THE POWER OF THE COMMUNION
I have been a member of Warrior Wives Prayer Ministry for five years now and the Lord has dealt graciously with my marriage and family.
By the grace of God,my sister got pregnant and when her labour time was due, it became difficult for mother and the baby. I remember that Sunday was a meeting day and we were asked to bring a bottle of wine for communion. I left my sister at the hospital to go and part take in the communion. The servant of God, Serv. Ps. Mrs. Agnes Odoi prayed on the wine and bread and told us to use it for anything in faith and it will surely work.
Quickly I rushed to the hospital where my sister was still in pain after many hours and offered her the communion. Beloved, immediately she ate the communion, she felt the baby coming and cried for the doctor to come and help her. To the surprise of the doctor and all of us,the baby suddenly came out with just a little push. Indeed there is a power in the blood and body of Jesus.
Glory be to God.
Faith will cause God to prove His POWER
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord , that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my Lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my Lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord , how I hid an hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord , and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord ; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord : and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord : and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord , hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord , he is the God; the Lord , he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
1 Kings 18:28-46 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/1ki.18.28-46.KJV
ELIJAH’S MIRACLE
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord : for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord , which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord , and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord , and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
1 Kings 17:1-24 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/1ki.17.1-24.KJV
How To Approach Sex In Our Marriage
Ruth 4:13 ¶ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Song 1:2 ¶ Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy Love, Affection, Care,Worshipis better than wine.
Approach:
- To Move CloserTo Something Or Somebody
- To Deal With Something In A Particular Way
Approach Sex With Love; knowing fully well that sex is love making.
Approach Sex With Kindness: knowing fully well that God created sex to be enjoyed not to be endured. Do everything in the bedroom out of kindness to your mate; go for longer foreplay to show that you are kind to your Him/her.
Approach Sex With Thanksgiving; knowing fully well that sex is a gift from God. Always see sex as a gift from God, accept it with love, accept it with joy, and accept it with thanksgiving.
Approach Sex With Selflessness; knowing fully well that givers never lack. Most people approach the bed with the thought of what to gain and enjoy, not with the mind of what to give to their partner and to satisfy them.
Approach Sex With Patience; knowing that love is patient and that sex is not a race, don’t make love in an hurry.
Approach Sex With Good Communication; knowing fully well that your spouse is different from you and that lack of good communication only bring frustration. Good game needs good talk, as you get the door to your bedroom close, get communication door wide open, keep on talking,
- Talk about your body
- Your pleasure
- What you want
- How you want it, how fast, how slow
- Where you want to be Touch
Approach Sex With Excitement; knowing full well that this is the most exciting thing on earth.
- Get excited
- Give excitement
- Look for excitement and look forward to really enjoy sex with great excitement.
Approach Sex With Contentment; knowing full well that your spouse is enough to satisfy you. Be content with your spouse’s body, see him or her as the best God can offer you as far as sex is concerned.
One and Done
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Hebrews 12:15 KJV
Because forgiveness is a choice, it is something that we do and then it’s done. It is not an ongoing, progressive act. Some people hesitate to forgive someone, saying something like, “I’m working on it” or “It may take me a while to completely forgive them.” This implies that forgiveness takes time.
It doesn’t. While feelings take time to change, forgiveness is only a choice away. Once we decide that we are willing to choose forgiveness, we can complete the act of forgiving immediately.
Have you been waiting to forgive someone until you feel more ready? Are you willing to consider the idea that forgiveness is a choice you can make here and now? In the next reading, you’ll be invited to make the choice to forgive those who have hurt you.
You may be thinking, “But I can’t just let them off the hook! They deserve consequences, including my anger at them!” We tend to think that forgiveness is only for the benefit of the other person, the offender.
With forgiveness, the benefit to the offender is only half of the truth. Sure, there may be some tangible benefit to someone else when we choose to forgive them, but forgiveness is many times just for our own benefit. We forgive so that we don’t have to walk around anymore with bitterness or resentment inside (Heb. 12:15). When we forgive, we get to live free of those controlling thoughts. Forgiveness is for our own benefit as much as anyone else’s. In fact, the person we forgive may no longer be living or may never even find out that we forgave them! In that case, the benefits of forgiving them are all our own.
Forgiveness Is a Choice
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34 NIV).
Despite the overwhelming rejection and physical pain, Jesus made the decision to forgive.
Now, that same Jesus lives in us?
Sometimes we might hesitate to forgive someone because we don’t feel very forgiving toward them. We might still feel a great deal of anger toward them. So we examine our emotional state and decide we are not in any condition to forgive. We buy into the error that forgiveness is a feeling.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. It is about choosing to cancel a debt owed to us. Yes, we might feel that someone owes us an apology, or that they should make up for what they have done to us. They owe us big time. But forgiveness is releasing them from that debt and giving up the right to be treated fairly by them. Making this choice to forgive may fly in the face of everything we are currently feeling. Our feelings may cry out against the whole idea of forgiveness. Still, we can choose. This mirrors what God did when he chose to forgive us.
We don’t have to wait for our feelings to come on board. Instead, we can follow the divine sequence that God has given us: think, then choose, then feel. We can set our minds on the truth of what needs to be done. We can choose to forgive and release someone from the debt owed to us. Then, from that day forward, we can remember the choice we made. We can continue to live in agreement with the choice we made. Our emotions may or may not line up with our choice. Still, we know what we chose to do—forgive and release—and that is what matters most.
Stress-free marriage at last
I have been married for the past twenty-two years, however right through the first eighteen years, we experienced so many challenges that I did not enjoy any peace or happiness. After the first two years of marriage, my husband started having extra-marital affairs. Sometimes he would inform me he was travelling to attend a two-week course in Accra, only to end up spending the entire period at another woman’s house. Once I became aware of this it degenerated into a huge fight on his return, during which I beat him up mercilessly. None of this actually put an end to his affairs. At certain times I would show up at his girlfriend’s house, lock them both in their rooms and beat them up, but all to no avail.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was when I returned from my hometown earlier than planned and rang the bell. It was some time before he answered the door, fuelling my suspicions that he was not alone in the house. I went straight to the bedroom which was empty, but I found the woman hiding in the bathroom. I was just about to hit her with a metal rod, but for the intervention of my husband who protected her with his hand. This resulted in an injury to his wrist and brought about a separation between us for about three months. Although we shared the same apartment and even the same bedroom, I used a separate bed and decided never to sleep in the same bed he had defiled with another woman. None of these resulted in any change of behaviour or attitude.
I lost all respect for him consequently; he became more recalcitrant as a result of my attitude towards him, turning all this into a very vicious cycle. The situation escalated to the point where I sought for a divorce, but due to his status as an elder in his church, he brought in people I respected to plead on his behalf for reconciliation. Although I accepted his apology, I had lost all respect and love for him.
I was introduced to, joined WWPM at this point (2008), and through the teachings realised that fighting and naggings were futile and only exacerbated the situation; the change had to start from within me. I also realised that I had contributed to the status quo through my own ignorance and insensitivity to his needs. My husband ultimately noticed this change and improvement in my relationship towards him, and consequently changed his own behaviour. One of the lessons I learned was that nagging and fighting are marriage destroyers and do not serve any useful purpose in establishing happy and joyful marital homes.
Now he advises and encourages others in similar situations using the example of our own experiences and the power of God to turn things around. Praise God!
Pregnant at last!
I had been married for nearly five years but remained childless until just a year ago after I had been introduced to WWPM. We had several challenges in our marriage which usually worsened whenever I fell pregnant and subsequently miscarried. I found the situation so unbearable that I eventually left my marital home despite efforts by elders and church counsellors to resolve issues. We managed to come together after the miscarriage, but this was short-lived due to misunderstandings and lack of affection for each other. I was pregnant at this point but the frustration, worry, and anxiety proved too much for me that I ended up in hospital.
Concerned that I might lose this baby, I moved out of my home again and did not even return after the delivery, and did not see or speak to him for four years. I was so embittered I did not even want our child to sign his name as father. She was due to start pre-school at Grace Baptist School, where I met Pas. Mrs Odoi and through discussion I explained why I did not want my daughter signing her father’s name, despite being the biological father.
Mrs. Odoi committed herself to counselling and praying with me to ensure the marriage worked again. My husband and I both realised how ignorant we had been, our marriage was restored by God’s grace and we now share with and counsel others in similar situations.
Glory be to God for resurrecting my marriage through this ministry.
My husband stopped cheating
I got married four years ago and my problems started approximately one year afterward. Due to work commitments, I was living in Kumasi with my husband living in Accra. He started engaging in extra-marital affairs with a girlfriend in Accra who stayed with him when I returned to Kumasi after my visits. Once I had knowledge of this, and visited him unannounced and met them together and viciously attacked them. I learnt to my horror that the girlfriend was pregnant with his child. She would call and verbally abuse and taunt me, referring to him as ‘our husband’. My husband would even support her and would threaten me against retaliating against his girlfriend. He eventually moved in with her without my knowledge and she would text to taunt me whenever they were together. My husband started abusing me, insinuating that I was not a woman worth being married to etc., and threatened to take away my son and divorce me. He didn’t speak to me for about two months.
I discussed the on-going issues with Mummy and she prayed with me. During the couples’ dinner which I attended on my own, he called me on the phone and two days later was in Kumasi to visit us. He felt guilty and asked for forgiveness, saying he knew only my prayers had saved him from the clutches of his now ex-girlfriend. We went to church together, and have now been blessed with another baby, to the glory of God.
Delivery without Cesarean section
I got married in Oct 2010 and after suffering two miscarriages, I was introduced to WWPM. Two months after joining, a prayer and fasting meeting was organised for women expecting the fruit of the womb, dubbed ‘Owonta Retreat’. Along with twenty-four (24) other women, I attended this programme, after which about seven of them conceived. Mummy continued praying with me, but then I missed my period. When I started bleeding, I became concerned that I might miscarry again.
I had a prophecy to expect a miracle, but I did not even know I was still pregnant then. We had another prayer and fasting session which I participated not realizing I was pregnant; it really came as a surprise when the pregnancy test was affirmative. I was told by the Dr to expect a Caesarean section due to my previous history, but Mummy stood in prayer with me and when my time was due, I safely delivered of a baby girl. Glory to God!
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