MFM Daily Devotional 23 December 2023
TOPIC: The Rewards of Righteousness (II)
FIRE SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 18:22-40
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
MEMORY VERSE
The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES: Let righteousness accompany your prayer. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much!
PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY: I decree that, henceforth, your prayer will release tremendous results, in the name of Jesus.
PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Take praise and worship songs led by the Holy Spirit.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 1 – 2; Revelation 5 – 6
MFM Daily Devotional 23 December 2023 MESSAGE
The second reward of righteousness is that it enhances answered prayers. The Bible says that the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears are ever open to their cry. It also says that the righteous cries and the Lord heareth him and delivereth him from all his afflictions.
It adds that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. What a privilege! It was to the righteous that God spoke when He said that while ye are yet speaking He would hear and while you are asking He would answer. Conversely, the prayer of the unrighteous is an abomination to God.
READ MFM Daily Devotional 22 December 2023 – The Rewards of Righteousness
The contest on Mount Carmel that pitched Prophet Elijah against 450 prophets of Baal is a good case in point here. The prophets of Baal made their altar and prayed to Baal for several hours but there was no answer. When Elijah made his own altar and prayed to the God of Israel, fire fell from heaven.
There were two great results: First, the prophets of Baal fled from the mountain but Elijah ordered that they be pursued and they were all killed.
Second, all Israelites bowed in worship and honour of the only true God, the God of Elijah. Hence, Elijah saved the whole nation from apostasy.
Similarly, Daniel was a prayer warrior extraordinaire. God answered his prayers in the lions’ den and the beasts could not hurt him. On one occasion, when he was interceding for the nation of Israel, the prince of Persia waylaid and delayed his answer, yet by sustained prayer, God sent angelic reinforcement and the principality was dislodged and Daniel’s answer released.
The force of righteousness puts a prayer warrior in the class of God and makes him a mysterious wonder. That is why Moses could part the Red Sea. It is the reason that Joshua could command the sun to be still. It is why the apostles could raise the dead and heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases. It is the reason they were effective and successful soul winners. The dividends of righteousness are inestimable!
MFM Daily Devotional 23 December 2023 Prayer Points
MORNING
1. Father, I thank You for the gift of righteousness, in the name of Jesus.
2. Father, let righteousness exalt me and my nation, in the name of Jesus.
3. Father, make me a righteous prayer warrior, in the name of Jesus.
EVENING
4. Father, give me the dividends of righteousness, in the name of Jesus.
5. Father, make me unstoppable, in the name of Jesus.
6. Enemies of righteousness in my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
7. I declare that sin will not have dominion over me, in the name of Jesus.
