OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 19/07/2014 - COMPELLING UNWILLING HELPERS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

COMPELLING UNWILLING HELPERS

MEMORISE

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Acts 9:15

READ

Acts 9:10-15

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

MESSAGE

From Acts 9:1-20, we understand that prayer makes things happen. Another lesson we can derive from this passage is that prayer compels unwilling helpers to help you. For everyone that God has sent to planet earth, there are helpers appointed to help each person at different points in life. Access to these helpers and their God-ordained help has a lot to do with how much you can earnestly pray. Helpers are of different categories. Some are willing, some are feebly unwilling, while some are completely unwilling. When God instructs feebly unwilling helpers to help you, they will resist a little but after a while, they will yield to God. But when He instructs the completely unwilling helpers to help you, they will vehemently resist. This may happen when such a helper is your avowed enemy. The truth is, many ‘enemies’ we think we have are actually our potential helpers. If you doubt it, wait for them to be converted to Christ and you will realise what you have been missing. The good thing about this is that God can use anyone to help you. Even if they are totally unwilling, God can force them to help you.

There are some believers who fall under the group of unwilling helpers. They will try to convince God not to help a particular individual and as such, God would have to force them. When God decided to help Saul, He chose a disciple – Ananias who resides also in Damascus – but Ananias revolted. After God carefully explained to him the errand he was to run, he came up with strong reasons why Saul should not be helped by him or by any other disciple. God had to command him to go before he reluctantly went. Thank God Saul prayed. We all have unwilling helpers. Many believers have lost a lot of benefits from their unwilling helpers for failing to pray or not praying enough. If you can pray, God will compel your helpers to deliver the help you require to you and they may still tell you how much they hate you while doing so. This season, your unwilling helpers shall willingly help you in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT

Father, let all my unwilling helpers become willing and ready to help me.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Deuteronomy 22:13-25:4

Job 6:24-7:6