Apostolic Prayers

[Singing and background music] Church fellowship cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God will only visit a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Singing] I have joy like a river, joy like a river, I have joy like a river in my soul. I have joy like a river, joy like a river, I have joy like a river in my soul. Our Father, we thank you again for another time in your presence this morning, the last Monday in the month of September. We give you glory, we give you praise, we give you adoration. We appreciate you for all who you are. We thank you for all that you are. We bless your holy name, our Father. Lord, our God, we thank you for how you have kept us through January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and today is the last Monday in the month of September. We thank you for preserving our lives. Our Father, unto you we gather this evening—we who are here physically, our brethren who are connected with us on Telegram, our brethren who are joining us on Mixlr. Lord, our God, we commit ourselves into your hand. We say, Lord, our God, meet with each and every one of us in the name of Jesus. Lord, as we gather to pray this evening, Lord, we say help us to pray. Lord, we say teach us to pray. Lord, we say enable us to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We indeed want to give thanks to the Lord for another time again in his presence. We want to appreciate God for today being the last Monday in the month of September. Usually for our last Monday, it is usually time of prayer. So as we gather this evening, we will be taking time to pray, to talk to the Lord. Today's prayer will just be a follow-up to what we have been learning in the last three or four months, which is biblical concept of faith. Something we started with and the Lord helped us. We concluded the matter last week with episode 36. I want to beg you, create time to listen to all the episodes. While all the episodes are connected as one, the truth is also that each of the episodes can stand alone. Each of them stands alone. So please make do to connect with those episodes on our website: www.familytentministry.org. Please connect and listen to these messages. I believe that they will be blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Today we want to take time to look at what I call—to pray around what I call the apostolic prayer. The apostolic prayer. I am bringing the apostolic prayer for us to pray. It was something we did, I think, about two or three years ago, and today again I felt it is important we bring forth those prayers—the apostolic prayer. The apostolic prayer that we want to take time to pray today is just in line with the prayer issues that the apostles raised, the prayers that they prayed for the saints, that they prayed with the saints. That is what I am calling the apostolic prayers. It is so important for us to look at these prayers and to pray them for our lives also because these prayers are prayers that as I meditate personally on these prayers, I have come to find that they are actually very deeply spirited prayers, and we will take them one after the other. The way I would like us to begin is to begin with the Lord Jesus and the disciples in Luke 24. That is how I would like us to begin the prayer today. Luke 24, Jesus' appearance to the two disciples and eventually to all of the disciples. Let's look at Luke 24 from verse 13. **Luke 24:13–16** "Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of these things which had happened. That is, they were talking about the death, how Jesus was killed, everything that happened. They were just talking about it. They were discussing the arrest. They were discussing just everything. They were talking about it. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him." Their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. That is where we want to take our first prayer point about this today's meeting that I tagged apostolic prayers. I want you to pray to the Lord that God Almighty, Baba, don't let my eyes be restrained in such a way that I will not know you. It says their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. I want you to pray wherever you are, take a position, a convenient position, and begin to talk to the Lord that Lord God Almighty, don't let my eyes be restrained so that I may know you. Lord, don't let my eyes be restrained. Lord, that my eyes will not be restrained. My eyes will not be restrained. Lord, there will be nothing restraining me from knowing you. There will be nothing restraining my eyes. There will be nothing. Nothing will be restraining my eyes. Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Lord, we pray this evening that our eyes will not be restrained. There will be nothing restraining our eyes. There will be nothing, nothing restraining our eyes from knowing you. Lord, we will know you. Lord, we will know you. Lord, we will know you. We pray, O Lord, for one another. We ask, O God, for one another that Lord, we as a people, our eyes will not be restrained. Our eyes will not be restrained in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The second prayer point we will be taking is also in Luke 24. Luke 24, the Bible says that eventually Jesus appeared to all of them. That is from around verse 36. Let's take it from verse 36. We are talking about the disciples now, all of them together. **Luke 24:36–45** "As they said these things—Jesus first appeared to those two on the road. So those two, they went back to the other disciples. And they told about the things that happened on the road and how he was known to them at the breaking of bread. And as they said these things, that is Cleopas and the other disciple, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, 'Peace to you.' But they were terrified and frightened and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, he said to them, 'Have you any food here?' So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.' And he opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. Then he said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead again.'" So what are we seeing here, our second prayer? Jesus began to expand the scripture to them. He was explaining the word of God. He was telling them that look, these things are not new things. I have told you these things before. I have discussed them with you, that all of these things must come to pass, all of these things must happen. But look at something that he did for them. The Bible says he opened their understanding so that they could understand the scripture. You see, let me tell you one thing. God is the author and the finisher of our faith. It is God who authors our faith. I'm showing you something here. We've been discussing biblical concept of faith. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. I'm showing you something here that there was something Jesus did. He has been speaking the word of God to these people. He has been showing them the scripture, but they did not understand. But at his resurrection, what did Jesus do? Jesus opened their understanding so that they could understand the scriptures. Let us go to the place of prayer. See, if we are not getting into the spirit of scripture, it is because our understanding has not been opened. They were speaking scripture to the disciples, but they were not getting scriptures because their understanding was not open. We want to pray to the Lord today that the same way he did to the disciples, the same way the Lord will do to us. The Lord will open our understanding so that we can understand the scriptures. The Lord will open our understanding so that we can understand the mind of God in scriptures. I want you to ask the Lord that God, God Almighty, cause my understanding to be opened. Cause my understanding to be opened. Lord, open my understanding. You did this for the disciples. Lord, I don't just want to be a church person. I don't just want to be inside church. I want to be somebody who has an open understanding to understand scriptures. Lord God, I look up unto you. Baba, open me up. Open me up. Everywhere I am closed, everywhere I am locked, God Almighty, open me up. Open me up. Open me up. Open my understanding to understand the scriptures. Open my understanding, Lord. Cause me, bring me into the spirit of the scripture. Bring me into the spirit of the scripture, God Almighty. The burden of the scripture, the burden of the scripture, the prayers of the scripture, the apostolic prayers, the apostolic prayers, the apostolic prayers. Lord, God, I pray this evening, bring me into the mind of the scripture. Bring me into the mind of scripture. Cause understanding to come for me. Cause understanding to be opened to me in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, bring me into the mind of the scripture in the name of Jesus. Lord, bring me into the mind of the scriptures. You opened their understanding that they might understand scripture. You caused their understanding to be opened. And what you have been telling them all the while that they were not getting, they got it. And that is something I want you to pray. If you look at that scripture, Jesus Christ said something. He said then he said to them, **Luke 24:44**, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you." I actually told you these things while I was with you, but they did not get it. I want you to pray. Lord, what have you been telling me that I'm not getting? He said these are the things I told you when I was with you. I told you before, but you didn't get it. I've explained you didn't get it. So for them to get it, he now opened their understanding. We're talking about faith. We're asking the Lord that Lord, what have you been trying to make me see in the scripture that I've not seen? What have you been trying to make me understand in the scripture that I'm not understanding? Lord, I pray today, open my mind. Open my mind so that I can understand scriptures. Lord, open my mind so that I can understand scriptures. Lord, open my mind. That thing that you have been telling me, that thing you have been pointing me to, that revelation that has been coming that I'm not getting, that insight that has been coming that I'm not getting, that thing you have been saying that I'm not getting. Lord, open my mind to understand scripture. The Bible says then he opened their mind, that is verse 44, verse 45 of Luke 24. He said and then he opened their understanding that they might comprehend scriptures. Lord God Almighty, my understanding must be opened. Lord, do for me what you did to them. Whatsoever you have been trying to make me see that I'm not seeing, whatsoever you have been trying to make me understand that I'm not understanding, Lord, like you did for the disciples, Lord do for me today. Open my understanding to understand scripture. Open my understanding to understand scripture. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Our third prayer point. Our third prayer point. This time we are going to the Epistles, the prayer that Paul prayed. The prayer that Paul prayed. The first one is in Colossians. In Colossians, let's go to Colossians. Colossians chapter 1. Our focus this evening is the apostolic prayers. The apostolic prayers. The prayers that the apostles, the prayers they prayed. And that is what is becoming our focus of prayer. The next one is in Colossians chapter 1. Colossians 1 from verse 9. **Colossians 1:9** "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, we did not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you might be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." That is an apostolic prayer. You see, your life cannot be correct if you don't have a clear understanding of the will of God. And the apostles, they were praying. They said for this reason we also prayed since the day we have heard, we do not cease to pray for you, and to ask God that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. You want to ask the Lord for your life. You want to ask God for your own life. You want to ask God that God, cause me to be filled with the knowledge of your will. When you don't understand the will of God, you will be living foolishly. The Bible says do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. That's Ephesians chapter 5. Don't be unwise. Once you don't know God's will, you can never be wise. So we want to ask the Lord, Lord God Almighty, we have rounded up biblical concept of faith, and we are looking at matters that have to do with our faith. One important matter about our faith is the knowledge of God's will. You want to ask the Lord that God, fill me with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will—the will of God for your life, the will of God for your ministry, the will of God maritally, the will of God financially, the will of God career-wise. They ask you what do you want to do in life? You say you don't know. So what's the next plan? I'm still thinking. So what does God want you to do? I don't even understand. Okay, so what is the next move from now? You say I don't know, but I'm thinking. You can go beyond that level. You can go beyond that level. Ask the Lord that Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. All wisdom—wisdom maritally, wisdom spiritually, wisdom in ministry, wisdom in career, wisdom academically, wisdom financially, wisdom in my health. Every area of your life, you must understand what the will of the Lord is. The Bible says do not be unwise, but understanding what God's will is. In any matter in which you don't know the will of God, you will be foolish. In any matter in which you don't know the will of God, in that matter, you will be acting foolishly. You'll be acting foolishly. But once you begin to know the will of God, once you begin to understand the will of God, you start becoming somebody that is wise. You start becoming wise. You start becoming wise. You start acting wisely. You start moving wisely. You start going wisely. You start taking wise decisions about your life. So we are looking at this prayer of Paul. Lord God Almighty, I don't want to live foolishly. I don't want to live stupidly. Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will. It was a prayer the apostles, the prayer they prayed. They prayed this for the church. So we can pray it for our life. We are the church of God. We can say God, fill me with the knowledge of your will. In every ramification of my life. That is in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Lord, cause me to be filled with the knowledge of your will. Lord, fill me. Fill me so that I can live by faith. So that I can walk by faith. So that I can move by faith. There is this confidence with which you live your life. You begin to live your life with so much confidence and strength because you know the Lord has spoken. You know the Lord has said something, and you are moving in that direction. Ask the Lord, "Baba, fill me with the knowledge of your will. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. Fill me with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. In all—let there be no exception—in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Lord, oh, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen." Let me give you some biblical example. You see, when you don't know the will of God, you cannot live by faith. It's not possible. Don't forget that I said this prayer is a follow-up to the 36 episode on biblical concept of faith. Let us look at Isaac. There was famine in the land. Remember that episode? Isaac, there was famine in the land. Isaac made up his mind to go to Egypt in order to handle the famine. While he was planning to go to Egypt, the Bible says the Lord appeared to him, and the Lord told him, "Isaac, don't go to Egypt. Stay in this land. I will be with you and I will bless you." The Bible says Isaac sowed in that land, and he reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him. That is financially. There could be several things happening around your life, and you are thinking that the best way to handle Nigeria problem is to go to US. God may not want you to go to US. God may want you to move to Ghana. You will be thinking that it is in US that everything will work. If you go to US, you have acted foolishly. You have acted foolishly because you will not prosper because where God has put your provision is in Ghana. God wanted you to move to Ghana. It could be the other way around. You may say, "Ah, I have an auntie in Ghana. I have auntie in Ghana. I will be able to stay in Accra, and Ghana Cedi is better than Nigerian Naira. Let me begin from there." Whereas God wants you to move to Canada. By the time you move to Ghana, you will struggle and struggle and struggle. "Ah, I don't know why things are not working." It is because you are not in the place that you ought to be. I'm talking about being filled with what? With the knowledge of his will in all wisdom. So sometimes you don't know the will of God, you will be acting foolishly. You cannot live by faith without the will of God. I told you when I finished school, I finished service and leaving the university as the best student, my elder brother was in Chevron, and the thinking was that, "Okay, let's fix you up in Chevron." The Lord said, "Wole, I have not raised you to be an oil worker. I have raised you to be a teacher. Don't go that direction. Go the way of teaching." And all the conclusion then was that I will not make it again in life. But I told them that, "Sorry, I'm not moving to Lagos for to come to Chevron. I'll be in Jos." I started teaching career as a teacher, and I started instead of going to 300,000, I was earning 1,000 Naira. It was looking foolish, but that was wisdom. You see, I'm trying to make you understand something. When you don't know the will of God, you'll be acting foolishly. You cannot live by faith without the will of God. It is when you understand the will of God that courage rise with danger. You begin to move by faith. You begin to live by faith. I want you to pray that prayer. It's an apostolic prayer that God, God Almighty, I don't want to live foolishly. I don't want to live stupidly. Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will in every ramification of my life. That is in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Lord, cause me to be filled with the knowledge of your will. Lord, fill me. Fill me so that I can live by faith. So that I can walk by faith. So that I can move by faith. There is this confidence with which you live your life. You begin to live your life with so much confidence and strength because you know the Lord has spoken. You know the Lord has said something, and you are moving in that direction. Ask the Lord, "Baba, fill me with the knowledge of your will. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. Fill me with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. In all—let there be no exception—in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Lord, oh, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen." Apostolic prayer. We go to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. We'll just be taking those prayers as they prayed them. That's just what we want to do today. Those prayers, they are prayers that once you enter into them, you are able to walk by faith. If you don't enter into these prayers, you cannot walk by faith. Anybody who don't understand God's will cannot live by faith. You'll be living, "I think so. I feel so." I think, I feel, maybe, moreover, however, notwithstanding—that is not the way to live by faith. Faith is being certain of what you hope for, evidence of what you have not seen. It was by it that the elders obtained a good report. Look at something again about faith. Ephesians chapter 1, I read from verse 15. **Ephesians 1:15–18** "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." So you want to ask the Lord. That's our last prayer point about ourselves today before we now pray for Nigeria and we close for the day. Now, you want to ask the Lord, Lord, you can hold your Bible, you can be looking at it and be praying it. You can be looking at it and be praying it until the thing gets into your head, you memorize that prayer. I tell you that there was a point in my life, I don't know what happened to me then, I was I think I was I can't remember my age, whether 19 or 20, I can't remember my age, but I was much younger in the faith. You know I met the Lord at the age of 17, and by the mercies of God, by his workings, God so much helped me. He held my hands that till date, from that 17 till where I am now, I don't know what people call backsliding or up and down. It has been consistent growth. I mean consistently growing, overcoming my struggle that I could look back and say there was no time in my life that I wasn't growing. It was planting a plant on a fertile ground, and the thing was just growing. And in all my seasons, I was bringing forth my fruit. When men wanted to confuse my season, they said, "No, you cannot marry now." God said I said, "Go and marry now." I mean in all my, I did not miss my seasons. Even times when they were so confusing and intricate and they were so complex, I will still hear God speaking to me, "Son, this is the time to do this." I remember when I finished my WAEC, and it was like it is time to enter university and then I wasn't entering until all my mates were going for NYSC service. Then somebody said that, "Look, maybe because you came from a polygamous home. It is because you are living with your mother-in-law. Your mother-in-law is the one behind your no progress." But as I stayed with the Lord, the Lord said, "Son, I'm only raising you a minister. You would have become a minister before you entered the university. At my appointed time, you will enter." So I wasn't disturbed. When eventually when I was almost 22, I entered the university. That was when my mates were going for NYSC service. And the Lord said, "Son, this is when I want you to be here in University of Benin." You see what I'm trying to make you understand something. If you don't understand your season, you start thinking, "Hey, this person is behind me, this person is pursuing me." That was what they wanted to make me see, that it's because I was with my stepmother. It is my stepmother that is behind—look, I'm just trying to make you understand something. May you have the spirit of revelation. The spirit of revelation. May you have the spirit of revelation. It's a very, very important thing in life, very, very vital in life. I'm talking about the spirit of revelation. He says that the Lord our God will give unto you the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him. At that point, at that early time, I knew this thing. I just carried it like this, and I was praying it. I was just walking up and down. God, give me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation. We were young boys then, whether 18 or 19 as a teenager or 20, I can't remember. But do you know one thing? When I got, when this thing happened to me as a young Christian, I knew. I knew when I got the spirit of revelation. I knew it. I knew something had happened to me. I knew something had changed. I began to see the Bible in a different light. I began to see what elders could not see. I began to see what my colleagues could not see. I began to see different things, and people will ask me, "Oh Wole, how are you seeing this thing in the Bible?" Oh, I knew that something had happened to me. May something definite from God happen to you in the name of Jesus. I want you to pray, pray, talk to the Lord. God, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. I want to live this life of faith. I don't just want to be in the church, "I'm in the choir, I'm in the Bible study, I'm a teenage church teacher." No, Christianity is more than that. Christianity is a life you are living inside God. You are hearing God, you are receiving God, you are following God, you are obeying God. God is speaking to you, you are moving. That is Christianity. I want you to pray. God, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. Lord, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. Cause my eyes of understanding to be opened. Cause my eyes of understanding to be opened. Cause my eyes of understanding to be opened. Cause my eyes of understanding to be opened. Lord, Lord, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation. Lord, release into my life the spirit of wisdom. Release to me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. That my eyes of understanding will be opened. That my eyes of understanding will be opened. Lord, I don't want to be usual. God, cause me to see the invisible. Cause me to hear the inaudible. Cause me to see the invisible. Cause me to hear the inaudible, see the invisible things of God, hear the inaudible things of God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I remember entering Akure land when we newly entered Akure land and we were doing ministry. We were ministering to people—family life seminar, this seminar. Some men in the land, they came to meet us. They said, "Look, this is not how to do ministry. The way you are doing the ministry, you are not going to succeed very well." And what were they trying to say? They said, "Look, you have this grace of a teacher, and you will from everything it is clear that you are a pastor. So the best way to do this thing is turn this thing to a church. Once you have a church, you know what happens? What happens is that the people you are ministering to, their tithe will not go outside. They will bring the tithe into the storehouse. This one you are ministering to people, their tithe is going. But when you make it a church now, the tithe and offering comes in. That way ministry grows." And I told them that there's nothing wrong with collecting tithe and offering if you are persuaded in your heart to give tithe. Give it. If you are persuaded in your heart to give more than ten, give. What God is interested in is that we must learn that in everything in our hand, there is a seed. In everything you have, you must learn not to eat everything. Everything that comes into your life, learn to give from out of it. You must learn to create seed. The Bible says seed time and harvest time will not cease. If everything you have you consume on yourself, you can never be prosperous according to the kingdom principle. It is a liberal soul that will be made fat. If you are not liberal, you can never be fat. I'm talking about kingdom prosperity. In the kingdom, the Bible says there is he withholds more than necessary and the person comes to poverty. When you are always withholding, you don't sow seed. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. The person who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So we must learn to sow. Sow your time into people, sow your life into people, sow your money into people, sow into people. Create seed for your life, plant. The farmer who plants a bag of rice and the farmer who plants a cup of rice, when they want to harvest, you know that the harvest will be different. That's the truth. That's the truth. That's why the Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive. But some people are used to receiving, receiving, receiving. There's a Yoruba adage that says, "Oke l'oke l'owo a fun ni ma lo." A fun ni, oke l'oke l'owo e ma lo. That's the truth. It's a biblical truth. Now, you see, the point I am bringing out of all of that, I told them that I'm not against giving tithe, offering, whatever way you call it. Me, I'm more used to seed and harvest. I'm more used to this thing you call tithe, but I know that whatever I have, I must give seed. I don't eat everything; there must be seed. Sow it out. Sow. You know, I said so I don't have problem with what you are saying. I said but you see, there's a problem. The Lord did not show me this method. The method the Lord showed me is what I'm doing. The Lord said we should freely give to men because freely we receive. And as we freely give to men, the Lord will provide for his vision. They were looking at me. They were wondering how the ministry is going to go. But the ministry that looks like it will become nothing, it's standing on almost an acre of land. It's building an office complex and an event hall. You know the point I'm trying to bring out is that I'm talking about being filled with what? With the knowledge of his will in all wisdom. So sometimes you know the will of God. For example, I know it is the will of God to come to Jos. I know it is the will of God to do Family Tent Ministry. But I need to understand the way God wants me to do it—not as a church, but as an outreach ministry. For some people, it may have to be a church. Are you understanding me? You must understand it. That's what it means by in all wisdom. Sometimes people know the will of God. I give you a good example. Look at our mother, Rebekah. She gave birth to two children. She was told the will of God. What was the will of God? The elder will serve the younger. Two people will come out of you. That was the will of God she was told. But look at the mistake she made because she did not seek to understand that will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. She began to set the younger one against the elder one. She began to plant—that is why you notice Jacob was busy trying—he was struggling. When he saw Esau, "Okay, sell your birthright," because he was constantly told, "This is..." and they were making plans against Esau. She did not understand that God knows how to bring to pass whatever God wants to do. In her husband's house, she became an eavesdropper listening, "Hey, they want to bless your elder brother. Okay, you go." She became in her marriage, that is her marriage. Why? She was trying to work God's will. So sometimes you may know God's will, but you don't know it in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. You don't know how it will operate. You don't know exactly how God wants you to do. See, things operate in different dimensions. I know of a sister. The Lord told her that, "Look, your children shall be Britons." And you know what she began to think of? She thought the person she will marry will be somebody who is a white person, somebody from UK. So she was putting her mind on UK, UK, UK, that the husband will be somebody who is an English person from UK. But she never understood that what God was saying is that by the time it will happen that you want to give birth to your children, you will be in UK and they will be citizens. It was much—look, I'm trying to make you understand the will of God. She married a Nigerian. It was later she came to understand that that is not what God—God doesn't mean that you will marry a white person; what God is saying is that look, your children, they will be citizens. It is good to understand God's will in all wisdom and understanding so that you don't act foolishly. You don't act foolishly. Somebody was told, "Look, I will bring I will bring your blessings from the east." And then the person began to look that she would marry an Igbo person. But that wasn't what God was saying. She didn't take time to listen correctly to know what God was saying by the east. She didn't take time to understand God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. She didn't know how it will operate. You see, things operate in different dimensions. That is what Paul—I'm trying to make you understand that prayer—that God, I don't just want to know your will, but I want to know your will in all the wisdom that comes with it and the understanding that comes with it. Lord, fill me. Fill me with the knowledge of your will. I want to live my life wisely. I want to maximize my existence. I don't just want to live casually. I don't want to live foolishly. I want to maximize my existence. My existence must be maximized. My existence must be fully utilized. Lord, my existence must be fully utilized. Lord, cause me to know your will and cause me to know your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Cause me to understand your will in all wisdom and in all spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and in all spiritual understanding. In all wisdom and in all spiritual understanding. Lord, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. Lord, release into my life the spirit of wisdom. Release to me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. The spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. I want to beg you that when you get home, when you get home, don't leave this prayer—apostolic prayer. Please continue with them. Pray, pray, pray, pray so that you can live by faith. So that you can live by faith. Faith is that which God is saying. You can live by what God is saying. What God said, that is faith. You can say no, no, no, no, no, this is what God said about my life. This is what God said about my life so that you can live by what God said about your life. That is the life of faith. I want to live by faith. Oh, that I may live by faith. Oh, that I may live by faith. That I may live by faith. I may live by faith. I may live by faith. Oh Lord, that I may connect with eternity. Thank you, Father. As we round up this evening, begin to pray for Nigeria. I've told you that every time we pray, every last Monday of the month, we must pray for Nigeria. We must pray for the peace of the nation. We must pray for the goodness of Nigeria. We must ask God for our land. Lift up your voice for Nigeria as we close this evening and say, "God Almighty, have mercy on our land. Lord God Almighty, overthrow the intent of the wicked for Nigeria. Lord, overthrow the intent of the wicked for Nigeria. Lord, silence the intent of the wicked. Every plan, O God, of the adversary, every plan of the waster. Lord, those people that are wasting Nigeria, Lord waste them for us. Everybody who is wasting Nigeria, the wasters of our nation, Lord waste them. Lord, remove them from power. Lord, take them out. Lord, disempower them. Lord, disorganize them. Lord, remove them, O God, in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Have mercy on our land, O God, that our land be no longer be wasted. That our land be no longer be wasted. That our land be no longer be wasted." And I want you to pray, "It shall be well with me in this land. It shall be well with me in this land. It shall be well with me in this land. In this land, it shall be well with me. It shall be well with me in Nigeria. It shall be well with me. It shall be well with me." Say unto the righteous, "It shall be well with you." In Nigeria, it shall be well with me. It shall be well with me. It shall be well with me. Thank you, Lord. Blessed be your name, our Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Almighty God, we thank you for this evening. To you be praise and glory. To you be honor and adoration. We appreciate you for your mercies, our Father. Thank you for helping us to pray. Thank you for enabling us to pray. Our Lord and our God, we pray for our lives—we who are physically here, our brethren who are connected with us on Telegram, our brethren who are joining us on Mixlr. Lord, we pray. We don't want to live by sight; we want to live by faith. We don't want to live by sight because the just live by faith. For the just to remain just, they can only live by faith. Once they live by sight, they can no longer be just. Once they live by sight, they can no longer be just. Lord, please connect us with you. Lord, connect us with you that we may be connected to eternity. That we may be connected to eternity. Our life was from eternity. The God who formed me is an eternal God. Nothing in time should overrun my life. Nothing in time should overrun my life because I was before time. I was before time. Lord, help me to connect with you and understand myself. Help me to connect with you and understand my life. Help me to connect with you and understand my existence. In the name of Jesus Christ. That I may connect with you and understand my existence, understand myself. Lord, help me to connect with you. Let me connect with you, Lord. Let me connect with you. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Lord, cause me to connect with you. Let your hand be upon our nation for good. Let your hand be upon Nigeria for good. Thank you, everlasting God. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's share the grace together in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. [Singing] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, an ecumenical ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission heat. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class, every Monday, 5:00 PM; Adolescents and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; family life seminars, regular school out-reaches, and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp, by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Veryjoy Filling Station, along Ijetu road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are: 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all. [Singing] [End of Audio]