Opeing Year Prayer Day 02 : Because Of Jesus, My Joy Is Full

Day 2: 07-01-2018

Theme: Because of Jesus, my joy is full.

Scriptural passage: John 15:11, Neh. 8:10

When scripture says, the joy of the Lord is my strength is simply saying to you that in all you challenges, My God has been my source of strength, he has seen me through great ordeal, he has brought me to perfect peace and he has established me in the city of rest and great thanksgiving and celebration will be my lot.

Think of the men and women in the bible whom the Lord delivered from their ordeals. The resultant effect was a movement from pain, sorrow to profound joy. No wonder Nehemiah would say as he encountered great challenge in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem “the Joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong” or in other translation like King James Bible would translate it to be- the Joy of the Lord is my strength.

Child of God, the kind of Joy that the Lord gives is not a faked kind of Joy. It is rather profound, real, sweet that is contagious. That penetrates your bone marrow. That makes you want to share this joy with others like Mary who went up the hill to visit and share in the joy of her older cousin Elizabeth. It is a joy that gives strength. When you are gloomy or sad it weakens your immune system, but when you are joy filled even in the midst of challenges you have great strength to forge ahead.

Child of God it is a joy you cannot keep only to yourself. Rather it must be shared. Child of God, the Lord gives you this because it is his sole purpose for your life. in 2018 he saying to you, if you wept in the year 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and previous years, in 2018 and onwards your joy shall be profound in the name of Jesus.

Child of God, to have this joy which of course must be constant, you must make everything possible to be in close connect with the Lord. It must be a deliberate decision to follow the Lord and remain in the Lord. The Decision must be consistent not an off and on kind of decision. You will have to follow it through and you will see the power of the Lord following you through.

Child of God it is like verse 11 of the 15^th chapter of the Gospel of John balances the equation for us. From verse 1-10 tells us what to do if we are to have this joy which is by remaining in him. Verse 11-17 tells us actions that will flow from this joy. Actions such that all you do will flow from the Lord. You will be able to be the hand of God everywhere you because you are in God and God is in you.

Child of God, if you remain in the Lord throughout this year, these are the things that will begin to happen to you.

1. The Lord will change the atmosphere around you. If your atmosphere has been choked he will prune you so that all negative air and bad blood around you he will remove it from you. He will prune your thoughts, attitude, commitment, behaviour, relationships, service, passion, motives, willingness etc. The purpose is that he will turn things around for you.
2. He will change the circumstances around you. He knows that you can’t flourish in a tensed environment because those circumstances have been limiting you, preventing you from getting where you ought to be in life. Those circumstances that will always ruin your joy, limit your productivity. The purpose is so that you may begin to bear more fruit.
3. He will change those unproductive relationships you are into for a better one. For you to produce great fruits he sets great challenge before you so that you may leave the friendship. Been in such relationships only limits you. For you to leave that kind of friendship there must be a shake off. It may be very painful but it is for good because the Lord knows that if you continue in such relationship it will cost you-your life, peace, joy and stability. That is why it’s either he takes you higher or away from that environment so that you may focus. You cannot produce effective fruits if you are in a bad relationship.
4. He will change your approach and direction to life. May be you have been looking in one direction before and you thought that was the ultimate and that would bring you the desired result. The Lord doesn’t feel and think that way for you. He is going to change your direction so that you will look in the right direction he has prepared for you. He knows if you walk in the right direction and take the right approach he has set for you, great things will happen and you will begin to walk in dominion.
5. He will change your thought pattern: to bear fruit requires thinking rightly. To be in joy comes with thinking rightly. The lord knows if you keep thinking in the wrong way you have been, maybe thinking that you are unloved, you cannot see God’s love at work in that situation. Maybe you think because of few disappointments that have come your way, you are destined to always have disappointments. May you think that because of the set backs that has come your way, bad luck is now your lot.

If you keep thinking like that, you will never see the power of God manifesting in your life. You cannot come to joy. So dear friends, the lord will change your thinking so that you will always remember the past with gratitude and not with pain. You will look to the future with great anticipation and joy.

There are certain things required of you as you journey this year:

1. The Lord requires your cooperation to bring you to joy. Because the joy of Christ was to do the will of Christ and to be united with his father. He cooperated with his father by doing the will of the Father.

Heb. 12:2 says-Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1. The Lord requires your heart to be with him-do not fix your hearts on worldly things as that which will guarantee your deep satisfaction and joy, rather look to him that you may be radiant always.

1 Peter 1:18 says-for you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers

1. For your joy to be full, you have to study his word, his promises and commandments which he has made. Once you do so, you will be like what the first book of the psalms chapter one verses 1-3; “happy are those who reject the advice of evil men, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. Instead, they find joy in obeying the law of the Lord, and they study it day and night. They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.”

You see dear friends, the only way you can consistently resist the advance of evil and sin, is studying the word of God daily. Grow capacity for the word of God. It will rule your life.

Don’t sit there and say nothing evil can happen to you, you are covered because the priest has prayed for you. My dear, you will be deceiving yourself!!!. Join force with the prayers of the priest by praying for yourself daily, by studying the word of God. What it will do for you is that it will strength you, provide the necessary confidence where fear has ruled. It will give you authority to ride over intimidations from the pit of hell.

John 15:11-says I have told you this so that my joy maybe in you and that your joy may be complete.

Our joy can only come to completion when we are able to draw strength from the word of God to do what God expects of us.

1. Repentance brings joy. Been obstinate in sin is a very dangerous thing that can happen to anyone. It will steal your joy. Keep you in perpetual fear and in bondage. But if you repent from your sins and begin to do good scripture says in Luke 15:7,10 “in the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.” Verse 10 says, in the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.
2. Prayer brings joy: the word of God in proverbs 3:5-6 says “trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.” Prayer sets the tone to accomplish your purpose in life. Through prayer we are able to connect to the Lord before we do anything and the joy that comes from it is that it gives strength and satisfaction and a great sense of fulfillment.

John 16:24 says-“until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness maybe complete”

1. Generosity brings joy:  2 Cor. 8:2-“they have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor.”

Sirach 35:2-returning a kindness is like a grain-offering; giving to the poor is like a thanksgiving-offerng.

Sirach 35:4-11 says “but don’t come to the Temple without an offering; the law requires that you bring one. When a righteous man offers a sacrifice and the fat drips down on the altar, a pleasant smell rises to the Most High. The Lord will accept the offerings made by a righteous man and will not forget them. praise the Lord by making generous offerings to him; don’t be stingy with the first of your crops. Be cheerful with every gift you make, and when you pay your tithes, do it gladly. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, just as generously as you can. The Lord always repays and will do it many times over. But don’t try to bribe him or rely on offerings that you have obtained dishonestly. He will not accept them.”

Generosity is one way to atone for sins. It is one way of bringing God close to those in need. Your joy this year should improve on your desire to be generous. Learn from the patriarchs, they were very generous in everything they did.

Perfect example is Solomon and Abel. Solomon’s sacrifice brought an end to the epidemic that descended upon Israel as a nation. He said in 2 Sam. 24:24-“…I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.”

Gen. 4:4-Then Abel brought the first Lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering…

Heb. 11:4-“it was faith that made Abel offer to God a better sacrifice than Cain’s. Through his faith he won God’s approval as a righteous man, because God himself approved of his gifts. By means of his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.”

PRAYER POINTS

1. My father, my Father, as I pray tonight, whatever will steal my joy mighty father please disconnect me from it, please righteous father take it away from me in the name of Jesus. Amen.
2. Almighty father, let me see thy glory and thy goodness manifest in my life, in my business, my vocation, my life, my studies, my relationships. Fill me with the power of the spirit to be better in my relationships in the name of Jesus. Amen.
3. Almighty father, I want to know you more and more, send your holy spirit to inspire me and motivate me to let go every bad fellowships and friendships, help me to listen to your voice and surrender to you.
4. Good Jesus, I want to always be joy filled sustain me and lead me to the joy that comes only from you my Jesus.
5. Good Jesus, make me have a generous heart. A heart to love as you loved. A heart to forgive as you forgave. A heart to be tender as you were tender. A heart to be compassionate as you were compassionate. A heart to be gentle as you were but firm in making good decisions. Grant me this grace I ask this year and beyond in the name of Jesus. Amen.
6. Good Jesus, make me grow in great faith. Lord I can I only know you through and through and be able to exercise my faith over that situation if you grant me this gift of faith.
7. Lord Jesus root out of me any seed of fear. Secure and possess my heart. Make it all for you and grant me lasting and true Joy in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer over water

1. In Ezekiel 47:6-9 your word says: then the man took me back to the bank of the river, and when I got there I saw that there were very many trees on each bank. He said to me, “this water flows through the land to the east and down into the Jordan valley and to the Dead Sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the salt water of that sea with fresh water. Wherever the stream flows there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life.”

Prayer: I decree tonight as we will all partake of this water at the end of the opening year prayer, every stagnation in our life, financial dryness, spiritual dryness and confusions, intimidations in our lives, bad luck, satanic manipulations and infestations shall dry at its source and we shall become free, we shall experience total turn around, favour will begin to locate us and blessings will be so much that people will begin to wonder what a sudden change in our life and so shall it be in the name of Jesus. Amen.

1. John 19:34- one of the soldiers, however plunged his spear into Jesus’ side, and at once blood and water poured out.

Prayer: This is a symbol of both Baptism and the Eucharist. Almighty father as we partake of this water daily, let us be washed clean from the waters that flowed from thy side as the soldier who pierced your side was. Grant us admission into your presence and fill us with great joy this we ask through Christ Our Lord. Amen.