Text: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
Memory verse:
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lord our God, Until He has mercy on us.”
Psalms 123 : 2 NKJV

One of my daughters said recently, after being freed from an offense, which would have cost her a fine of about $10,000, “I didn’t know what to do. I knew it was all my fault. While the investigation was going on, my husband and I couldn’t think of a way out of the trouble. We were guilty and didn’t know if God would answer us. The only prayer we offered was, ‘Mercy’. Few days later, we received a mail from the organization that said, ‘We have investigated the case and found out that you have not committed any offense and the case is thus dismissed!” Wow!
If you really take time to think deeply, you will discover that most of our troubles in life are actually self-caused. It could be caused by our wrong decisions, poor choices, abuses, poor parenting, disobedience and so on. Yes, these kind of conditions are the ones that attract grace – God’s undeserved favour, unqualified help. That is, when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing.
Even though God knows all our needs, yet He wants us to always depend on Him, instead of trusting in our own abilities and wisdom (2 Kgs 6:27). Prayerlessness makes you to be self-dependent and self-conceited. This is the lesson that Paul shared in our text today. He described their troubles as being beyond measures and above their strength, to the extent that they despaired even of life. They got to their wits’ end and to the end of their humanity. At that point, they stopped struggling, and the God who raises the dead showed up for them. It was when they got to the end of themselves that they found God. “In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Cor 1 : 9 NLT) .
Through prayers, they expressed their helplessness. “You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation – I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.” (2 Cor 1:11 MSG).
You see, God doesn’t help those who help themselves but those who are helpless. When we stop having a sense of entitlement or of deserving of God’s help, grace shows up and then we find God more willing to be our deliverer and helper.
Friends, let God know how undeserving of His blessing you are without Christ and how helpless you are without His help and He will come through for you as you pray. Amen.

Prayer points
1. Father, please, let me always be conscious of my helplessness without You and let this drive me to the place of prayer in Jesus name.
2. Father, please, purge me of any entitlement mentality before You in Jesus name.

Today’s declarations
1. I pray always because I will always be helpless without God’s help.
2. I come to God with the understanding that I am undeserving of His help, but only because of the merits of Jesus.

Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng