Topic: The tragedy of Sleep And Slumber (2)
Fire Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13
Memory Verse: Proverbs 24:33: – “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:”
Outline: Yesterday, we highlighted the colossal damage that sleep and slumber have caused in the lives of many believers and admonished that you learn from the victims’ lessons.
Today, we will further examine the tragedy of sleep and slumber. How can you be a successful prayer warrior and intercessor if you spend all the hours of the night and 365 days in a year sleeping? If you fail in spiritual warfare and allow the enemy to hijack the midnight hours from you, you are not likely to succeed in other areas of life. Wise and vigilant Christians use the hours of the night to wage war, take authority and possess territories.
One of the tragedies of modern day Christianity is that, because they put sleep ahead of profitable spiritual exercises, sons and daughters no longer prophesy, old men no longer dream dreams and young men no longer see visions as they ought to. This is also why we have few prayer warriors, intercessors and prophets among us today.
It is the reason for the powerlessness of our age and the inability to re-enact the wonders and miracles of early Christians. Rather than running from pillar to post in search of someone to pray for them or lay hand on them, what many people need is to sleep less and spend the hours of the night in prayer. That is the key to their Peniel encounter.
Beloved, it is time to turn a new leaf! The inability to exercise restraint and discipline in the area of sleep has also had disastrous consequences in the secular lives of believers. Many Christians have overslept and arrived late at examination halls and job interviews. Some have missed important appointments that would have changed their career and business fortunes and moved their lives forward permanently.
Oversleeping is a sign of spiritual slumber. It is a mark of laziness and indolence. The Bible says that a little sleep and a little slumber and a little folding of the arm (Proverbs 24:33). All this will lead to poverty. Jesus was so committed to His divine assignment that every other thing was secondary to Him and He said, “My meat (food) is to do the will of my Him who sent me” (John 4:34).
Beloved, if you must make a head way in life and be a huge blessing to your generation, you must not allow sleep to rob you of your destiny and blessings. You must say no to spiritual slumber and all forms of laziness.
Motivational Quote: Early to bed, early to rise, keeps a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Prophetic Word: Receive the power for deliverance from the bondage of the bed, in the name of Jesus.
HYMN – Christ, our mighty Captain, leads against the foe
1. Christ, our mighty Captain, leads against the foe;
We will never falter when He bids us go;
Tho’ His righteous purpose we may never know
Yet we’ll follow all the way.
Chorus
Forward! forward!
’tis the Lord’s command,
Forward! forward!
to the promised land;
Forward! forward!
let the chorus ring:
We are sure to win with Christ, our King!
2. Satan’s fearful onslaughts cannot make us yield,
While we trust in Christ, our Buckler
and our Shield; Pressing ever on the
Spirit’s sword we wield,
And we follow all the way
MFM Daily Devotional 18th March 2021 PRAYER POINTS
MORNING
1. Every good thing I lost to spiritual sleep and slumber, I recover it now by fire, in the name of Jesus.
2. I will be an asset, not a liability to my generation, in the name of Jesus.
3. Holy Spirit, re-arrange my life to prioritise spiritual things in the name of Jesus.
EVENING
4. Laziness and poverty shall not be my lot, in the name of Jesus.
5. Father, give me a personal Peniel encounter, in the name of Jesus.
6. I overcome the powers of the night, in the name of Jesus.
7. Day and night shall favour me, all the days of my life, in the name of Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Deut. 21-23
MFM Daily Devotional 18th March 2021. The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) is a Pentecostal denomination founded in Yaba, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria in 1989, now with churches in several countries. It was founded by Daniel Kolawole Olukoya
