7- DAYS UNIVERSAL WEEK OF PRAYER 2022 - DAY 2 AND DAY 3
DAY 2 - MONDAY 3RD JANUARY 2022 of Universal week of prayer
TOPIC: LIFT UP YOUR HEADS OH YE GATES
OPENING HYMN A & M 199
1. THOU art the Way: by thee alone,
From sin and death we flee;
And he Who would the Father seek
Must seek him. Lord, by thee.
2. Thou art the Truth: thy word alone,
True wisdom can impart;
Thou only canst inform the mind
And purify the heart.
3. Thou art the life: the rending tomb,
Proclaims thy conquering arm:
And those who put their trust in thee
Nor death nor hell shall harm.
4. Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life:
Grant us that Way to know,
That Truth to keep, that Life to Win,
Whose joys eternal flow.
TOPIC: LIFT UP YOUR HEADS OH YE GATES
TEXT: Psalm 24: 7-10 (READ PS 24:l - END).
Psalm 24 is one of the very interesting Psalms, penned by
King David. It is one of the people's favorite. It is like a
special chorale presentation by a choir that goes vesicles and responses.
When the word of the Psalm is read and reread, pondered, and prayed
about, it turns out a soul-refreshing blessing to those who are truly
seeking the Lord.
David started by making it clear who it was who built and
established the planet and put the people on it, who is thereby the
undisputed owner of all that is in it. The heaven, earth, and sea are
the Lord's and all who dwell therein (Rev 10:6, RSV). He is to be
completely honored and worshipped by all men irrespective of the
chances, changes, and challenges that are in the world around us.
LIFT UP YOUR HEADS...
The questions, answers, and
clarifications in w. 3-6 are quite crucial, bringing out the fact that
as long as "lift up your heads..." is concerned, God is in a
high and holy place that any and everybody cannot just assume at
will. It is rather specified in v. 4 that he who has clean hands and a pure
heart, who has not sworn deceitfully (lied) is most qualified to approach
and access His throne of mercy.
At the throne of mercy,
the king of glory "comes in" with hope and
encouragement
making it available to whoever draws near with
faith(James4:8).
He responds to our A. C.T. S:
A
- Adoration, T - Thanksgiving
C - Confession, S - Supplications
(See Ps 27:4;
Matt 7:7; 11:28; etc.).
If one continues to wash his/her hands and purify our
hearts that will be the One to "come in" irrespective of the
situation. An individual won't have to practically ascend to His holy place,
instead, He will kindly "come in" by Himself, descending from His
holy place to meet such a person in his/her different needs (Phil 2:6-8). He
actually says "lift up your heads Oh ye gates" twice to make
sure that we get the seriousness of the point.
...OH
YE GATES
Gates are very important.
Just as in the natural realm gates are used for security and
protection, God uses spiritual gates which you can't see with your physical
eyes like you can see the gate of your house, church, or office, to
secure, protect and fortify people's lives.- The devil too has
spiritual gates that are in operation. You can't see them but they are there
quite alright. These evil spiritual gates existed in the time of Abraham and
other Bible characters. (Genesis 22:17). Evil spiritual gates
still exist today.
Gates also serve as entry
points; entry points to a house (Luke 16:20), city (1 Kings 17:10), palace (Esther 5:13),
church (Acts 3:2), or a person's life (Isaiah 60:11). While God has gates He
uses to pass or release blessings and
good things into our lives, the devil uses his own evil gates to pass or
introduce sin, problems, afflictions, and all manner of evil into
people's lives.
MEN LIKE DAVID
King David was practically a man whose heart was wholly surrendered to God. He
enjoyed lifting God up in all situations and insisted that every
"gate" must be likewise lifted up so that the King of glory, the King of kings
would come. Hence, he adopted the following seven steps in lifting up
any gate that was on his ways for the King of glory to come in:
1.
Ps 27:4 - He cherished and coveted God's presence,
i.e. divine aura, atmosphere, accompaniment, attendance, etc. -
(Ps23:4)
2.
2Sam 6:14-23 - He was a praise-warrior; a psalmist;
a composer, dancer, instrumentalist, etc. - remember Paul & Silas -
(Acts 16:16ff)
3.
Ps 2 0 - He was a prayer warrior
4.
I Chron. 29:14 - He was a wonderful giver
5.
I Chron. 16:22 - He was a man of the word of God (Jos 1:8)
6.2Sam 12/Ps 51:17 - He
was a man of brokenness and contriteness; a man of healthy
emotions; penitent and repentant
7. Matt 1:1-17 - The
genealogy of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord is traced to him; he was
identified with Jesus Christ (Act 4:12).
With these seven steps and
more as highlighted in the Holy Scriptures, the Lord could be lifted up and gates shall
irresistibly lift up their heads for the king of glory to come in.
DAY 2 - MONDAY 3RD JANUARY 2022 of Universal week of prayer
PRAYER
WE THANK GOD
• Give thanks to God for who He is and for what He
does
WE PRAY
• Command every head and gate
to be lifted up for the King of glory
to come
in
particularly in this 2022
• Declare divine judgment
against satanic heads and gates that are
lifted up against us especially as it concerns 2022
• According
to John 12:32 prophesy that more souls will identify and be drawn to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in 2022.
·
Pray for
grace to adopt these seven steps just as David did this 2022 and beyond
CLOSING HYMN A & M 192
|
1. How sweet the name of Jesus
sounds
In a believer's
ear!
It
soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And
drives away his fear.
2. It
makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary rest.
3. Dear
name! the rock on which 1 build,
My shield and hiding-place,
My
never-falling treasury filled
With
boundless stores of grace.
DAY 3 - TUESDAY 4th JANUARY 2022 of Universal week of prayer
TUESDAY 4th JANUARY 2022
TOPIC: FIGHTING AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
OPENING HYMN A & M 304
1.
Fight the good fight with all thy might!
Christ is thy strength, and Christ
thy right;
Lay hold on life and it shall be Thy joy and
crown eternally.
2.
Run the straight-race through
God's good grace
Lift up thine eyes, and seek his
face;
Life with its way before us lies;
Christ is the path, and Christ
the prize.
3.
Cast care aside, lean on thy guide;
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust and thy trusting soul shall
prove
Christ is its life, and Christ its
love.
4.
Faint not nor fear, his arms are
near;
He changeth not, and thou are
dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.
TOPIC:
FIGHTING AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
TEXT: Ephesians 6:10-18, Matthew 16:18-19
Possessing the gate implies having dominion, being in charge of one's territory, and having the upper hand in decisions that concern the territory. The prevalent crisis, challenges, and battles in families and societies today have made it imperative that one sits up spiritually so as not to allow the enemies to take undue advantage of him/her. This covers every aspect of one's life and existence, and such gives one the divine access to have and enjoy all that heaven has for him. Ab initio, the enemy has really taken a lot from Christians, which has made some Christians think that God is no longer faithful; but through this study, we shall look at the opportunity God has given to us to possess and protect what he has given to us through spiritual warfare.
ENGAGING THE POWERS AT THE GATE
The enemies at the gate include seen and unseen forces, which go about monitoring, limiting, and afflicting people in their families, businesses, and careers. These are principalities and powers, agents of darkness that the devil uses to attack humanity so as to stop the good works of heaven over their lives. Seeing their activities, the havocs, and threats they pose to man, Jesus gave a word of promise that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church." Giving the believers the keys of the kingdom, the authority, and power, the believer is empowered to fight, to dislodge the devil and his agents wherever their presence and operations are noticed. Every believer is therefore divinely positioned to be in charge through spiritual warfare against these forces. Note that every child is baptized as •good soldier of the cross to fight under the banner of Christ against Satan, sin, and the world; and to remain a faithful soldier till the end of his life.
BELIEVERS' WEAPONS OF WARFARE - Ephesians 6:10 -18.
God has provided believers with weapons of warfare, which are not carnal but mighty through God for pulling down of strongholds (gates) - (2 Corinthians 10: 4-6). The fight should be under the banner of Christ for victory to be ensured, hence the songwriter in A&M 309 says, "We fight for truth? We fight for God...Who will fight for thee on earth must first be true within." Being a born-again Christian gives one a strong edge over the' devil and his agents, generating strong spiritual power by the Holy Ghost who lives in him.
From Ephesians 6:10-18 we can deduce further as follows:
1. Being strong is a viable weapon; having our anchor and confidence in the ability of God as Head over principalities and powers.
2. Having knowledge of the existence of these powers and knowledge of the heavenly weapons at the disposal of a Christian is a great advantage.
3. Weapons of truth, righteousness, knowing the word of God. And faith which represents Christian virtues helps the Christian soldier generate spiritual dynamites to stand against the wiles and the fiery darts of the wicked.
EFFECTS OF NOT FIGHTING AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
Taking a good look at the regalia or kits of a Christian soldier as seen in Ephesians, one will notice that all these weapons are for the front; no weapon was provided for the back, which implies that none should turn his back to the enemy. It is a forward ever and backward never warfare. Let us rise under God to fight and possess the gates of our marriages, families, careers, and our spiritual life. Constantly binding and losing, fighting to finish, limits the devil and his agents; and offers the believer the dominion and privilege to enjoy all that heaven has provided for him.
DAY 3 - TUESDAY 4th JANUARY 2022 of Universal week of prayer
PRAYER
WE THANK GOD
*
For his mercies that has kept us from being consumed
in the
battles
of life
*
For providing us with the necessary spiritual weapon
of
warfare. *
*
For counting us worthy to be recruited into the army
as
soldiers
of Christ.
WE CONFESS:
*
That we have allowed our gates for long to be
possessed by
the
wicked.
*
That we have not defended the territory of the kingdom of
God against the powers of darkness.
That we have also allowed the blessings and promises of God meant for us to be taken over by the forces of darkness.
CLOSING HYMN: A & M 629