Deuteronomy 28:12
“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.”
INSIGHT
-As we saw last week, the duality lifestyle should be uncommon among Christians as we are called to be either cold or hot. Better still, to let our yes be yes and no be no, for anything beyond this comes from the evil one (Matthew 5:37). Chapter 28 of Deuteronomy delineates the consequences of obedience and disobedience to the commandments of our God. Obedience is often accompanied by blessings while disobedience by curses. If then we harken to the voice of the Lord, many blessings will accompany us. Obedience to God’s word is therefore one of keys that we exercise to experience an open heaven. We are called to imitate God like dearly beloved children, by living lives filled with love, and following the example of Christ who loved us and gave himself for us..(Ephesians 5:1-2). To keep God commandments in to love, and we experience an open heaven and the work of our hands is blessed. The Lord sends rain to our land in season and increases our productivity. We also have plenty to lend to many nations and borrow from none. Further, we are set at the top and not at the bottom, together with many other covenantal blessings.
PRAYER
This is the day that the Lord has made; we rejoice and are glad in it. Your mercies are new every morning, we celebrate Your love. We place this week under Your care Holy Spirit our Helper, and humbly ask You to direct us the way that we should go. Guide our steps and enlighten our paths. Open for us the gates of the righteous; that we may enter and give thanks to You always. Open the heavens for us and the storehouse of Your bounty dear Jesus and bless us. Bless us according to Your promises from everlasting to everlasting. Bless us according to Your merciful love. Bless us Abba Father for we are Your children and Your heritage. Send rain in our land and bless the work of our hands; we humbly beseech You. Make us fruitful in every season and increase us in every way; for the glory and honor of Your name. We shall not die but live to declare Your goodness Oh Lord. You came for the poor, sick and lost Jesus, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Touch the hearts of those who are depressed, bereaved, sick, those who are struggling with habitual sin, financial constraints, marital problems, spiritual slackness and other life issues dear Jesus. May Your grace abound in us that we may always experience Your love and do Your will. As a porter molds his clay, form us merciful Father in the shape that pleases You. May Your love abound in us; for we are Your children and we belong to You Jesus. All glory, honor, power and salvation belongs to You; now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Leviticus 26:3-10, Isaiah 48:18, 3 John 1:4, John 14:15
Acts 7:56
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
INSIGHT
-When Stephen confronted the Jews who treasured most their legalism through keeping the law and following after traditions, they were agitated. They knew it was true since they focused most on their outward circumcision rather than an inward conversion. He called them stuff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, which cut their hearts. Stephen was right but these bitter truths hurt them deeply and they conspired to kill him. Jesus Christ is then reveal standing to witness against Stephen’s accusers and to receive him into His heavenly kingdom. Stephen remained firm in faith and experienced an open heaven. A change of heart through rebirth and an obedient walk of faith is then important for every Christian which leads to an enhanced relationship with God. Many Christians in Asia and Middle East face persecution and we are called to pray for them. Even though we sometimes face trials and persecution, we should never loose faith in Christ Jesus for He is still on His throne and He will never leave us nor forsake us.
PRAYER
Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. All glory, honor and worship belongs to You Jesus. Only You are worthy to be praised and worshipped. Only You are our Salvation and Shield, our Deliverer in times of trouble. Every knee in heaven, on earth and under earth shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus You are Lord; to the glory of God the Father. Secure all the persecuted Christians and ministers of Your word in Your arms of grace dear Jesus. Surround them with Your hedge of fire and protect them from any form of harm merciful Savior. Grant us the strength and grace to overcome every form of temptation and deliver us from all the snares of the evil one; dear Jesus. The righteous may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all, thank You Jesus for Your saving grace upon our lives. Deliver all those who are undergoing oppression and all those who are homeless dear Jesus, and grant them rest. Be with all parents who are undergoing touch times and lack food, shelter, clothing, school fees and other amenities, that You may visit them with plenty like the widow of Zarephath. Bless us dear Jesus together with our families, and answer all our prayers and hearts desires. May Your salvation reach all our family members and descendants for the glory of Your name. 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
Further reading: Psalms 24:9-10, Hebrews 1:1-3, Psalm 34:19
John 1:49-51
“Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’”
INSIGHT
-When Philip told Nathaniel about Jesus, he doubted if He was the Messiah. Nathaniel said, “can anything good come out of Nazareth (John 1:46). Filled with a geographic sense of pomp, Nathaniel probably prophesied that Jerusalem was the only holy city. His religious skepticism blinded him from believing in the Messiah, who calls us to accept Him as our personal Savior. Like the Pharisees and Scribes who over-relied entirely on the law and traditional, they failed to enter God’s kingdom, and bared many from accessing it. Although he was called a true Israelite with whom there is no deceit, Nathaniel believed in what he saw and not what he heard or written in the law and prophets. Nathaniel was called oblivious of the fact that Jesus had seen him before under the fig tree, awakened his spiritual sense. Romans 10:9, tells us that, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. After Nathaniel’s public declaration that Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel, Nathaniel was ready to experience an open heaven.
PRAYER
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Jesus You are You are our everlasting King, we lift up Your banner, in all the earth. None can compare to You Jesus, we adore You and lift Your name high. You are the Son of the living God, we praise Your holy name. You are God in whom we trust, we surrender our lives to You. You are the way, the truth and the life Jesus, no one comes to the Father except through You. Cause many in our families, work places, society, nation and the entire world to come to You Jesus; we humbly ask You. Forgive us all our iniquities and wash us with Your precious blood merciful Savior. We rely on You Jesus and trust in You. If the foundations are broken what would the righteousness do. We submit our plans to Your Lord, take charge of everything that pertains to us dear Jesus. Take charge of our political atmosphere Jesus and give us a God fearing president; we humbly beseech You. Take charge of our businesses and careers grant us fresh opportunities, and the wisdom to advance what we currently have. Take charge of our families and marriages, and make every crooked paths straight. Take charge of our callings and purposes, and prosper us in every way. We can do nothing without You Jesus, take charge dear Jesus. We pray all this believing and trusting in Jesus mighty name. Amen
Further reading: Luke 15:7, Luke 9:26, Philippians 3:3-7
Genesis 28:10-15
“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
INSIGHT
-Sometimes God communicates to us through dreams and visions which reveal His presence and promises in our lives. As Jacob was sleeping, he saw a dream and experienced an open heaven. The Lord introduced Himself to Jacob, probably because he had never heard His voice before and reaffirmed His promised upon Jacob and his descendants, as He had proclaimed upon Abraham and Isaac. Jacob was the third generation to receive the Abrahamic blessings, for God was faithful to Abraham and His faithfulness endures forever. Since we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, and the seed of Abraham, let us acknowledge and give thanks to God for His blessings and faithfulness in our lives and all our generations.
PRAYER
Father You are faithful and Your faithfulness endures to all generations. Jesus You are loving and Your love is everlasting. Holy Spirit You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Thank You God for this new month of July. Thank you for this far that You have brought us and the far that You are taking us. Lord You are the same yesterday, today and forever, we praise Your holy name. Thank You for Your promises upon our lives from generations to generations. May You bless us and increase us for we are the seed of Abraham according to Your promise. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and Your special possession, we appreciate You Abba Father for choosing us. Thank You for making us priests and kings to You Lord, and making us great for the glory of Your name. Thank You dear Jesus for loving us and taking away our sins. May You break every chain and evil patterns of iniquity in our lives, families and nation dear Jesus. We are more than conquerors in You Jesus, we praise Your holy name. We shall not be moved for You are always with us. We shall never be shaken for we belong to You Jesus. May Your presence always go with us this entire month and the remaining part of the year. May we have access to open heavens and abundant blessings like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dear Jesus. May we experience open heavens in our lives, families, work places, businesses, careers, relationships, marriages, education, missions, callings, purposes, ministries, leadership, projects and nation in Your name Jesus Christ. May we experience supernatural breakthroughs in every area of our lives dear Jesus. We may experience divine opportunities in our lives Heavenly Father. May we walk in open doors that no man can shut in the name of Jesus. All glory honor, power, blessings, riches, praise and authority belongs to You God, now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Revelation 1:6, 1 Peter 2:9
Mark 1:10
“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.”
INSIGHT
-After Jesus was baptized the heavens opened and the Holy Spirt descended upon Him like a dove, and the Father made a public declaration saying that Jesus is His beloved Son; with whom He is well pleased. John baptized with water, we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16). Jesus ascended into heaven after His death and resurrection, and gave us His Holy Spirit, and when we were far off from the commonwealth of God, He brought us near by His precious blood. He broke the barrier that brought hopelessness and eternal condemnation, and gave us eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, that we may also experience an open heaven forever.
SUMMARY
An open heaven exposes us to the supernatural as we experience the spiritual realm of God. God has designed the heavens and earth by His eternal will and placed us here on earth for a divine purpose, for the glory and honor of His name. God has enabled us to tap into the supernatural individually and corporately, and has given us access His divine will through prayer, fasting, worship, reading His word, and other revelations. As our spirits are joined to the Spirit of God, we experience His presence in our lives and a new awakening breaks forth. Ezekiel was one of the captives when he was exposed to the supernatural. He saw an open heaven in a vision and the Lord broke the yoke of captivity in their lives for His mercies endures forever. Likewise, when Jacob was sleeping, the Lord open the heavens and in a dream he saw angels ascending and descending. The Lord also revealed to him the promise He had made with his forefathers to bless him and make him great, for God is faithful and His faithfulness endures forever. Like Jacob, God has promised us abundant blessings for we are the seed of Abraham and share in His covenant. Nathaniel also saw a stairway resting on earth and the top reaching to heaven with angels oscillating upon it. Having been an Israelite without deceit, he was promised an open heaven for the Lord had chosen him to minister unto His people. God also reminds us in Deuteronomy 28 that obedience to His word is accompanied by His blessings while disobedience attract curses. John in a vision also experienced and open heaven when saw the Lord on His throne as he was shown what is to come; in the book of Revelation. Stephen when he was preaching the gospel and fell into the hands of his oppressors who stoned him to death. The Lord opened the heavens for him and he saw the Son of man standing on the right hand of the Father. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit in form of a dove descended upon Him. The Lord also made a proclamation to the hearers that He is the Son of God and we are called to praise Him and worship Him.
PRAYER
We sing a new song to You Lord and acknowledge all Your benefits. You have been good to us dear Lord; we thank You. We count our blessings and name them one by one. You Lord are the most high God, only You deserve to be worshipped and praise. Baptize us afresh with the Holy Spirit and cloth us with Your grace always. Baptize us with Your seal of love that transcends from everlasting to everlasting. You are worthy to be exulted and worshipped. May You Lord who holds the keys of David open doors for us that no one can shut and close doors that no one can open. Our Father who art 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
Further reading: Matthew 3:16-17, Luke 21:27-28