Word For You Today Daily Devotional

[Philippians 4:13]

"PHARAOH...INSTRUCTED THE HEBREW MIDWIVES...TO KILL...BOYS AS SOON AS THEY WERE BORN."  EXODUS 1:16 TLB

Let's pray for our men!

     Ever since God told Satan, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman...her seed...shall bruise thy head," (Ge 3:15), the enemy's been hell-bent on destroying men in every possible way. Males suffer more crib deaths, are more prone to heart attacks, and have shorter life spans. It's no coincidence that when a country is under attack, it's enemies go after the men. By killing them, they destroy the stability of the family and ultimately the future of the nation.

     Many grown men are still hurting and angry over things that happened in their childhood. Now as fathers they struggle to fulfill a role they never saw modeled in their own lives. It stops them from connecting with their children and perpetuates the cycle of alienation from generation to generation.

     Any time Satan sees potential he'll try to abort it; he can't afford to wait till it's fully developed. In Exodus, Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives, "When you see them on the birth stool, if it is a boy, kill him" (Ex 1:16 NRS). This word stool is the same word that's used to describe a potter's wheel. So it's the process of becoming a man that the enemy wants to shortcircuit! If Satan can destroy you while you're still on the wheel, he's accomplished his goal. Once your fully grown and mature, it'll be much harder to intimidate and destroy you. So, pray for the men in your life![/font]

[Philippians 4:13]

"BUT THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH...AND GAVE HIM FAVOR."  GENESIS 39:21 NKJV

God's favor

     Count on it -- you'll need God's favor to succeed at whatever He's called you to do! And you should pray for it daily, expecting to receive it! To be honest, it's exciting to watch His favor working for you in certain situations.

     Joseph was wrongly accused of rape and imprisoned. But the Lord gave him favor with the prison warden and he ended up running the whole place. Daniel came out of the lions' den vindicated and without so much as a bite mark. Ruth, a young widow, found Boaz, the love of her life, and married him. All these folks experienced rejection and hardship, yet they succeeded in what God had called them to do -- because of His favor!

     And God's favor is availible for you today! But because He promises it doesn't necessarily mean you'll experience it. Many things are availible to us that we don't enjoy. Why? Because we don't activate our faith in that area. Favor is actually a form of grace. The word grace and the word favor both come form the same Greek word Charis. So, the grace of God is the favor of God, and His favor causes things to happen that we can't orchestrate, earn or deserve. When you say to someone, "Can you do me a favor?" you're usually asking for something that person is under no obligation to give, right? Well, the good news is, at the cross Jesus paid for and made availible all the favor you'll ever need. So exercise your faith and ask Him for it![/font]