Open Heavens 3 July 2015: Friday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Prayer Can Subdue People

Topic: Prayer Can Subdue People [Friday July 3, 2015]

Memorise: He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. -Psalm 47:3

Read: Genesis 32:6-12 & 33:4, (KJV)

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Genesis 33:4

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 12:14; Luke 16:14-31

MESSAGE:

When Jacob was told that his brother, Esau, who had sworn to kill him, was coming to meet him with four hundred men, he was justifiably afraid and distressed. However, he prayed to God for deliverance, reminding Him of His covenant with his father. Several things happened to Jacob as a result of this prayer. After he prayed, God changed his name from Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28). Prayer can rename a situation or an individual, and it can also terminate the regime of an evil era induced by a bad name. When prayer ends a bad name, there will no longer be any reason to call the fellow by the former name. God told Jacob “From today, nobody will call you that name again.” As soon as He said it, every reproach the name had attached to him was completely erased. Royalty took over from there. From today, you shall no longer be called barren! You shall no longer move around in circles. You shall no longer labour without receiving a commensurate harvest. From today, sorrow, tears and disappointment have ended in your life!

Beside this, prayer gave Jacob power with God and helped him prevail over the anger of his brother. To subdue impossible human beings, you need power with God. The extent to which you can control men will be determined by the power you have with God, because it’s God who subdues men under you (Psalm 47:3). Whenever you pray intensely from your heart, power is produced. The power that prayer generates can be channelled towards achieving any goal. When you pray effectively concerning your business, the power to succeed in it is released to you. If you are struggling in your studies, you need to pray intensely, and the power to enable you all that you should do to succeed in your academics will be released.

Acts 1:8 declares that when the Holy Spirit comes, power comes with Him. When you pray in the Holy Ghost with your heart, power comes. This power may come in the form of understanding difficult subjects you are studying, wisdom to relate with subordinates in such a manner that garners their support to enable you succeed in your assignment or ministry, and so on. Prayer also helps you to be victorious over men. Are people rising up against you? Pray! As you pray, they will be subdued. Is anyone threatening your life like Esau did to Jacob? Pray, and the Lord will subdue them.

Action Point: One weapon every leader requires to keep the loyalty of their subjects and subordinates is prayer. Pray that God will keep those under you faithful to your righteous cause.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

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