FRIDAY 15TH JUNE 2018 PRAY, DON’T MURMUR

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 15TH JUNE 2018
THEME: PRAY, DON’T MURMUR
MEMORISE:
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to
have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war,
yet ye have not, because ye ask not. James
4:2
READ: Exodus 15:22-26
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red
sea, and they went out into the wilderness
of Shur; and they went three days in the
wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah, they
could not drink of the waters of Marah, for
they were bitter: therefore the name of it
was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against
Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the
LORD showed him a tree, which when he
had cast into the waters, the waters were
made sweet: there he made for them a
statute and an ordinance, and there he
proved them,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken
to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do
that which is right in his sight, and wilt give
ear to his commandments, and keep all his
statutes, I will put none of these diseases
upon thee, which I have brought upon the
Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth
thee.
MESSAGE
One deadly habit that is very common
among the people of God today is
murmuring. Like the Israelites of old, many
children of God today engage in it without
even realising it! It is indeed a silent
destroyer. For this reason, the Holy Spirit
warns us against it in 1 Corinthians 10:10,
saying:
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also
murmured, and were destroyed of the
destroyer.”
Do you know that there are times we think
we are praying but we are actually
murmuring?
In our Bible reading, the children of Israel
were at Marah, where they found water that
was not drinkable because it was bitter.
Despite all that God had done for them, they
did not consider that He already knew that
they would pass through Marah and would
have gone ahead of them to make provision
for the water they would drink. All they
could think of doing was to murmur about
the bitter water. The characters at play in
the events that occurred at Marah are
indicative of the two types of Christians we
have in the Church today. The first type
behaves like the multitude who murmured,
while the second type behaves like Moses
who cried to the Lord for a solution. It is
interesting to note that the murmuring of
the multitude was an exercise in futility
because their murmurings did not change
the bitterness of the water. The prayer of
Moses, on the other hand, yielded positive
results because his cry to God moved God
into action. God showed him what to do to
reverse the situation, and the people's need
for good water was met. This mirrors what
is happening with Christians today. We
murmur about what we desire and the lack
of it, instead of actually asking God and
trusting that if He wills, our prayers will be
answered.
Beloved, you need to ask yourself today
which type of Christian you are between the
two types we have considered. I beseech
you to examine your prayer life and
relationship with God before answering this
question. Are you the type of Christian
mentioned in our memory verse, just lusting,
desiring and fighting for things but yet
getting nothing? You need to ask God to
reveal to you the truth on where you stand
today. May the Almighty God hear your
prayer in Jesus' Name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please forgive me for all the
murmuring I have done against You
consciously or unconsciously; I promise not
to do so again. Please turn my unpleasant
situation around today in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Kings 12-13, Acts 10:44-11:18
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 2: I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR
1. I Need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
Chorus:
I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee,
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh bless me now, my Saviour;
I come to Thee.
2. I need Thee every hour;
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their pow'r
When Thou art nigh.
3. I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.
4. I need Thee every hour;
Teach me Thy will,
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfil.
5. I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.