Bless be to God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ the holder of all glory who came out of love
Genesis 32:24-30
24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.
Jacob was truly a man of interesting character. He will not stop at anything to get the good he wants. God knew of his tendency to use unacceptable means to get whatever he wanted so he visited him.
This passage is about an encounter he had. The scenario seems like a dream, but it is not mentioned in the word. What matters is that Jacob wrestled with a man.
When he realized that he was not a mere man, he demanded that the man should bless him before the wrestle is over. Whatever Jacob was expecting as the blessing was not clearly spelt out. That is how it is with us sometimes. The scriptures say even when we pray we do not know what to ask.
Thank God we have a Father who knows what we need more than we do. He always goes ahead to provide for us what we need most. In this instance, He changed Jacob’s name from a deceiver to a Prince. God changed his name and brought his destiny back on track.
Prayer
1.Worship the God who knows what is good for us even when we are not sure of what we need
3.Father, I acknowledge You as the God of all blessing. I will not come into Your presence and leave the way I came
WOMAN YOU ARE SET FREE
Luke 13: 10- 13
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”13 Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Amen
Jesus Christ was not just teaching a crowd, He was physically observing and while discerning spiritually too. He noticed a woman, crippled by a demon for 18 years. It was time to set her free from her infirmity.
But, how cruel can satan be? Making this woman (probably a mother and wife too), bend over for 18 years; unable to straighten up or look above for help.
Sadly, many of us have lives that are bent over. We can't seem to get anything to work out straight. We are also unable to lift our eyes to the hills for help.
Year after year, the influence of a foul spirit has limited us and told us we can never straighten up again. Everything seems bent over academically, financially, emotionally, psychologically and physically.
But you see, when this woman could not straighten up or look up for years, she never stopped looking forward to or listening to God’s WORD! She didn't have to look up to see or hear the Word of God, she only had to attentively LOOK UNTO HIM (THE WORD).
She kept her gaze fixed on the Author and Finisher of her faith until THE WORD OF GOD (JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF) CAME STRAIGHT TO HER AND DECLARED; "WOMAN, YOU ARE SET FREE FROM YOUR INFIRMITY!"
One touch from THE WORD straightened all that was bent in her life and gave her a song of praise.
Precious One, the Word of God has located you this morning and He is about to fix whatever has kept you weighed down for years.
Get ready for a touch from JESUS CHRIST. 18 years is too long a time to allow the devil mess us up. Begin to pray now. Set yourself loose from all your infirmities in Jesus name.
Also pray for Africa. Pray against whatever it is bending us over for so long. Blow off the dark cover of corruption, greed and hatred in the name of Jesus. Call for light, call for unity, call for love, call for salvation.
The Lord is more than able to set us free from sin, poverty and disease if we will acknowledge Him in all our ways.
Declarations
I declare that my God is the God of all blessings therefore, my life is full of His blessings. I refuse to live a mediocre life because I am a candidate of His blessing. I may not know exactly what is good for me at this point in time. Nevertheless, I know I cannot be denied the blessings of the Lord. I declare in the name of Jesus that I will not cease wrestling with God in prayer until I have received all the all good things God has in store for me in the name of Jesus
