DAILY BREAD OF LIFE

(KJV.)  ACTS 8:59-60

(59)  And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying,  Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
(60)  And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice,  Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.  And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

LET'S REVIVE OUR HEARTS

Brethren, there is a master key which souls have in their spirits; this key, if utilised unlocks doors to the throne of grace, to turn away the wrath of our Father, receive forgiveness, grace, goodness mercies;  this key, has being in existence from generations to present generation, used by mostly servants of our Father, and even idol worshippers used the same logic, to called upon their gods; what is this master key?;  this master key is prayer,  what is prayer, prayer is communication with our Father through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, it is an act, form of worship, to confess, entreat, adore, petition, supplicate and give thanks to our Father:  do these sound familiar to anyone?; check these out!; King David prayed fervently, to glorify our Father with praises and adoration, when Nathan the prophet spoke covenanted blessings upon David's household; refer to 2 Samuel 18:29; King Solomon also prayed to our Father after the Temple was completed, refer to 1 King 8;  King Hezekiah prayed wholeheartedly when Isaiah the prophet came to him with bad news, to get ready to die, our Father, heard his prayers, had mercy on him, gave him fifteen more years to live, refer to 2 Kings 20;  Nehemiah fasted, wept prayed for mercy of our Father to build up the broken wall of Jerusalem, refer to Nehemiah 1;  Job prayed fervently when evil came upon him and his household, refer to the book of Job;  David prayed fervently, wrote songs of praises and adorations in the book of Psalms;  Daniel prayed while in the lions den, our Father closed the mouths of the lions, they could not devour him, refer to the book of Daniel 6;  he prayed fervently for departing from precepts and judgments of our Father, refer to Daniel 9;  Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior prayed fervently in the garden of Gethsemane, when he saw what was to come upon his life, refer to Matthew 26;  prayed again for his enemies, before his death upon the cross of Calvary, refer to Luke 23:34;  therefore, believers, let us pray, whether we suffer or not suffering, when we pray everyday, we strengthen ourselves through the spirits against spiritual attacks from world of darkness;  let us pray, for prayer works; though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through our Father to the pulling down of strong holds; (2 Corinthians 10:4); therefore, as believers, let us pray for ourselves, other people, the body of Christ, benefits of humanity, nations, neighborhoods, and for the peace of this world of darkness.

In this chapter of today's text, Apostle Stephen was persecuted, defended himself, spoke against their evil ways, when they heard his reproves, they gnashed upon  him with their teeth, but being fully charged with Holy Ghost anointing, Stephen looked up firmly into heaven, saw the glory of our Father, and Jesus standing on the right hand of our Father, open up his mouth, said, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of our Father.", (Acts 7:56), his enemies cried out with a loud voice, closed their ears, pursued him with one accord, cast him out of the city, and stoned him; while they stoned him, he called upon the name of our Father, saying,  "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice,  Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,  And when he had said this, he fell asleep.";  read this carefully, Stephen prayed for his enemies, at the point of death, same way Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior prayed for his enemies at the point of his death upon the cross;  as believers of twenty-first century, can we pray for our enemies when being persecuted, provoked, reproached and at the point of martyrdom?, this is a point to ponder on!

CONCLUSION:

Dearly beloved, let us pray everyday, have communicable relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, when we pray, he hears and answers our prayers at his own appointed times, not ours, there are certain prayers that are answered right away, because of situations prevailing against us, however, at times, answers to many prayers get delayed, reasons best known to him, regardless, he does answer prayers, his answers to certain prayers, maybe "Yeses", or "Nos";  be patient, allow our Father to take absolute control of our situations, for his glorification forever and evermore.  Amen and Amen!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

(KJV.)  St. Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you,  Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;