see that he was really called of God?  And yet, in his latter years Solomon began to backslide.  He became a fetish worshipper.  He became an idol seeker.  He left the ministry and resigned from his church.  

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods:  and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 1 Kings 11:4

He started well, but ended badly.  How could this happen to Solomon?  The answer is simple.  Solomon married the wrong women!

First of all, some of his wives were not believers.  Secondly, although some of them were, they were lukewarm.  Some of his girlfriends did not love the ministry as much as he did.  Remember, Solomon had the purest of motives.  No one ever prayed like Solomon did.

Some of the ladies just loved the glamour of being married to King Solomon.  They didn’t mind being the 21st or 75th wife.  All they wanted was the position (many women are position-minded).   After many years, the effect of the wrong marriages and wrong relationships began to tell.  Solomon was not as strong as he was before.  He could not continue quarrelling with his wives over church.  Solomon was tired of arguing about where to go for fellowship.  Solomon wanted peace in his old age.  So he just “flowed” with his backslidden wives.

My dear friend, if this is what happened to Solomon whose name is in the Bible, what do you think will happen to you?  If you make the mistake of getting attached to the wrong person, you may live to regret it. The spiritual brothers will say, “Oh, I love her, because she’s so spiritual.” The aristocratic brothers will say, “Oh, I love her, because she’s so educated.” The Goobley-Gob tribe will say, “I love her because she is from my tribe.” Whether a man is spiritual or not, he is attracted to the beauty of a woman.   Marriage is something you must not take lightly or wantonly, but soberly and in the fear of the Lord, duly considering the causes for which marriage was ordained.

Since physical beauty is so powerfully attractive, it is important to understand how it works.  If you do not understand it, it will overpower you and lead you along a dark, dangerous and slippery path.  

2. Understand That Beauty Is Important

...beauty is vain... Proverbs 31: 30

Beauty contains the power to attract you.  From this verse, you might conclude that beauty is not important.  But that isn’t true.  Beauty is vain, but very important.

Why then is beauty vain?  Beauty is vain because it will fade. An elderly lady once came to my church to minister.  She took out a photograph of a very beautiful young girl and asked the congregation to identify her.  Everyone said the photograph was a picture of her daughter.  Her reply was a big surprise.  She revealed that she was the one in the photograph.  This elderly lady had changed so much with the passage of time.  Her beauty had faded away.

The old lady said to us, “Look how ugly I am.” She went on to make the point that life was like a vapour, appearing for a short while and then disappearing.  I realized how temporary beauty really was.  Beauty is vain because it will fade.

If all you look for in a marriage partner is beauty, then when the beauty begins to decrease with the years, you will look for another beautiful face.  Although beauty fades away, it is still important, because whoever you marry must look nice to you!  After all, you will look upon her until you die.

This is the secret every woman must know.  Your beauty is important in getting and keeping your husband’s attention.  If you had to look good to get him, then you will have to look good to keep him!!

Some Christians who feel they are being led by the Holy Spirit do not look at the beauty of the person they choose.  Do not make the mistake of closing your eyes when choosing a partner.

But the Bible tells us:

...she[or he] is at liberty to be married to whom she will...               1 Corinthians 7:39

You must marry somebody whom you want to marry! Do not marry somebody just because she was recommended to you.  You must be satisfied and happy with what you see.  You are going to live with that person.  Marriage is something you must enjoy and endure. You must marry somebody who looks nice to you!

When I first met my wife I thought she was the most beautiful person in the world.  And I still think she is.  Her physical beauty has always been important in my attraction to her.  Beauty will count in your happiness and satisfaction in marriage.

3. Understand That Everyone Is Beautiful

Every woman is beautiful.  Every woman has the power of attraction.  There is nobody who is not beautiful in one way or the other.  

I will praise thee:  for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...               Psalm 139:14

Everyone has some beauty about him or her.  You should never think that you are not beautiful.  God took time to design you, to create your nose just the way it is.  Perhaps He made your ears small, and your lips as full as they are.   God has not made you a disappointment or a disaster.  He does not make such things.   If you are short, being short is beautiful.  If you are black, being black is beautiful, and if you are white, being white is equally beautiful.

I am black, but comely... Songs of Solomon 1:5

I do not know what you are, but God made you that way.  Look at yourself in the mirror, and admire yourself.  There is no need to change any part of your body. Accept what you are, and believe that you are beautiful because God made you.  Some ladies think of themselves as ugly because someone teased them when they were young.  Maybe in school they called you names.  So although you have grown into a beautiful young lady, you still believe those lies.

Do not listen to those lies; they are just jealous of you.  When people tease you, they are probably jealous of you because you have something they do not have. You must begin to appreciate beauty in everything that God has made.  Some people are not happy with what they have.  But there is some beauty in every man and in every woman.

Look at yourself in the mirror again and say, “Lord, I thank you because I’m beautifully and wonderfully made!”

4. Understand That Beauty Lies in the Eyes of the Beholder

As an African, I have often wondered how similar Chinese people looked.  Sometimes, I have not been able to tell the difference between two Chinese women.  Sometimes they look alike, having the same eyes, same face, and same skin colour.  This is my perception. However, a Chinese man will be able to see the difference.  To him, some of the Chinese ladies are strikingly beautiful and some are even ugly.  But to an African they may all look the same.  

In the same way, a Chinese man may not be able to tell the difference between two Africans.  So we judge beauty by what we have been taught by our society.  Our environment affects our perception.

The typical African will be looking for certain physical features before concluding that a woman is beautiful.  He may be looking at how plump she is, how big her ‘bomboms’ are!  The European might be looking for a woman who is thin and tall!

I chose my wife because, to me, she is beautiful.  Beauty therefore depends on who is looking.  Be confident about your choice, since it depends on you.   Beauty depends on who is looking.  So be confident about your choice.

5. Understand That Each Age Has Its Beauty

There is the beauty of a sixteen-year-old girl that a thirty-year-old woman does not have.  There is the beauty of a thirty-year-old woman which is different from that of a sixteen-year-old.  There is a beauty of the forty-two-year-old lady, and another beauty of a fifty-six-year-old.  At each age, a person possesses a particular beauty.  Therefore, there is no need to wish that your wife or husband would be sixteen years old again.  

Each age has its own type of beauty, which cannot be repeated.  You cannot become young again! The beauty of each age is given by God.  You can never rewind to the beauty of a past age.  You cannot go backward and you cannot go forward.  You are what you are.

Some people think that you can only be beautiful when you are very young.  But that is not true.  I know some beautiful fifty-year-old ladies.  And I know some beautiful sixty-year-old ladies.  At each stage of your life God makes you attractive.  

6. Understand That Beauty Is Like a Flower

...if she pass the FLOWER of her age, and need so require...let them marry.

1 Corinthians 7:36

Attraction has a point at which it blossoms like a beautiful flower.  Most plants have a flowering stage.  And the plant which flowers is the one that is attractive to both insects and humans.

The same can be said about a woman.  There is that age in a woman’s life we call the flower of her age, or the flower of her beauty.  That is when you are most noticeable.  That is when you are most beautiful, and when men propose to you.  For some women, this stage comes for a short while, but for others the period is longer.  Unfortunately, the development of the mind and maturity of most Christian sisters does not correspond to the development of their beauty.  This leads many of them to reject the right partner. When they are at this stage, a brother may propose to marry them and they would laugh it off.

Just because you are in the flower of your age should not make you laugh at people who want to marry you.  You keep tossing the suitors away.  You make jokes about them.  You show others the letters they wrote to you.  But what you do not know is that this period does not last forever.  You must not only use your emotions.  You need to use your mind.  Rely on the Spirit of God and wise counsel to know when to marry and whom to marry. Remember that the peak of your beauty and attractiveness is indeed like a flower—it is temporary.

Many ladies miss the opportunity to get married.  They miscalculate during the “flowering” stage of their lives.   All of us have a stage at which we are most attractive. It is given by God for a season and a reason.  

7. Understand That Attraction Depends on Many Factors

Everyone God has made is beautiful.  But this beauty can be enhanced by several factors.  Beauty depends on your hair, your dressing, your make-up, and even the time of day or month.

But if a woman have long hair, it is a GLORY to her...               1 Corinthians 11:15

The beauty, and therefore the attraction you see in a lady can increase or decrease depending on certain things.  A lady’s dress today may make her look outstanding.  Her hair style tomorrow may make her lose marks.  Even the mood of the lady affects her looks!  Pimples are often caused by emotional disturbance.

Beauty depends on many factors, so invest in those factors. The Christian wife should not use pregnancy and babies as an excuse for being careless about her looks.

Some husbands do not even care what their wives look like!  But you admire other people’s wives on television. As a good husband, you must be concerned about your wife’s clothes because her attractiveness depends on that. Many young men become confused about the looks of their fiancée. They wonder, “Did I choose a beautiful girl?”  They oscillate in their feelings towards her.  What is happening here is that they are confused by the normal variations in beauty and attractiveness. If all that you are looking for in a woman is physical beauty, you are likely to be confused.

8. Understand That External Beauty Depends on Internal Beauty Outward beauty depends on the inward beauty.  If you are beautiful inside it shows on the outside.  Sometimes I see people and I know that they are not doing well spiritually.  

I saw two pictures of a lady who had converted from witchcraft to Christ.  One photograph showed her when she was practising witchcraft, and the other when she had accepted Christ.  They were two different people.  When you are doing well spiritually, the beauty of it shows outwardly.  

Proverbs 7:11-27 describes a strange woman who is very attractive on the outside, but very stubborn and loud.  Such a person is beautiful outside but ugly in character and emotions.  Some people, especially unbelievers, try to polish their outside whilst they are so nasty on the inside.  

Young men, look for inner beauty.  The Bible calls it “a meek and quiet spirit”. A beautiful wife once threatened to slap her husband in public.  She was definitely a beauty on the outside but a tigress on the inside. Young men, do not be impressed by what you see on the outside.  Look out for the inner beauty.  In spite of the fact that my wife is physically beautiful to me, I saw something inside her that attracted me—the inner beauty.  When a person has a good spirit, and a good heart, it adds to the person’s beauty.

9. Understand That Beauty Is Given in Portions

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity...for that is thy portion... Ecclesiastes 9:9

You need to realize that beauty comes in portions.  Everyone has a portion, but nobody has it all.  Your portion is what you are entitled to.  Your portion will include some things, but not everything.  You cannot have a black and a white wife in one person.  Your wife may be an excellent cook, but she could have problems with being a hostess when your friends come home.   That is your portion, and God expects you to be content with her.

You may know a friend’s wife who is very good when visitors come home.  You may admire the way she receives, chats and talks with the guests.  You may appreciate her confidence and range of knowledge on political issues.  But you may find that she is not able to cook very well.  Her stews may be like soups, and her soups like stews!  But God expects you to be content with your wife, including her weaker points.  Be content!

No matter how hard you look, you will find out that your portion has its strong points and its weak points. The Bible tells you to enjoy life with your portion.  You can’t have it all.  So accept your portion and enjoy it, because that is the way God intended it to be.

Do not reach out for somebody’s portion because everyone is entitled to only one portion.  One man, one woman.  Remember the Genesis story:  

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.                                                                      

Genesis 2:18

Adam had only one portion—Eve, and not Eves.  Adam was not given Rose, Rosemond, Rosalyn, Rosemary, or Roseanne.  He was given only Eve. You are not allowed to have two portions.  When you go to a party and you have been served with some food, you may realize that your portion of rice is larger than your neighbour’s.  But if you look closely, you will find that your neighbour’s piece of chicken is larger than yours.  

You dare not stretch out your hand to take your neighbour’s portion of chicken, because you have your own portion. You must learn to be satisfied with the portion that God has given you.

10. Understand That Spirituality Is Preferred to Beauty  

...beauty is vain:  but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

The Bible compares a beautiful woman with a woman who fears the Lord.  If you ever have to choose between beauty and spirituality, choose spirituality. Your portion may not be so beautiful, but very spiritual. Your woman may have certain godly characteristics.  Choose that!  If ever you are faced with such a decision do not hesitate to choose the godly woman, because it is the woman who fears the Lord who will be praised.

Once you are married you will confirm the fact that beauty is always secondary to godliness. The spiritual person who knows and fears God will become more and more attractive to you as the years go by.

Beauty has very little to offer, apart from what you see.  But the spiritual person has her faithfulness, her character, and godliness to offer you.

You may not believe it, but just ask those who have gone a bit further down the road, “Which one is more important?”

Beauty or character?

Beauty or spirituality?

Beauty or integrity?

If your wife does not pray, you are in trouble.  Find a woman who prays.  Find a woman who is deep into the things of God.  If you marry a greedy, selfish and lazy woman, you will find yourself living in hell.  You will suffer, not because she is not outwardly beautiful, but because she is inwardly ugly.

A person who is ugly inside but beautiful outside can be compared to a cemetery.  A cemetery is well decorated with flowers, but as you come a little closer and go deeper, you will see dead men’s bones and teeth sticking out.  

A woman without a godly character looks nice on the outside but go a little further and you will find an angry, lazy, and devilish person.  Be careful, my brother.  Go for the spiritual person.  

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Steps to Abigailism

In medical science, when you are able to make out the diagnosis of the disease you are often far advanced in curing it. If you are not able to put your finger on the exact problem, it is often difficult to solve it. You will ask yourself, “Which of these one thousand different medications should I administer to the patient?” You are still very far from the problem when you have not identified it.

1. The first step to solving many problems is diagnosis.

First, Abigail recognized and acknowledged truthfully that she was married to a churlish personality. Acknowledging that your husband has the character and the tendencies of Nabal is the first step in the art of Abigailism.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

1 Samuel 25: 25

2. The second step is to stop pretending that the problem is not there.

Many people practise what we call denial. They pretend that the problem is not there. They say that black is white and white is black. Daughter, pretending that a problem is not there does not make it go away. Calling a white thing black does not make it black.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

There are many women who want to hide their problems. They feel that they are disgracing their husbands. There is a fine balance between denigrating your marriage, humiliating your husband and talking frankly about a problem that exists. To denigrate your husband means to blacken his reputation. This is wrong and a woman with direction does not do that!

A daughter of destiny is not so secretive that no one can help her.

A certain amount of openness allows you to be helped. Dear woman, the problems that you have are not new. Read the Bible and you will realize that the problems you have are not peculiar. Speaking about your problem is not wrong if it is done in the proper context and for the right reason.

3. The third step of Abigailism is to ask for help.

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

1 Samuel 25:24

Many people need help but not everybody wants it. My experience in the ministry has taught me to give help to those who ask for it and not just to those who need it. There are many needs everywhere. If you try to help some needy people, they may attack you to show their gratitude. We once experienced this when our church built a facility for a community.

Abigail asked David politely to listen to her and understand what she was going through.

4. The next step is to realize that God is the one who gave you your husband.

When you are conscious of the fact that God is the one who established you in marriage, it will help you to realize that it is God who preserves the marriage.

A woman, who is conscious of the fact that God brought her to where she is, never wants to be separated from the Lord. She needs the help of the Lord in everything that she does. It is God who will keep you going.

When you have this conviction, you immediately work from God’s point of view and from God’s side of the fence. A woman practising Abigailism is on the side of the Word of God.

5. The next step is to speak wisely to your husband.

And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

1 Samuel 25:36

The Bible says here that she told him “nothing, less or more”. She did two things. First of all, she said nothing to him. It is not wise to say some things. If she had told of her donations to King David, she may have been executed that very night.

Secondly, “less or more” means in other words, she did not say anything unusual to him. Her conversation with him did not centre on the controversial issues. She told him only what he needed to know.

A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.

Proverbs 29:11

If you learn how to speak wisely, you will be successful at Abigailism. Some women quarrel with their husbands constantly. They fight about every issue and argue about every point. Men do not like arguments. Men do not like to be shouted at. Men do not like to feel they have lost an argument. No man likes to be put down. Be wise when dealing with men. Abigailism is the key you need. Abigailism means that you speak wisely to your husband.

6. The next step is to give soft answers.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1

A woman practising Abigailism employs the weapon of soft answers. A man gravitates towards a woman with soft answers. A man yields unknowingly to a woman with soft answers. Be a woman with soft answers and you will successfully combine your marriage with your ministry.

7. The final step is to act wisely.

In a hopelessly difficult marriage, Abigailism prevails. A woman with direction is able to act so wisely that she preserves her marriage and her ministry.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, God reveals the master plan for winning in hopeless situations.

A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Ecclesiastes 10:14-16

This story applies to any circumstance. It applies to a hopeless marriage, business or church. It applies to your case, in which your husband is unyielding and insensitive to the things of God. You will win in this fight because God’s wisdom is the master key to overcoming impossible situations.

A wise wife does not stir up controversy with her husband. As you provide your husband with his daily requirements he will be at peace with you. If he feels that he is deprived in any way he will look for the culprit. Many Christian women unknowingly cause the church to look like the destroyer of their marriages. Their husbands see the church and its pastors as rivals. They perceive the ministry as their enemy. Soon, the only feeling that he has for the pastor is resentment. It is sad that many husbands hate the church.

It is the duty of a woman with direction to act wisely. Do not deprive your husband of food, sex or peace at home. In fact, load it on him until he is suffocating with your love. He will be charmed by your sweetness and will have nothing to complain about.

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation (behaviour) of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

1 Peter 3:1, 2

Are you married to a Nabal or to an Apostle Peter?

Coming to church must be done with great wisdom and circumspection. If you are married to someone like Nabal, you cannot afford to behave like someone who is married to Apostle Peter. Your circumstances are entirely different!

What is the result of Abigailism? When the art of Abigailism is practised, there is peace at home and peace in the Kingdom of God. Abigail prevented David’s men from killing and destroying her entire household.

Many women do not realize that when their husbands are destroyed they will be destroyed as well. The mystery of marriage is that if your husband goes down, you go with him. The entire family of Abigail and Nabal would have been destroyed by David’s army. Abigail would have died with her husband and children. Abigailism saved their lives.

Abigailism also preserved Abigail’s relationship with the man of God. She was still connected to the move of God that was taking place through David. You will recall that Abigail believed in the prophecy that David was to be the next king. She was flowing with the things of the Spirit and nothing would cut her off. Abigailism is the key you need.

Notice David’s response to Abigail. It was peaceful and there were no curses or proclamations made against her family.

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

1 Samuel 25:32, 33

Nabal, on the other hand, continued in his life of foolishness and drank himself to death a few days later. You will see from the Scripture below that Abigail did not do anything to make him angry. In fact, he was so happy that he had a party. Abigailism does not bring about confusion and quarrels. It makes the husband so happy that he has parties!

And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

1 Samuel 25:36

Apply the wisdom of God to your life and you will effectively combine your love for God with the love for your dear husband!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

With All Your Getting, Get Understanding

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7

Getting understanding is not the same as getting a breakthrough. It is certainly not an instant solution. But understanding will lead you to the solution. Wisdom is most useful for direction.

When you have wisdom and understanding, you will be a different kind of woman.

Women who give themselves to reading are people of understanding. People who bother to go to university are people of understanding. In the natural, such people have an easier life.

When you thoroughly understand the cause of a problem you are better able to solve it. That is why medical doctors spend so much time trying to diagnose problems. Understanding the problem is often 80% of the solution.

Do you want an easier life? Then get understanding. Make the effort to understand the curse of the Garden of Eden. Understand the root cause of all frustration.

In this book, you will learn about the frustrations of women. You will understand the things that hinder women. Through this understanding you will become a victorious woman.

I cannot say anything greater than the Word of God. Get understanding! Get wisdom!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Confessions for Cancelling Debts by Faith

I declare that by the grace of God I am debt free!

I owe no man and I am blessed because I owe no man!

My business and life do not depend on loans and debts!

Christ has set me free from the curse of debts!

According to Deuteronomy 28, it is a blessing to lend and not to borrow. From today, that is my portion!

I am a giver and a lender. I am not a borrower!

I am free to walk in town. I am not terrified by warning letters, phone calls and angry creditors!

I owe no man!

I am so blessed that when people come to pay me I give it back to them!

All outstanding bills and unpaid debts are cancelled in the name of Jesus. This is my faith and I declare it boldly. It shall come to pass practically in my life!

I am not broke!

I am not down!

I am not under!

I am above!

My business is succeeding!

My life is improving!

The things in my house are not acquired by debts!

I really own the things I have!

I do not owe any of my fellow church members anything!

I am free from the curse of debt!

I don't owe any money!

From today, I am free from the yoke of debt!

Christ has set me free from the bondage of financial traps!

Every trial of the devil upon my life has turned into a testimony. I have many testimonies. Testimonies of healing and victory!

Every mountain in my life is flattened in the name of Jesus. I declare that every crooked path shall be made straight. The mountain of impossibility has become

possible in the name of Jesus!

I have overcome the curse of poverty from perpetual debts in the name of Jesus Christ. And I am redeemed from all of my problems!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Confessions for Attaining Wisdom

I am a creative and innovative person. I have bright ideas for the present and for the future!

My mind is alert and active!

I am learning new things everyday in church!

I am not confused!

I have trusted in God and I will not be ashamed!

The wisdom of God is better than the wisdom of man!

The wisdom I have is the wisdom that comes from above. It is pure, peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated!

The wisdom I have is without hypocrisy and partiality!

I am experiencing Solomonic wisdom!

I have an abundance of wisdom!

I am not a rebel. I will never be a rebel. Rebellion is not for me!

I have wisdom for business!

When I hear the Word of God, I immediately obey. Because of this I find myself being led by the good shepherd. When I wake up in the morning I see green pastures all around me!

The waters nearby are still waters. There are no rough waters near me. Because I am following the wisdom of God I have no defeat or failure in my life!

My enemies are constantly surprised at my success and breakthrough!

My cup is running over!

I am blessed in the morning and I am blessed in the evening!

Wisdom has brought me promotion!

Because I am so wise with the wisdom of God, I have been promoted!

The wisdom of God has exalted me!

I am moving ahead because of wisdom!

I have wisdom for business, wisdom for school and wisdom for good relationships!

I do not enter relationships and break up!

I have stable and long-lasting relationships because I am wise with the wisdom of God!

I am getting more wisdom everyday!

I am not an old king who can no longer be advised!

In all my getting, I am getting more wisdom!

I seek the counsel and advice of many counsellors! Because of that I have safety in all that I do!

I lend myself to counsel and advice!

I will not go in the way of Judas, Adonijah, Ahitophel and Lucifer!

I am a winner man!

Winning ideas are flowing through my mind!

Intelligence, insight and common sense flow through my mind and affect all of my decisions!

Dullness, daftness and stupidity are far from me!

The spectrum of my thoughts is wide enough to appreciate all the factors that concern me!

The latitude of my mind and thoughts is broad enough to understand all things!

I understand natural and spiritual things!

I have great insight into history, geography, literature and other arts!

I understand law, medicine, sociology and philosophy!

I am not confused by the wrangling of false religions and deceitful philosophies!

I know what they teach, but I do not accept it!

My brain is not limited!

I am a leader because I have the wisdom to lead!

Wisdom is making me happier!

Wisdom is making me into a better person!

Wisdom is making me richer!

I am not intimidated by anyone. I can relate with all kinds of people!

From today, I have no inferiority complex!

I can relate with managers, ministers of state and presidents!

Many people treasure the advice that I give them. This is because I speak wisdom!

When evil men entice me, I do not follow them into sin!

I do not enter unwise partnerships!

Wisdom has made me into a hard worker!

Wisdom has made me into a man of integrity!

I am a man of moral rectitude and uprightness!

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Why the Bible Is Superior to Every Other Book

Most people do not understand the uniqueness and superiority of this great book. It is a book like no other book. If someone asks you for the meaning of the word unique, you might as well say it means "Bible". Unique in the dictionary is defined as: the one and only. It also means: to be different from all others, having no like or equal.

Twenty-Nine Reasons Why the Bible Is Superior to Every Other Book on Earth

1. The Bible is superior in the fact that it is the most reliable historic document of all time.

When we do not have the original historical document, we must establish how reliable the copies are. This is done in two ways:

i. The more identical manuscript copies of the original we have, the more sure we are that the copies reflect what is in the original document.

ii. The shorter the time interval between the copy and the original, the more sure we are that the copy reflects what is in the original.

"There are more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Add over 10,000 Latin Vulgate and at least 9,300 other early versions (MSS) and we have more than 24,000 manuscripts copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today."

"No other document of antiquity even begins to approach such numbers and attestation. In comparison, the book Iliad by Homer is second with only 643 manuscripts that still survive. The first complete preserved text of Homer dates from the 13th century."

John Warwick Montgomery says that "to be sceptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament."

Sir Frederic G. Kenyon, who was the director and principal librarian of the British Museum and second to none in authority for issuing statements about MSS, says, "…besides number, the manuscripts of the New Testament differ from those of the classical authors, and this time the difference is clear gain. In no other case is the interval of time between the composition of the book and the date of the earliest extant manuscripts so short as in that of the New Testament. The books of the New Testament were written in the latter part of the first century; the earliest extant manuscripts (trifling scraps excepted) are of the fourth century - say from 250 to 300 years later."

"This may sound a considerable interval, but it is nothing to that which parts most of the great classical authors from their earliest manuscripts. We believe that we have in all essentials an accurate text of the seven extant plays of Sophocles; yet the earliest substantial manuscript upon which it is based was written more than 1400 years after the poet's death."

Kenyon continues in The Bible and Archaeology: "The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established."

2. The Bible is superior to other books because archaeology has constantly confirmed its historical accuracy and validity.

"Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist, wrote: "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference." He continued his assertion of "the almost incredibly accurate historical memory of the Bible, and particularly so when it is fortified by archaeological fact."

William F. Albright, known for his reputation as one of the great archaeologists, states: "There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition."

Albright adds: "The excessive scepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history."

3. The Bible is superior in its unity and continuity. Over forty authors wrote sixty-six books over a period of 1,500 years. Many never saw the writings of the others and yet there is no contradiction between any two of them.

Collect any group of books of any other forty men on any subject and see if they agree.

Nine Facts about the Unity and Continuity of the Bible

a. The Bible was written over a 1,500 years span.

b. The Bible was written over 40 generations.

c. The Bible was written by over 40 authors from every walk of life:

§ Moses, a political leader, trained in the universities of Egypt

§ Peter, a fisherman

§ Amos, a herdsman

§ Joshua, a military general

§ Nehemiah, a cupbearer

§ Daniel, a prime minister

§ Luke, a doctor

§ Solomon, a king

§ Matthew, a tax collector

§ Paul, a rabbi

d. The Bible was written in different places:

§ Moses in the wilderness

§ Jeremiah in a dungeon

§ Daniel on a hillside and in a palace

§ Paul, inside prison walls

§ Luke, while travelling

§ Others in the rigors of a military campaign.

e. The Bible was written at different times:

§ David in times of war

§ Solomon in times of peace

f. The Bible was written during different moods:

§ Some writing from the heights of joy and others writing from depths of sorrow and despair. g. The Bible was written on three continents:

§ Asia, Africa and Europe

h. The Bible was written in three languages:

§ Hebrew: The language of the Old Testament. It was called "the language of Judah" in 2 Kings 18:26-28 and in Isaiah 19:18, "the language of Canaan".

§ Aramaic: This was the "common language" of the Near East until the time of Alexander the Great (6th century BC - 4th century BC).

§ Greek: The New Testament language. This was the international language at the time of Christ.

i. The Bible includes in its subject matter hundreds of controversial subjects. A controversial subject is one, which creates opposing opinions when mentioned or discussed. Biblical authors spoke on hundreds of controversial subjects with harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation. The result is one unfolding story: "God's redemption of man!"

What F.F. Bruce Said about the Bible

"Any part of the human body can only be properly explained in reference to the whole body. And any part of the Bible can only be properly explained in reference to the whole Bible."

"The Bible, at first sight, appears to be a collection of literature - mainly Jewish. If we inquire into the circumstance under which the various Biblical documents were written, we find that they were written at intervals over a space of nearly 1400 years."

"The writers wrote in various lands, from Italy in the west to Mesopotamia and possibly Persia in the east."

"The writers themselves were a heterogeneous number of people, not only separated from each other by hundreds of years and hundreds of miles, but also belonging to the most diverse walks of life. In their ranks we have kings, herdsmen, soldiers, legislators, fishermen, statesmen, courtiers, priests and prophets, a tent-making Rabbi and a Gentile physician, not to speak of others of whom we know nothing apart from the writings they have left us."

"The writings themselves belong to a great variety of literary types. They include history, law (civil, criminal, ethical, ritual, and sanitary), religious poetry, didactic treatises, lyric poetry, parable and allegory, biography, personal correspondence, personal memoirs and diaries."

4. The Bible is more distinctive than every other book ever published. The Bible is superior to other books in its origin, formation, doctrines, principles, claims, moral tone, histories, prophecies, revelation, literature, present redemption and eternal benefits.

5. Unlike other books published, the Bible has a vast influence in this world. The Bible has blessed millions of people of every generation. The Bible has contributed to the creation of the greatest civilizations on earth. It has given man the highest hope and destiny.

6. The wisest most godly and honest men in this world acknowledge the Bible as the Word of God. Only infidels and ungodly people reject the Bible.

7. Unlike many other books, the Bible was written by honest and godly men. This is because it condemns all sin and records the sins and faults of its writers as well as others. This is something evil men would not do. Even good men would not do this unless they were inspired to do so to help others.

8. The Bible meets all the needs of mankind. All man's present and eternal needs are met by the Bible.

9. The Bible has been preserved through the ages. Whole kingdoms and religions have sought in vain to destroy it. God has made the Bible indestructible and victorious.

10. The Bible is superior to other books because the heavenly and eternal character of its contents prove it to be of God.

11. The preaching of the Bible changes the lives of people. The response of humanity to this great book shows that it is of a supernatural and superior nature.

12. The Bible is superior in its infinite depths and lofty ideals.

13. The Bible stands out in supremacy by the unbelievable number of prophecies that it contains. About three thousand three hundred prophecies have been fulfilled. Predictions made hundreds and even thousands of years earlier have been fulfilled. Not one detail has failed yet. About 2,908 verses are being fulfilled or will be fulfilled.

14. The Bible is superior in its miraculous nature. Hundreds of miracles are recorded in the scriptures.

Miracles happen daily among those who pray and claim Bible promises.

15. The Bible is alone in its flawlessness. The Bible is scientifically and historically correct. No one man has found the Bible at fault in any of its many hundreds of statements of history, astronomy, botany, geology, geography or any other branch of learning.

16. The Bible is superior in its adaptability. The Bible is always up to date on every subject. It can be applied to the lives of people who live in Africa, Asia, Europe or America. It was useful to people who lived a thousand years ago and it is still relevant to the people who live in the twenty first century.

17. The Bible is superior in its moral and spiritual power. It meets perfectly every spiritual and moral need of man.

18. The Bible is superior in its doctrines. The doctrines of the Bible surpass all human ideas or principles of relationships, religion and culture.

19. The Bible is superior because it claims to be the Word of God. Over three thousand eight hundred times, Bible writers claimed that God spoke what they wrote. In other words, the Bible itself claims to be the Word of God.

20. The Bible is superior in secular history. Many pagan, Jewish and Christian writers confirm the facts of the Bible. They actually quote the Bible as being genuine, authentic and inspired of God.

21. The Bible is superior in its worldwide circulation. Most authors have their books circulated within communities. You will be surprised to find that many authors who are very popular are not known at all in other parts of the world. Not so with the Bible!

23"The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book. There have been more copies produced of its entirety and more portions and selections than any other book in history.

Some will argue that in a designated month or year more of a certain book was sold. However, over all there is absolutely no book that reaches or even begins to compare to the circulation of the Scriptures."

What HY Pickering said about the Bible

Hy Pickering said that about 30 years ago, for the British and Foreign Bible Society to meet its demands, it had to publish:

One copy every three seconds day and night, 22 copies every minute day and night, 1,369 copies every hour day and night, 32,876 copies every day in the year.

It is deeply interesting to know that this amazing number of Bibles was dispatched to various parts of the world in 4,583 cases weighing 490 tons!23

22. The Bible is superior in its worldwide translations.

The Bible was one of the first major books translated (Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, ca 250 BC). It has been translated and retranslated and paraphrased more than any other book in existence.

Encyclopaedia Britannica says "by 1966 the whole Bible had appeared… in 240 languages and dialects… one or more whole books of the Bible in 739 additional ones, a total publication of 1,280 languages."

Three thousand Bible translators between 1950-1960 were at work translating the Scriptures.

The Bible factually stands unique ("one of a kind; alone in its class") in its translation.

The Bible is superior in its continued existence through the years.

Being written on material that perishes, having to be copied and recopied for hundreds of years before the invention of the printing press, did not diminish its style, correctness or existence. The Bible, compared with other ancient writings, has more manuscript evidence than any 10 pieces of classical literature combined.

What John Warwick Montgomery Said about the Bible

"To be sceptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament."

What John Lea Said about the Bible

John Lea in The Greatest Book in the World compared the Bible with Shakespeare's writings. He had this to say:

"It seems strange that the text of Shakespeare, which has been in existence less than two hundred and eight years, should be far more uncertain and corrupt than that of the New Testament, now over eighteen centuries old, during nearly fifteen of which it existed only in manuscript.

With perhaps a dozen or twenty exceptions, the text of every verse in the New Testament may be said to be so far settled by general consent of scholars, that any dispute as to its readings must relate rather to the interpretation of the words than to any doubts respecting the words themselves. But in everyone of Shakespeare's thirty seven plays there are probably a hundred readings still in dispute, a large portion of which materially affects the meaning of the passages in which they occur."

24. The Bible is superior in its ability to survive persecution.

What Sidney Collett Said about the Bible:

Voltaire, the noted French infidel who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history. But what has happened? Voltaire has passed into history, while the circulation of the Bible continues to increase in almost all parts of the world, carrying blessing wherever it goes.

Concerning the boast of Voltaire on the extinction of Christianity and the Bible in 100 years, Geisler and Nix point out that "only fifty years after his death the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to produce stacks of Bibles." What An irony of history!

In AD 303, Diocletian issued an edict (Cambridge History of the Bible, Cambridge University Press, 1963) to stop Christians from worshipping and to destroy their Scriptures.

"…An imperial letter was everywhere promulgated, ordering the razing of the churches to the ground and the destruction by fire of the Scriptures, and proclaiming that those who held high positions would lose all civil rights while those in households, if they persisted in the profession of Christianity, would be deprived of their liberty."

The historic irony of the above edict to destroy the Bible is that Eusebius records the edict given 25 years later by Constantine, the emperor of Diocletian, that 50 copies of the Scriptures should be prepared at the expense of the government. 

25. The Bible is superior in its ability to endure criticism.

What H.L. Hastings Said about the Bible

H.L. Hastings has forcibly illustrated the unique way the Bible has withstood the attacks of infidels and sceptics.

"Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases, and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before.

Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt.

When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, "Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers." So the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures.

If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives."

What Bernard Ramm Said about the Bible

"A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What book on philosophy or religion or psychology or belles letters of classical or modern times has been the subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and scepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet?

The Bible is still loved by millions, read by millions, and studied by millions."

26. The Bible is superior in the nature of its prophecies.

Wilbur Smith who compiled a personal library of 25,000 volumes writes:

"It is the only volume ever produced by man, or a group of men in which is to be found a large body of prophecies relating to individual nations, to Israel, to all the peoples of the earth, to certain cities, and to the coming of One who was to be the Messiah;

The ancient world had many different devices for determining the future, known as divination, but not in the entire gamut of Greek and Latin literature, even though they use the words prophet and prophecy, can we find any real specific prophecy of a great historic event to come in the distant future, nor any prophecy of a Saviour to arise in the human race.

"Mohammedanism cannot point to any prophecies of the coming of Mohammed uttered hundreds of years before his birth. Neither can the founders of any cult in this country rightly identify any ancient text specifically foretelling their appearance." 

27. The Bible is superior in its honesty. The Bible deals very frankly with the sins of its characters. Read the biographies today, and see how they try to cover up, overlook or ignore the shady side of people. Take the great literary geniuses; most are painted as saints. The Bible does not do it that way. It simply tells it like it is.

28. The Bible is superior in its influence on surrounding literature.

What Cleland B. McAfee Said about the Bible

Cleland B. McAfee writes in The Greatest English Classic:

29"If every Bible in any considerable city were destroyed, the Book could be restored in all its essential parts from the quotations on the shelves of the city public library. There are works, covering almost all the great literary writers, devoted especially to showing how much the Bible has influenced them."

What Kenneth Scott Latourette Said about Jesus

Kenneth Scott Latourette, former Yale historian, says:

"It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many peoples and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount."

A professor once remarked: "If you are an intelligent person, you will read the one book that has drawn mo 29. The Bible is superior because it has set unusual records.

i. The Bible is the first religious book to be taken into outer space.

ii. It is also one of the (if not the) most expensive books.

Gutenberg's Latin Vulgate Bible sold for over $100,000. The Russians sold the Codex Sinaiticus (an early copy of the Bible) to England for $510,000.

ii The longest telegram in the world was the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament sent from New York to Chicago.

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Twelve Steps to 100% Answered Prayer

Prayer is a privilege that God has given to His children.  We can talk to our heavenly Father directly and receive answers.  I realize from the attitudes of many Christians that they do not believe that God really answers prayer.  But why pray if you will not get results?  I believe that you can have one hundred per cent results every time you pray.

Why pray if you will not receive an answer?  Many people take prayer to be some kind of religious routine they must perform.  God’s Word guarantees us a hundred per cent results every time we pray.  If you look closely at the Scriptures that speak about prayer, you will discover that Jesus did not say that we might possibly (perhaps, maybe, in the sweet by and by, all things being equal) get an answer to our prayers.  He said that we would get an answer!

I wrote this book for you!  I want you to receive one hundred per cent results every time you pray.  If it is real, it is real!  If it is not real, it is not real!  If God exists, then He can answer your prayer.

Is God alive?  Is He real?  Can He hear?  Is He deaf?  I am sure you know the answers to these questions.  God is alive and well and He wants to bless you.   If my God were a piece of wood or a stone, I would not serve Him.  We do not worship the sun, the moon or the rivers.  We worship a Living God who has power to save and to deliver.

Elijah once challenged the false prophets of Baal.  He told them, “There is no use in serving a god who is not available.  Our God is either alive or He is dead.”

…Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking or he is pursuing [using the bathroom!], or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 1 Kings 18:27

The god Did Not Speak!

Some years ago, a friend of mine went to a city about a hundred kilometres outside of Accra, the capital city of Ghana.  He was accompanying his parents to their hometown.  Whilst in the town he had the urge to urinate.  Unfortunately, there was no appropriate toilet around so he went into an open space to relieve himself.  As he was urinating, he heard screams and shouts from behind.  Since he was already in the process, he had to finish.  Then he turned round to face the anger of some local residents. “What are you doing?” they exclaimed.  “How can you do this?” They went on, “You are urinating on our god!!  Don’t you know that the stone on which you are urinating is our god?”

This young man apologized profusely but there was nothing he could do about it.  He had already bathed their god in his urine!  

When I heard this story I thought to myself, “If you are a god, can you not say anything when people urinate on you?  Can you not protest at the first sprinkle of urine?  If you are a god, at least say something when someone urinates on you!”

What am I trying to say?  If God is alive, then He must be able to respond to you.  He has given us His Word and He has promised to answer our prayers every time.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. Psalm 91:15

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer… Isaiah 58:9

These Scriptures tell us that God will answer us.  God shall answer!  How much more definite can it be?  Either the Bible is true or it is not true.  Either you believe it or you do not!  Jesus said,

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11:9  

There is no word that expresses a stronger assertion than the word shall.  I see God answering your prayers right now!  By the time you finish reading this chapter, you will experience 100% answers to all your prayers.

1.THE FIRST STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  LEARN HOW TO PRAY YOURSELF WITHOUT NEEDING ANYONE ELSE TO PRAY FOR YOU.

Jesus taught us to pray to our heavenly Father.  Many people do not know how to pray for themselves.  They want somebody else to pray for them.  They ask the pastor to pray for them.  They kneel down before prophets and request special prayers.  There is nothing wrong with being prayed for.  But God wants you to learn how to pray for yourself!

There are some pastors who entrust themselves to prayer warriors.  They depend on other people to pray for them. But you must consider the prayer support of friends and prayer warriors as an extra bonus.  If it happens – fine!  If it does not happen – fine!  You cannot depend on it.

Your Christian life should not depend on another person’s prayers.  Jesus said, “You ask the Father.”  You are supposed to be able to pray yourself.  Remember that the prayers of a righteous man avail much (James 5:16).  You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  You are righteous!  You are righteous enough to get results for your prayers!  Start praying for yourself now!  Do not depend only on your pastor.  He may be snoring when you think he is praying for you!

2. THE SECOND STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  PRAY TO YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER AND NOT TO ANYONE ELSE.

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing… John 16:23

Jesus said that in that day we will not ask Him for anything.  What day is that day? Jesus was talking about the period when He would no longer be with the disciples.Jesus was directing us to pray to the heavenly Father Himself.  Is there any difference between praying to Jesus and praying to the heavenly Father?There must be, otherwise Jesus would not have told us what He did!

If you want one hundred per cent results, do what Jesus said you should do.  Begin your prayer by saying, “Our Father,” “Heavenly Father,” “Dear Father,” or “Father which art in Heaven,” etc.  You will begin to experience better results.

Do Not Pray to a Handmaid

Some people pray to Mary. I used to attend a church that prayed to Mary.  In fact, I myself prayed to Mary almost every day.  I think that our holy mother Mary must be wondering why people are praying to her.  I am sure she asks herself, “What can I do for these people?  I am a mere mortal like any one of them.”  Mary herself said that she was a mere servant of the Lord.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. Luke 1:38

Why would you pray to a handmaid?  Jesus did not teach us to pray to His mother.  He taught us to pray to His Father.  There is a big difference!  I can understand how our holy mother Mary is respected for the role she played in bringing Jesus to this world.  She was a great woman and a very special vessel.  I truly respect and admire her.  But I cannot pray to her.   I do not believe that she can do anything for me now.  I will pray to my heavenly Father and I will receive a hundred per cent results, in the name of Jesus.

3.    THE THIRD STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

Unfortunately, many people use the name of Jesus as an exclamation or a swear word.  This has caused Christians to lose respect for the power in the name of Jesus.  I announce to you that there is power in the name of Jesus!  Your heavenly Father will respond when He hears the name of Jesus.

…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you. John 16:23

In my church, there are people who try to use my name to get certain things done.  They know that the mention of my name in our set-up will lead to rapid results.  I have often heard it said, “Bishop said, ‘so and so’.”  Why do people engage in name-dropping?  It is because names have power. The use of a name leads to rapid results.  At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.  Demons respond to the name of Jesus.  Sickness responds to the name of Jesus.  Satan will bow to the name of Jesus.  There is power in that name.  In the book of Acts, we see how the name of Jesus healed a man.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus…doth this man stand here before you whole. Acts 4:10

But it is not only bad things which respond to the name of Jesus.  Our heavenly Father Himself responds to the name of Jesus.  Jesus told us to use the “name of Jesus” to get responses from the Father.  Jesus told us to use His name to get results in prayer.  From today, whenever you pray, use the name of Jesus; not only as a ritual, but as a vital key to receiving your blessings from Heaven.

4.    THE FOURTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  CONFESS YOUR SINS.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8

To approach God without the consciousness of your sin is a mistake.  A very important Scripture to remember is found in Isaiah.  

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2

God is cut off from our lives because of sin. One of the first things you must do when you pray is to confess your sins: both the ones you know and the ones you are not conscious of.  Do not let your iniquities separate you from God.  God can reach you when the blood of Jesus has cleansed you.    

5. THE FIFTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  ABIDE IN CHRIST.

If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7

Abiding in Christ is an important key to receiving any type of response from the Lord.  If you do not stay in the house, do not expect God to answer any of your prayers.  A hundred per cent answered prayer is for people who stay in Christ and in His church.  When you wander away from God, you become like the prodigal son.  You are far from your Father.  The prodigal son did not stay in the house.  

He moved out and lived in a far country.  He fellowshipped with harlots and ate with pigs.  The only help he could get was from pigs!  So he “asked the pigs” for some of their food.  The pigs had compassion on the prodigal son and they gave him some of their food.  Even if his father had wanted to give him food, there was no way he could have.  He was simply out of the reach of his father.  The prodigal son ended up in the custody of a man who put him to work with swine. When you do not stay in the house, you will end up with the pigs.  Perhaps as you read this book, you realize that being far from God has not helped you.  It is time to come back home.  Staying in fellowship is an important key to receiving the blessings of the Lord.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another… 1 John 1:7

There are some people who think they can be good Christians without going to church.  You are deceiving yourself!  If you are walking in the light, you will have fellowship with others who are in the light.  That is what this Scripture is telling you.  Are you in the darkness or in the light?  If you are in the light you will go to church and fellowship with other Christians.

6.    THE SIXTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  LET THE WORD OF GOD ABIDE IN YOU.

It is important for God’s Word to be in you.  God does not do anything outside His Word.  God’s Word will direct you in your relationship with Him.  God’s Word directs you in prayer.  God does not answer foolish prayers; neither does He do things against His Word.  If you want to get one hundred per cent answers to your prayers, stay in the Word.

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Psalm 119:133

7.    THE SEVENTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD.

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 1 John 3:22

This Scripture is very clear.  God answers the prayers of people who obey Him.  If you are living a life of disobedience, God will not honour your prayers.  If you had a disobedient son who did not please you, would you just give him anything he asked for?  Certainly not!  Neither does your heavenly Father answer the prayers of disobedient children.  If God has called you to the ministry, just obey!  Your obedience opens the door for answers to your prayers.

It is clear that God answers the prayers of righteous people.  Become a righteous man and God will answer your prayers.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. THE effectual fervent PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN AVAILETH MUCH. James 5:16

8.    THE EIGHTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  BE A FRUIT-BEARING CHRISTIAN.

Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16

God has linked answered prayer to fruit bearing.  This Scripture proves that answered prayer is directly connected to the fruits that a person has.  

If you are a born-again Christian, the only reason why you are being kept alive is so that you can bear fruit.  After all, Heaven is guaranteed.  

You have a place in Heaven after you are born again.  What else do you need?  Earthly treasures are transient and useless.  We are being kept alive on this earth so that we can win souls for Him.  God wants every Christian to bear fruit.

One thing that many Christians do not know is that God has linked bearing fruit to answering prayer.  The Scripture above is very clear!   God will be happy to answer the prayer of someone who bears fruit.  What do you do for God?  What fruit are you bearing?  If you sit in spiritual barrenness just wanting God to answer prayers, you may wait forever.  Some people just know how to say, “Give me!  Give me!  Give me!”  But what are you contributing to God’s kingdom?

There is a link between answered prayer and bearing fruit.  Receive this revelation into your spirit and begin to bear fruit from today.  Do something in your church.  Do not just sit there and watch.  Stop being an observer.  There is no blessing in being a spectator or a commentator.  The blessings of one hundred per cent answered prayer are for Christians who bear fruit.

9.    THE NINTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  HAVE FAITH EVERY TIME YOU PRAY.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24

Jesus taught great lessons on faith throughout His ministry.  He often emphasized that people were getting blessed because they were using faith.

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:38

God is saying that if you draw away from faith, He will not be pleased with you.  There are those who think that faith is not so important.  They tend to draw away from the faith message and faith people.  They feel that there must rather be an emphasis on patience, gentleness, holiness and on the other qualities of the fruit of the Spirit.   I strongly believe that these qualities are important and play a special role in the Christian life.  However, the importance of the fruit of the Spirit to the Christian experience should not make us play down on the importance of something like faith.  The fact that the heart is important does not make the kidneys any less important.  Both are necessary, and have special, unique roles to play. Faith is a very special virtue which has a role in every Christian’s life.  The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

It is interesting to note that the Word of God does not say:  “Without love it is impossible to please God.”  The Bible does not say:  “Without peace it is impossible to please God.”  The Bible is very clear on this fact:  WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD! Abraham’s faith in God was considered to be an act of righteousness.  Abraham believed that El’ Shaddai was able to give him a child at an old age.  Abraham had his faults.  He lied about his wife and surrendered her twice to unbeliever kings for their pleasure.  In spite of his lying and cowardly behaviour, God was very pleased with Abraham because he had faith. Maybe by your standards, Abraham would have been disqualified.  But he was a great man in God’s sight.  His greatness was a result of his faith.

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  And therefore IT WAS IMPUTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Romans 4:21,22

God is happy, impressed and pleased when you believe in Him.  When you believe that God will heal you, you make Him happy.  When you believe that God will prosper you, you make Him excited.  When you believe that your breakthrough is on the way, God is so pleased with you.  When you have faith that you will live long, God is provoked to extend your life.  When you believe that God will give you increase and abundance, you excite the deep parts of El’ Shaddai.  You make Him pour out the milk of His blessings into your life.  

From today, never doubt any part of God’s Word.  Accept that you are the champion He is speaking about.  Flow with the message of prosperity, healing and abundance.  Always remember that God is happy when you believe in Him. God is not a God of poverty.  Since I came to know the Lord I have not decreased.  I do not read about decrease, failure, setbacks and limitations in the Bible.  I see only abundance, promotion and deliverance from my enemies.  I see God lifting me up every day!  God did not bring you to Christ in order to demote and disgrace you.  He brought you to Christ to lift and establish you in an abundant life.  Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

Jesus Blessed the Faith People

Under the ministry of Jesus, several people experienced personal breakthroughs.  Who were they?  And why did they receive these miracles? You will remember what Jesus said about the woman with the issue of blood. What was the secret of her breakthrough?  Jesus gave the answer in Mark 5:34:

…Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole… Mark 5:34

Blind Bartimaeus received his sight miraculously.  He was a noisy fellow who disturbed the service.  But Jesus took notice of him and healed him.   What was his secret?  His secret was faith in God!  

…thy faith hath made thee whole... Mark 10:52

The sinful woman who poured an alabaster box of ointment on Jesus’ feet also received a miracle of forgiveness.  Jesus said to the woman:

…Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Luke 7:50

Remember the ten lepers who were healed with only one coming back to say thank you.  Jesus said these same words to him:

…Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke 17:19

Two blind men came to Jesus and asked for the mercy of God.  Jesus touched them and healed them.  What did He say to them?

…According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:29

Have you noticed that Jesus never said, “Thy love hath made thee whole”   Jesus never said, “Thy holiness hath saved you.” He never said, “According to your patience, be it unto you.” Why did Jesus not say, “Thy good character hath made thee whole”?

Please do not misunderstand me!  I am not saying that these things are not important!  I am saying that it is the people’s faith that impressed Jesus.

Jesus pointed out over and over that it was their faith that had brought the breakthrough.  That is why the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Have you ever thought of those men who broke through the roof of somebody’s house in order to bring their paralyzed friend to Christ?  Perhaps they were experienced thieves who were used to breaking into people’s homes.  Perhaps they were men who were used to jumping the queue and cheating others.  But the Bible tells us that Jesus noticed their faith and immediately responded to their needs.

And WHEN HE SAW THEIR FAITH he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. Luke 5:20

Jesus did not dwell on the wrong they did by jumping the queue or removing the tiles from somebody’s roof.  He saw their faith.  Jesus sees your faith.  God sees your faith.  It is time for you to rise up and believe things in the Word of God.  According to your faith, it shall be done unto you!

When you exercise faith in prayer, God responds in the same way that Jesus responded to these men.  He is so impressed with your prayer.  When you believe that you have received, you please God!  In order to exercise faith, you must believe that you have received what you are praying for.  This means you will not have to pray over and over for the same thing.  

Begging and crying is not the same as praying with faith.  Many Christians just cry and cry in a spirit of hopelessness.  God is not against crying.  But He is against faithless weeping.  Trust God, He wants to give you the desires of your heart. Receive answers to your prayers at this very moment, in Jesus name!  From today, you must believe that you have received what you are asking for.

10. THE TENTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  PERSISTENCE

Persisting in prayer is a guaranteed way to get one hundred per cent prayer results.  Jesus gave two vivid examples of how persistence gives one hundred per cent answered prayer.  I want you to read them carefully.

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet BECAUSE OF HIS IMPORTUNITY he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Luke 11:5-8

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet BECAUSE THIS WIDOW TROUBLETH ME, I will avenge her, LEST BY HER CONTINUAL COMING SHE WEARY ME. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:1-8

Persisting means repeating!  It means you will tirelessly go to the Lord in prayer.  It means you will shamelessly cry to the Lord until He responds.  Persistence brings results even in the natural.  Sometimes I receive a phone call, but I am unable to answer because I am too far from the phone.  As I approach the phone, I have often thought to myself, “If only this caller would persist, I will answer the phone.”  Sometimes by the time I get to the phone, the person has given up.  There are some who call back.  There are some who keep calling until I answer.  

This principle of persistence brings results in many spheres of life.  The principle of persistence works in prayer as well.  I did not say it, Jesus did! Jesus said very clearly that you would get results if you pray and pray and pray!  The reason why you will get results is because you keep praying.

Someone may ask, “Does the principle of persistence not contradict the principle of faith?  After all, when using the key of faith you wouldn’t have to pray more than once!”  What you must understand here is that there are different ways of expressing faith.  

Praying once is one expression of faith.   Praying over and over about the same issue, with a determination never to stop until you get an answer is also another expression of faith.  Each of these two expressions of faith is valid.  Each of these two expressions of faith brings results.  Each of these two expressions of faith was recommended by Jesus.  Each of these two expressions of faith can make God answer your prayer.

There are many Christians who can testify about how they prayed persistently until God answered!  There are also many others who have great testimonies about praying once and receiving answers.  Jesus did not teach on only one of these styles of prayer.  He taught both methods and guaranteed one hundred per cent results in each case.

You can liken faith and persistence to killing a cat in different ways.  You can beat it, drown it, poison it, shoot it or decapitate it.  All of these methods will lead to a hundred per cent result – a hundred per cent dead cat!  Decide today to use any of these two keys.  Both of these keys are failure proof.  “Faith” prayers work all the time.  Persistence works all the time.  God has given you two assured methods for receiving 100% answered prayer.

11. THE ELEVENTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  DO NOT PRAY AMISS.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss… James 4:3

Unfortunately, many Christians ask God for things He cannot give them.  God does not answer prayers that have gone amiss.  Praying amiss means that you pray unacceptable, unsuitable, inappropriate, inadmissible, impermissible, unsatisfactory and impossible prayers.  God will not do things which are against His principles.

Faith is very different from foolishness.  There are many Christians who exhibit silliness when they pray. God is not a fool.  Please do not try to make Him one.   The fact that you are allowed to exercise faith does not mean that you should be irrational.  When God takes no notice of foolish prayers, do not say that prayer does not work.  It is your foolish prayers that are not working.

If you ask God for somebody’s husband, you are praying a foolish prayer.  Some young men, starting out in life, ask the Lord for huge mansions and fantastically expensive cars.  It is true that God wants to bless you, but do not expect God to promote you overnight.  Look at your Bible carefully.  All the people who were blessed experienced it over a period of several years.  If you are a married person and you do not use contraceptives, please do not bind the babies in your wife’s womb.  God does not respond to foolishness.

If you have a job to do and you do not do it, do not pray that your boss will fall sick.     As you grow older do not bother to pray for your youth to return.  It is gone forever.  You cannot retrace your steps.  There is a natural aging process that you cannot bind or revoke! Why do you bother to ask God to give you an airplane when you don’t even own a bicycle?  You might as well ask Him to make you the Queen of England.  

If you are praying to God to help you to divorce, you are praying  amiss.  God does not want you to divorce.  How can He help you to divorce?

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mark 10:9

God cannot answer when you pray amiss!  You may divorce by your own choice, but do not pray amiss.  God does not break up marriages, He brings people together.  

You must realize that there are divine laws operating in the universe.  There is no use praying about things which cannot be done scripturally.  I am not talking about the laws of your country.  I am talking about the laws of God.  

There is no man on this earth who can escape the curse declared over Adam.

IN THE SWEAT OF THY FACE SHALT THOU EAT BREAD till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and UNTO DUST SHALL THOU RETURN. Genesis 3:19

All men are experiencing the sweat of this life.  All men are returning to dust.  All men will go to the grave one day.  It is just a matter of time.  

No matter who they are, all men have to sweat to prosper.  No matter how rich they are they will return to the ground.  There is no use praying against it.  You cannot pray that you will prosper without working hard.  You cannot pray that you will not die.  That is illegal!  Until Jesus returns, you and I have to go the way of all men.  Great men like David knew that there was no escape from death.

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I GO THE WAY OF ALL THE EARTH... I Kings 2:1, 2

What is the way of all the earth?  It is the inescapable experience of death that all human beings must go through.  There is no use in binding or cancelling it!  

You will keep getting disappointed in God.  Do not pray that you will not have to work hard.  Working hard and sweating your way to prosperity is the legal way for us all to prosper.  What you must rather do is to pray for wisdom to alleviate the effects of these curses.

It is the wisdom of medical science that alleviates the trauma of childbirth. Through the wisdom of medical science, many women have experienced little pain in childbirth.  Many women have had less sorrow in childbirth through the use of wisdom.  

It is the wisdom that comes through education that lightens the load on the sons of Adam.  All the sons of Adam will labour, but some labour is easier than others.  I would prefer to be a doctor than a cleaner.  In both cases, I would go through the sweating process to eat bread.  But I assure you that the labour of a doctor is different from that of a cleaner.  

12. THE TWELFTH STEP TO ONE HUNDRED PER CENT

ANSWERED PRAYER IS:  PRAY ONLY FOR WHAT YOU SEE THE FATHER DOING. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but WHAT HE SEETH THE FATHER DO:  for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. John 5:19

If you pray about things that cannot be answered, you will only erode your confidence in prayer.  If you pray about things that God is not doing, He will not answer you.  Jesus avoided praying for things when the Father was not doing it. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he heareth us:” (1 John 5:14).

This is yet another step to gaining one hundred per cent answers to your prayers.  God has given us His Spirit to lead us in specific situations.  You must be led by the Holy Spirit when you are praying and you must pray for His will.  Many pastors are unsuccessful in their prayers because God is not leading them specifically in their prayers.  

Once Jesus visited a hospital.  There were multitudes of sick people there.  However, He prayed for only one person.

After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.  And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. John 5:1-8

Why did He not pray for the other hundreds of people who needed help?  Jesus operated in these very steps to getting one hundred per cent results.  He only dealt with cases He knew He would get positive results!  

It may be God’s will to heal everybody.  Perhaps the circumstances under which everyone became ill were different.  Perhaps in God’s plan, it was not yet time for certain healings to manifest.

Jesus knew that it was difficult to get involved in things that God was not doing.  Jesus explained why He prayed for only one sick person when there were hundreds who needed a miracle.  He said, “I do what I see my Father doing.”  In other words, if it is not something that God is actively and presently involved in, I will not even bother to pray about it.  It may be legally right to do something, but it is very difficult to succeed in something if God is not presently involved with it.  If Jesus did not pray difficult prayers, why should you bother?

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but WHAT HE SEETH THE FATHER DO:  for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. John 5:19

If you do not use these principles, you will soon say that God does not answer prayers.  Dear friend, it is very possible to get only a “Yes” answer from God for all your requests, if you can diligently practise the steps outlined in this book.  Obviously, God will have to say “No” when you ask Him for things which are impossible for Him to do.  

Take for example Joab, the army commander of King David.  Joab killed an innocent man and David cursed him.  King David cursed Joab’s family forever.  He said:

Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread. 2 Samuel 3:29

If you study the details of this curse you will find out that sickness was to be a permanent part of Joab’s family.  Anyone who found himself praying for Joab’s family would find himself praying a difficult prayer.  It would be difficult, though not impossible, for the Lord to revoke the curse on Joab’s family.  This curse is different from God’s curse on Adam and Eve, in that it was pronounced by a man.  Adam’s curse was pronounced by God himself and obviously carries more weight.

Perhaps some of Joab’s relatives were at the hospital that Jesus visited.  Perhaps that is why God directed Jesus to pray for only one person.  Jesus explained that God had led Him to pray for only one person.  Perhaps God was not ready to undo the curse on some people’s lives.  Perhaps God does not have sufficient reason to undo a legal curse that is on certain people and their families.

…Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do… John 5:19

Allow yourself to be led whenever you are praying.  Pray for what you see the Father doing.  Be led by the Spirit when you are praying. Don’t rush into complex situations blurting out powerless prayers which God will not answer.  

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Grow in Your New Life by Praying Regularly

Prayer means talking to God. If you pray and develop a prayer life, you will grow in your  relationship with God. You naturally develop a relationship with anyone you talk to often. 

If for instance I preach to you, you will know what I am trying to say.  But if you talk back to me, I get the chance to talk to you and you talk back to me.  As this continues, the relationship becomes a little more intimate.  You will begin to know me.  It is the same thing with God.  God has preached to us, we read out His preaching from the Bible.  But if you begin to talk to Him and He talks back to you, you will develop a relationship with Him and you will know Him and He will know you.  

6 Principles of Prayer

1. It  is important to spend some time with God in prayer every day. 

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

2. Prayer builds you up in your faith. 

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost... Jude 1:20

3. Every Christian should pray at least 30 minutes daily when you start the habit of prayer.  You should move up to praying for an hour as you grow in your daily prayer habit. 

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Matthew 26:40

4. Prayer helps you to overcome temptations. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

5. You can pray about everything. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24

6. You can  accompany your prayer with fasting sometimes. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:17,18

The Four Aspects of Prayer––A.C.T.S.

1. Adoration Praise and worship God for who He is and for what He means to you.  You can sing a few songs of praise and worship.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Matthew 6:9

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Psalm 103:1-3

2. Confession a.  Confess your sins

We must confess our sins to obtain God’s forgiveness and healing for sins we commit or for things we failed to do and even for things in our hearts that we cannot see, for example pride. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9

b. Confess your faith

We must also confess (declare, speak out) our faith in God’s Word.  What you believe in your  heart and say with your mouth will come to pass: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.   Romans 10:10

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23

As you read the Bible you would come across things God has said about His children: Who they are! What they can do!  What they have! You can confess them and believe God to bring them to pass in your life.  You must constantly affirm that: I am who God says I am! I can do what He says I can do! I have what He says I have!

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:6

3. Thanksgiving a. Thank God in all circumstances.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

b. Thank God for the things He does in your life. Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 106:1

c. Thank God  in advance for what you have asked from Him but haven’t yet seen.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by   prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Philippians 4:6

4. Supplication (Asking God for your needs)

a. Ask Him for everything you need. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7 

b. Ask for things concerning other people. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1,2

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Pray Every Day: Why People Do Not Pray Every Day

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Why People Do Not Pray Every Day

To pray every day is to pray without ceasing.  To pray every day is to pray without stopping.  So why do people not pray every day?  Why is it that prayer is the most neglected spiritual discipline of our lives?  People do not pray every day because they do not pray in the night.  It is as simple as that!  If you were to pray in the night, you would pray every day.  Praying in the night is called “watching and praying”. 

1. People do not pray every day because they have to attend to many other duties of life during the day.  However, in the night, most duties do not have to be attended to.  

2. People do not pray every day because they do not have private spaces in their homes to pray.  Praying in the night or at dawn solves this problem. Whilst people are asleep, you can find a solitary place to pray.  

3. People do not pray every day because other people who need them for something during the day continuously interrupt them. Praying in the night or at dawn solves this problem.  

4. People do not pray every day because they do not have a good atmosphere for prayer during the day.  Praying in the night solves this problem.

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

Why God Established the Tithe

The Mysterious Purposes of the Tithe

The tithe is a mysterious multi-purpose offering that is presented to the house of the Lord. Your tithe mysteriously achieves numerous purposes of God. Every time you pay tithes, you contribute towards one of these mysterious purposes. When you contribute towards each of these purposes, God unlocks a different type of blessing. You may not have intended to directly accomplish any of these things but you will indirectly contribute towards them every time you pay tithes. In this chapter, I want you to understand the mysterious purposes of the tithe as outlined by the prophet Moses.

1. God established the tithe for people to show gratitude to God.

And it shall be, WHEN THOU ART COME IN UNTO THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETH THEE for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. Deuteronomy 26:1-3

2. God established the tithe for people to remember where God lifted them from.

And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A SYRIAN READY TO PERISH WAS MY FATHER, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: and the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: Deuteronomy 26:4-6

3. God established the tithe as a prayer of thanksgiving.

And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. AND THOU SHALT SET IT BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD, AND WORSHIP BEFORE THE LORD thy God: Deuteronomy 26:7-10

4. God established the tithe so that you would enjoy the ninety percent knowing that you have given God His due.

And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. Deuteronomy 26:11

5. God established the tithe to pay the pastors (Levites) and keep them working in the house of God.

When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, AND HAST GIVEN IT UNTO THE LEVITE, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Deuteronomy 26:12

6. God established the tithe to care for the needy and the helpless.

Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, AND UNTO THE STRANGER, TO THE FATHERLESS, AND TO THE WIDOW, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: Deuteronomy 26:13

7. God established the tithe as money set apart from all secular or worldly purposes. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, NEITHER HAVE I TAKEN AWAY OUGHT THEREOF FOR ANY UNCLEAN USE, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Deuteronomy 26:14

8. God established the tithe to have a legal basis to bless His people. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and BLESS THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. Deuteronomy 26:15

9. God established the tithe as a test of our obedience. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: THOU SHALT THEREFORE KEEP AND DO THEM WITH ALL THINE HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: Deuteronomy 26:16-17

10. God established the tithe in order to create a peculiar and unusual group of prosperous and blessed people on the earth. This is what has happened to the Jews.

And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; AND TO MAKE THEE HIGH ABOVE ALL NATIONS WHICH HE HATH MADE, IN PRAISE, AND IN NAME, AND IN HONOUR; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken. Deuteronomy 26:18-19

by Dag Heward-Mills

[everydaynuggets-blog]

It Is a Great Thing to Serve the Lord: You Will Receive Temple Blessings

The people who serve God in His temple night and day have many benefits.  In the Book of Revelation, we see the secret of what it really means to have such a position and to have such a job.  

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and SERVE HIM DAY AND NIGHT IN HIS TEMPLE: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelation 7:15-17

In the Book of Revelation, we have a wonderful picture of people serving in the temple of God.  This vision shows us what it really means to serve the Lord.  Read it for yourself and be amazed at the benefits of being a servant of the Lord.    

One of the greatest blessings of serving God is the blessing of being looked after by the Lord Himself.  Serving God totally, in His house, results in your being totally looked after by the Lamb. 

The great blessing of serving the Lord cannot be compared with any other kind of service to any organization or person. 

David said, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).  You do not have to get to heaven to serve in His temple.  You can equally serve Him right now.  Expect these seven wonderful rewards when you serve the Lord in His temple.  

Eight Benefits of Serving in the Temple

1. No more hunger. You will never lack food till you die.  

They shall HUNGER NO MORE, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 

Revelation 7:16

2. No more thirst. You will never be thirsty or uncomfortable.

They shall hunger no more, NEITHER THIRST ANY MORE; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 

Revelation 7:16

3. Protection from the sun.  You will not be destroyed by the sunshine.  You will have a house and a car to protect you from the direct sunshine.  I once had a vision of three lay pastors, labouring in the sun and heat.  The Holy Spirit told me that these pastors were labouring in the secular world, when they should be in the house of God.  I called each one of them and invited them to come over into the temple and serve God Himself.  Unfortunately, one of them opted to continue in the sun and heat where he remains until this day.   

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; NEITHER SHALL THE SUN LIGHT ON THEM, nor any heat. 

Revelation 7:16

4. Protection from heat.  You will no longer sweat in the day or in the night.  Expect God to make you comfortable as you serve Him.  Expect to have air conditioners cooling your environment all the time.  God will give you enough money to buy a generator, a fan and an air conditioner.  

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, NOR ANY HEAT. 

Revelation 7:16

5. Being fed by the Lord.  Expect God to feed you Himself. You will be pampered and loved because you served the Lord.  God could have simply removed hunger from your life.  But He decided to feed you Himself.  This shows the extent to which God wants to rub you down and pamper you.   

For THE LAMB which is in the midst of the throne SHALL FEED THEM, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

6. Being led by the Lord to living fountains.  You will be brought to living fountains of water.  All over the world, people go to beaches to experience the fun and thrill of the oceans.  Living water creates such an exhilarating feeling.  You have been promised an everlasting holiday with living fountains of waters spraying all over you just because you are serving the Lord.  I feel sorry for people who think that serving the Lord is boring.

For THE LAMB which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and SHALL LEAD THEM UNTO LIVING FOUNTAINS of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

7. The removal of sorrows and tears.  Life on this earth is punctuated by tears, grief and sorrow.  Serving in His temple is marked by the notable absence of sorrowful tears.  You will cry no more when you serve the Lord.  

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES.

Revelation 7:17

8. You will become a shining star in eternity.  God makes you shine when you win souls for Him.  You will shine forever in eternity because you served the Lord.  

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:3

by Dag Heward-Mills