Thursday 6th June 2019 Prayer Devotion
Scripture Reading:- 2 Kings 1:1-8
Topic:- Elijah Shuns Materialism
Text:- 2 Peter 2:19
Elijah wore a ferment of black camel’s hair girded with a leather belt about his waist to hold in his ferment for free movement. His dress was symbolic and stood for:-
1. His chosen poverty and priorities; material things were not on his priority list.
2. His separation and denouncement of the world; he was not controlled by the lifestyle of the world. He was separated to the Lord as God’s servant.
3. His official office and purpose in life; he was a proclaimer of the word of Yahweh.
4. He knew who he was (God’s representative), where he was (in a sinful world that stood opposed to the purpose of God) and he was there (to give out God’s message of light to people in darkness). What contrast Elijah must have been to the people in the rich luxurious city of Samaria, especially the effeminate, perverted Baal Priests.
5. Elijah’s dress and lifestyle demonstrated his separation and devotion to the Lord. It teaches us that spiritual priorities and value controlled his life. He was a man who was truly free because he was free to follow the Lord. When, in our attempt to be free or do as we please, we rebel against the Lord’s authority and control of our lives, we experience a sad irony, we become slaves of our own desire and become what Peter describes as “Slave of corruption.” See 2 Peter 2:19.
Let us ask ourselves some tough questions like:-
1. How much have I been softened and negatively affected by the comforts of our society?
2. How available am I to serve the Lord if its going to cause some kind of hardship or inconvenience?
3. Do I have the heart of a sojourner or do I have the heart of an earth dweller?
4. Am I more committed to my comfort and pleasure than I am to the Lord?
Check your life in the light of the above questions.
Prayer Points:-
1. Oh Lord God, heal my backsliding as a result of love for material things at the expense of craving for Your kingdom, in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. I reject being controlled by lifestyle of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ.
3. Oh Lord God, shed Your light on where I have mingled with the world, and give me the grace to change, in the name of Jesus Christ.
4. Oh Lord God, let me be conscious that I am in the world but not of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ.
5. I command every worldliness in me, get out by fire and die, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Have A Lovely Thursday!
