Ephesians 6:1
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
INSIGHT
-The Hebrew word for obedience is shama which means to hear, discern, submit and give attention to. Obedience is one the most vital obligation of every human being. Obedience reveals ones commitment to someone or something. From the beginning, God desires us to be obedient to Him as our heavenly Father and by extension to obey our parents. Adam and Eve failed the test of obedience when they did not heed to the voice of God and ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Cain also did not listen to God having been warned of sin which was crouching at his door but still went astray and killed his brother. According to the main scripture, obedience should be in the Lord; according to His standards, otherwise it will not be right. Parents have been instructed by God to train their children in the way they should go and when they grow old; they will never depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). To obey our parents we must submit to their authority and be wise to follow their instructions as per the word of God. Obedience to parents is pleasing to God (Colossians 3:20). Obedience to our parents is a sign of respect and God is well pleased with this. As we continue to celebrate our mothers, let us not forget to be obedient to them even though some have grown old. Let us also remember to take care of them like they did when we were young.
PRAYER
We praise You Lord for the You are good and Your mercies endures forever. We sing praises to Your name for this is pleasant to You Lord, the horn of our salvation. Lord You are great, greater than all gods. Lord You are the Creator of everything and You do whatever pleases You in the heavens and on the earth and in the seas and all their depths. You are mighty Lord and worthy to be praised in all the heavens and the earth. Thank You for this beautiful day that You have made, we rejoice and are glad in it. Thank You for the gift of parents. Thank You for the love that they have shown us since we were young. Thank You for giving them good health and sustaining them in Your peace, we give You all the glory and praise. We ask that You grant them peaceful long lives and abundant blessings as they age gracefully. Some among us have lost their parents or have been abandoned and are in the streets, take care of them dear Father. Others have sick parents, heal them merciful Father for by Your stripes we were healed. Some have unsettled issues with their parents, bring them to reconciliation and forgiveness loving Father. Help us to always be obedient to our parents as unto You Lord for this is pleasing to You. Direct our children Lord in the way they should go; so that they may always follow Your will and obey our instructions. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
INSIGHT
-God has commanded us to honor our parents. To honor in Hebrew is written as Kabad and in this context, we should respect, honor, value, esteem, love and obey our parents. Obedience to our parents is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with us and live long in the land. I’m sure it is everyone’s desire to live long on the earth, in good health, blessings and fellowship with the Lord. God keeps His promises and we should only do His will and put our trust in Him.
PRAYER
Lord You are our refuge and fortress, our God in Whom we trust. Deliver us from the snare of the fowler and the perilous pestilence. Cover us with Your feathers Lord for we take refuge under Your wings. May Your truth be our shield and buckler. We shall not be afraid of the terror by night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday for we put all our trust in You. A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at our right; but it shall not come near us. Only with our eyes shall we look, and see the reward of the wicked because we have made You Lord our refuge, the Most High our dwelling place. No evil shall befall us, nor shall any plague come near our dwelling for You will give Your angels charge over us, to keep us in all Your ways. In their hands they shall bear us up, lest we dash our feet against a stone. We shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent we shall trample underfoot. Because we have set our love upon You Lord, therefore You shall deliver us and set us on high, because we have known Your name. We shall call upon You and You will answer us. You will be with us in trouble to deliver us and honor us. With long life You will satisfy us and show us Your salvation. Strengthen us Lord to honor our parents and to honor You for Your our salvation. Guide our children in Your truth and grant them Your gift of salvation for Your our Lord and Savior. All glory, honor, praise and blessings belong to You Lord now and forever. Amen
Proverbs 23:22-25
“Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well. The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!”
INSIGHT
-Old age is associated with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and insights due to diverse experiences in life and better still; when one is inclined to the will of God. Although some despise their parents when they grow old and tend to ignore their advise. It is important to realize that parents always seek the best of their children and always instruct them in wisdom lest they go astray. Through their experiences, parents correct, inspire and direct their children so that they may not encounter adversities that they did in their course of life. When children follow the will of God, their parents rejoice and remain at rest having accomplished one great mission of raising up responsible men and women. Samuel was obedient to his parents from his youth and when it came time for him to become a priest, he was obedient and served the Lord diligently to the end.
PRAYER
Give us Your wisdom Lord so that we may know Your ways and look to You alone. Guide us in Your counsel and in the path of the righteousness for Your righteousness endures forever. Help us to always delight in Your law Lord and to meditate on it day and night. Plant us like trees by the rivers of water, that we may bring forth fruit in its season and our leaves may remain green in all seasons. Help us to prosper in all that we do like You prospered Isaac at Beersheba. Grant us social, economic, political, relational and spiritual stability so that we may experience Your divine favor in all things. Remember those children who have gone astray and indulge in evil vices that do not please You Lord, that You may counsel them and renew their minds. Be with all the orphans and those who have been rejected by their parents and are wondering in the streets; that You may heal their wounds and give them Your grace for You are our Father. Forgive us all our sins dear Jesus and cover us with Your precious blood. Our Father who at in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Romans 6:16
“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
INSIGHT
-God is our Father and He calls us to obey Him. By obeying His word and our parents, we obey Him. Our parents have been given the responsibility to introduce us and lead us to our heavenly Father. Obedience to God leads to righteousness but obedience to sin leads to death. When Jesus set us free from sin, we became slaves of righteousness. We should not therefore present ourselves as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but alive to God in righteousness. We should not fear to walk in righteousness for God has bestowed upon us His grace and sin does not have dominion over us, for we are not under law but under grace. Since we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. In John 10:27-28, God assures us that He is our Father and He gives us eternal life saying, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand”.
PRAYER
Thank You Father for making us Your children that we can call You Abba Father. You have made us righteous through Your death and resurrection and imparted unto us Your grace leading to eternal life, we praise Your holy name. Thank You for setting us free from slavery of sin and have made us free indeed. Have mercy on us, our families and on the whole world Lord, forgive us our trespasses and cover us with Your precious blood. Give us the grace to love You so much that we can be delivered from the delusions and self-centeredness that so pervert our lives. Give us Your heart, give us Your love Father. Give us the grace Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, righteousness and judgement. Give us the grace to serve You and to finish our course Father. Give us the grace Holy Spirit to testify of You and to really totally on You. Give us the grace to preach the gospel so that those You have called to sit on the thrones in heaven; may remain in the path of life. Lord give us Your grace. Fill us with Your wisdom and discernment, grace and truth, humility and forgiveness, faith and wise council, love and compassion, knowledge and understanding, favor and the fear of You. Fill us with You fruit and gifts, not for our own sake but for Your glory Lord. Help us to overcome the world with Your love and to bear much more fruit with the gifts that You have entrusted unto us. Lord guide us to help the homeless, orphans, widows and to love those whom You love so that we may love You more, and to always be willing to give to them as You lead us Holy Spirit. Help us to see with Your eyes, hear with Your ears and understand with Your heart dear Jesus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Hebrews 5:8-10
“though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”
INSIGHT
-Jesus was obedient to God the Father unto death, having suffered and died on the cross for the salvation of the entire world. Though He requested the Father to take away the cup of suffering and death from Him, He endured to the end and through His resurrection, we have been set free from the oppression of sin causing death. We are called to emulate the example of Jesus; to be obedient to our parents and to God for He is our Maker and Father, and our lives belong to Him.
SUMMARY
Obedience to our parents is a sign of respect, submission, humility and love. God has commanded us to obey our parents with a promise of giving us long life. God also reminds us to seek the counsel of our parents even when they are old and to respect them despite their age and conditions. God has given them wisdom, knowledge, counsel and calls us to respect them and, as they lead us to our heavenly Father. Those who have been blessed with children are reminded to instruct them in the way of the Lord and when they grow old; they will never depart from it. Jesus demonstrated a perfect example of obedience having submitted to His earthly parents and obeying God even when He had to suffer and die for us all. We too have been called to look to God and obey His commandments which is a sign that we love Him (John 14:21).
PRAYER
Lord You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Jesus You are good and love endures forever. Holy Spirit You are good and grace is everlasting. Thank You God for preserving us during this time of corona virus. Thank You God for You have been faithful to us even when we have been faithless, we do not deserve Your grace but it is because of Your merciful love, all glory and adoration belongs to You. Only You are Holy, only You are Love, thank You for loving us. Help us to love You, to love our parents, our children and our neighbors as You desire us to. We surrender all our cares, burdens and hearts desires to You our Father for You care for us. Be with all our leaders and give them wisdom as they lead Your people. Be with Your church and feed us always with spiritual and physical food for we belong to You. Be with all those who are sick and suffering that You may heal them; for by Your stripes we have been healed. God bless us and keep us; make Your face shine upon us and be gracious to us; lift up Your countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen