LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Saturday 18th September 2021
PRAYING OUT THE PROPHECY
Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 1
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 1 Timothy 1:18
Paul was aware of prophecies that had been made concerning Timothy. He encouraged Timothy to pray and conduct himself in the light of those prophecies. This was a charge or commission that Paul gave to his young protégé.
1. Pray God’s word. The prayer life of the Christian must be built around God’s word. Prayer must not just be the expression of our wishes – it must be our agreement with God’s wishes. When we pray, we ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. How do we know God’s will? We know God’s will through what He has revealed in His word to us. We also know God’s will by what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us inwardly and through the manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit.
2. Jesus Christ lived His life in the light of the scriptures. All the events of His life were in fulfilment of God’s written word. Although the Gospels do not reveal full details of how Jesus prayed, we can learn a lot about His prayer life from the narratives. In the Lord’s prayer, the Lord taught us to pray, ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, ‘Father, not my will but yours be done’. Jesus’ prayer life was focused on praying for the will of God to be done.
3. God has revealed His will in the Bible. We should pray that His promises to His children, revealed in the Bible, would be done in our lives. We should also pray that what the Lord has revealed to us prophetically would be done. A prophecy does not create the will of God. It only reveals the will of God. That means even if you have not heard any prophecy on your life, God still has a purpose for you. Pray for the purposes of God to be done in your life.
Paul encouraged Timothy to wage spiritual warfare according to the word of God on his life. We must also wage spiritual warfare according to God’s word on our lives.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I accept your word concerning me. By your word, I overcome every adversity in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.