FAITH CAPSULE: There is no substitute for prayer.

Luke 3

God is the Lord God that reigns forever. 
With prayer, one possesses the key that opens heaven.
Prayer is a key, while faith is the ignition.
Faith is crucial because, without faith, God is not pleased. 
Hebrews 11:6 confirms, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Are you praying with expectation for an answer? 
Does your prayer have faith?
Word points out that without faith, God is not pleased. 
When with faith, God is pleased to reward one praying before Him.
Jesus demonstrates to all that with prayer, heaven opens. 
Luke 3:21 records, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”
Jesus prayed with faith for an answer from heaven, and the answer came from the open heaven. The bible records, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ’You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.’”(Luke 3:22)
The prayer by Jesus is a testimony to the fact that when a prayer finds a door to heaven, the Holy Spirit, which represents the presence of God, will come down and descend on the one praying. 
With the Holy Spirit descending, the voice of God will then sound in the direction of the one praying. 
The voice of God shall speak direction if the one praying has the ear to hear the voice of God. 
There is a need to have the grace of God to hear the voice of God when it sounds in one praying before God.
When heaven opened for Jesus, He heard the voice from heaven saying to Him, “You are my beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.” 
Remember, it takes faith for one praying to please God.
God is a prayer-answering God.
All should know and understand taking the time to call unto God.
How is your prayer life?
The word pointed out what it takes with prayer. 
Psalm 109:4 of David states, “…But I give myself to prayer.”
Just as stated by David in Psalm 109:4, the book Acts 6:4 says, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 
Are you a believer with a prayer life or an unbelieving believer with no prayer life?
As a believer, how is your prayer life? 
A prayer-less believer is like a vehicle with headlights, driving in the dark without the headlights turned on. 
With such, it will only take a moment before a disaster happens by driving in the dark without light (prayer).
In these days of spiritual wickedness, there should be no substitute for prayer.

Prayer for today: Ask for understanding and strength to increase prayer time before God.

FAITH CAPSULE: The three friends of Daniel experienced decoration of the presence of God.

Daniel 3

In this new season or your new beginning in life journey, with desire, make it a priority to become a decorated vessel of God.
One that trusts and hopes in God rest in God.
Trusting and hoping in God prompts one to declare the works of God. 
Knowing to declare the works of God is in positions for one to become decorated with the presence of God.
To declare the works of God is to be obedient to God and disobey the gods of this world. 
The three friends of Daniel (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) demonstrated what it means to declare the works of God and be decorated by the presence of God. 
The three friends of Daniel disobeyed King Nebuchadnezzar by not worshiping a gold image. 
With King Nebuchadnezzar, a failure not to worship the gold image shall die in the burning fiery furnace. 
Attempts to get them to worship the gold image did not work, and the king questioned: Who will deliver the three friends from his hands?
The three friends of Daniel, in the face of untimely death, declare the wonder-working God stating, “…O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) 
It is impossible to declare the wonder-working God in the face of a life and death challenge.
The three friends declared for God and experienced decoration with the presence of God.
God uncommonly decorated the three friends in the history of creation. 
God showed up for the three friends by sending an angel for deliverance.
The king saw and testified God whom he did not know before, he was astonished, and states, “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”(Daniel 3:25)
The three friends encountered decoration of God, and the king could not resist announcing the awesomeness of God.
The three friends of Daniel could not become a victim of the wicked as they remained close to God. 
The three friends of Daniel trusted in God, and their hope could not become hopeless.
The three friends worshiped God by their testimony to deny worrying in the face of sudden death.
Are you with trust and hope in the awesomeness of God that delivers?
Ignore the wicked; focus and hold onto God in these days of rising challenges, and you shall be standing for the glory of God without a doubt before the enemy. 

Prayer for today: Ask to know God with trust and hope to become decorated by God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Pray the word of God continually.

Acts 12

Acts 6:4 speaks to all, “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Know to pray the word of God because the word of God does not return void but will provoke an undenied answer from God.
PRAY AGAINST TASKMASTER IN YOUR LIFE
The Israelites in Egypt became a target by the enemy because of their potential to grow.
Exodus 1:11 records, “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens.”
The Pharaoh set up taskmaster to inflict, to replace the purpose of God over their life.
Prayerfully, the taskmaster in place to inflict, to replace the purpose for your life by God shall be frustrated and become powerless over the life given to you by God.
A situation in your life that represents a taskmaster shall become terminated.
PRAYER
Ask that every force representing the taskmaster over your life inflicting pain physically, spiritually, or emotionally be cease this hour in the name of Jesus.
Ask against every attempt of the taskmaster to replace the purpose of God in your life shall be a failure. The taskmaster against your life shall become exposed with shame in the name of Jesus.
PRAY THE WORD AGAINST WHAT HOLDS MAN DOWN
What is it that is holding you down physically, spiritually, or emotionally to deny your rising to live life for the glory of God?
Whatever hold down one is with a plan to kill and destroy.
The disciples of Jesus, James, the brother of John and Peter, faced sudden death and untimely death.
King Herod was holding them down for the time to kill them.
Acts 12:1-5 documents, “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
Evidently, before the death of James, the church must have been having Sleeping in the place of praying(Casual prayer) instead of having constant prayer (commitment prayer). After the death of James, constant prayer took charge to replace the sleeping type of prayer (Casual prayer), by the church to deliver Peter from sudden, untimely death.
Isaiah 45:11 encourages where God said, “concerning the work of My hands You command Me…”
PRAYER
Ask that whatever force, challenges, spiritual force, physical or emotional issue that is HOLDING you down be shattered, that you shall not be a victim of the wicked world.
Ask to be strengthened on your prayer altar before God.
Ask that every iota of the spirit of prayer laziness be flushed out for prayer consistently to become your way of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: Safety is in knowing the word of God.

Proverbs 6 

Safety in the presence of God demands to dwell and abide in the secret of God.
Psalm 91:1 states, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The secret place of God is in His word.
His word serves as a shadow for one that dwells and abides in His word.
Are you dwelling but not abiding in the secret place of God?
One that only knows about God does not know God and is not better than an unbeliever that does not dwell and abide in the secret place of God. 
However, those who dwell and abide in the secret place of God know God to live life by the word of God.
Know God, keep to the word of God the only possible means to dwell and abide in the secret place of God.
Among the identities of one that keep the word of God is:
Do not do against the word of God.
Proverbs 3:29-31 states, “Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety’s sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways” 
Keep to the word of God by answering God to gain His attention.
Keeping the word of God will provoke heaven for protection.
Keeping the word of God exposes one to the counsel of God. 
Keeping the word of God will keep one not to experience the curse of the wicked. 
The just and humble ones keep the word of God. 
Word pointed out that God blesses the home of the just.
God gives grace to the humble. 
To be keeping the word of God keeps one not to experience shame. (Proverbs 3:32-35)
God is truthful to honor His word beyond the imagination man takes far from receiving the word of God by not keeping to the word of God. 
Do not deceive yourself; do not be deceived by any force that is against the word of God. 
Truly engage the word of God that is life to keep because, “When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep, they will keep you; and when you awake, they will speak with you.” (Proverbs 6:22)
Knowing God is to be keeping the word of God by binding the word of God continually upon the heart to have life more abundantly in this wicked world of darkness.
Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God.
Knowing about God does not know to keep the word of God.
Knowing about God is not enough to gain and retain the presence of God. 
Do you know about God, or do you know God?
Know God to dwell and abide the secret place of God.

Prayer for today: Ask to be filled with the knowledge of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Are you bargaining against the word of God for your life? 

Numbers 32

The evidence against the command /word of God is a lack of commitment to God.
Commitment to the word of God is the key to arrival in the journey of life.
One with a commitment to the word of God cannot be a victim of the confusion of the wicked world.
One committed to the word of God shall not be a failure in the hand of God. 
In the journey of life, a lack of commitment to the word of God will experience delay or denied not to claim the promise of God. 
One with a commitment to the word of God is giving self to walk before God without ceasing or with self-centered excuses before God.
With a commitment to the living word of God is taking the unfailing route in the journey of life.
Claiming to be a believer without commitment to the word of God is having a religion with no relationship with God.
Does that sound like you?
Are you committed to the word of God, with an understanding of seeking God diligently? 
What does it mean to seek God diligently?
Seeking God with diligence demands walking, sitting, and standing in the word of God with a commitment to the word of God.
Psalm 1:1-2 records, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night.” 
Seeking God with diligence is living obediently to the word of God.
The Israelites did not commit to the word of God in the journey to the promise of God. 
The children of Gad and Reuben wanted to settle for the East side of Jordan against the command to cross the Jordan.
The choice of disobedience to the word of God by the children of Gad and children of Reuben was self-convenience with no commitment to the word of God.
Numbers 32:1-5 records, “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, saying, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” Therefore, they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” 
God promised the land that flows with milk and honey, but the children of Gad and the children of Reuben could not commit, negotiating against the command of God.
Do not negotiate or bargain in the place of the direction of God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for you to be committed to His word.