OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26TH2023

THEME: BALANCING THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL

MEMORISE: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2

READ: Galatians 5:16 -25

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

MESSAGE

There are many people living substandard lives because they don’t balance their spiritual and physical lives. Many Christians do everything spiritual; they pray, study their Bibles, are wonderful workers in the Church, evangelise and so on, but then, ignore diligence in the workplace, the need to eat healthy, and the need to build a good connection with their family members. At the end of the day, they are not pleased with how their lives are and they sometimes wonder why God is not magically making everything right. While you must do all that God expects you to do to be fit spirituality, you must not neglect what you need to do to be fit physically as well. Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

If you neglect your health, do not be surprised when you fall ill. If you sow disregard for your wife/husband and children, you would naturally reap disregard from them too. If you sow lack of diligence in your workplace, poverty would follow (Proverbs 6:10-11). What you sow in the spiritual, you will reap just as you will also reap what you sow in the physical.

Our memory verse tells of God’s wish for our prosperity, good health and spiritual growth. The case of those who put all their attention on the physical and neglect the spiritual is however, worse. For many of such people, they begin the fire brigade approach of fasting and praying for that specific problem, but may not get the desired answers because there are some things that only answer to a Father-child relationship with God (Matthew 15:26).

The kind of life that God wants you to live is one where there is a balance between the spiritual and the physical – one where you can live a fulfilled life here on earth and then spend eternity in heaven when you leave the earth. That is a well-balanced life. That is the kind of life you should seek to live.

REFLECTION

Are you living a balanced life: spiritually and spiritually?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 16-19

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 8: I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR

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;
Ev’ry hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Saviour,
I come to Thee.

2. I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power
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.