Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries

EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL:

June 28, 2026

Topic: Observe The Lives of Your Parents

Opening Scriptures

Ephesians 6:1-4 (NKJV)

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

3 John 1:4 (NKJV)

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Memory Verse

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Praise and Worship

Sing songs on God’s mercy, divine guidance, family restoration, freedom from negative patterns, and the grace to fulfill God’s purpose.

EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL: June 28, 2026 – Observe The Lives of Your Parents

One of the wisest things you can do in life is to carefully observe the lives of your parents. They provide the earliest, closest blueprint for our future dreams. Their lives act like a mirror, revealing profound lessons we should either actively learn from or intentionally avoid.

If you pay close attention to their experiences, you will discover a depth of wisdom that no formal classroom teacher can ever teach you. Observe how they handled money: Did they spend wisely, or did they mismanage opportunities? Observe how they treated people: Were they known for kindness, honesty, and integrity, or were they constantly entangled in conflicts?

Observe how they responded to difficult situations: Did they pray and trust God, or did they rely on fear, anger, and human wisdom? These observations are not meant to foster criticism, judgment, or mockery. We must observe our parents with deep humility and wisdom, recognizing that every parent has strengths and weaknesses because no human being is perfect.

Thank God for the good you have received from them, forgive where forgiveness is needed, and ask God to help you become a better example for the next generation. Remember, your parents gave you life, but God gives you direction. Learn from their journey, build upon their strengths, avoid their mistakes, and allow God’s Word to shape the course of your own life.

In doing so, you will not only build a better future for yourself but also leave a godly legacy for your children and generations yet unborn. Your parents might have made mistakes, but do not condemn them for it. Instead, let their errors become lessons that protect your own future. For example, if you notice that your father or mother abandoned their education halfway, do everything possible to finish yours.

If you discover that your father or mother struggled with poverty, lack, or making little to no progress, do everything possible to break that pattern. If you observe that your parents’ marriage is broken, prepare yourself to pray against marital problems and build a stable home. Sometimes, the greatest lesson your parents can teach you is through the painful consequences of their own decisions.

If you notice your father drank alcohol, let his experience warn you against drunkenness. If your mother suffered deeply in her marriage, you must ensure that you enter a relationship wisely and marry rightly. If your parents lost prime opportunities because they procrastinated or delayed important decisions, let their experience teach you the value of acting wisely and promptly.

You should also pay close attention to the things your parents did well. Perhaps they were exceptionally generous to people in need, or they sacrificed diligently to train you in school. Maybe they valued education, respected others, worked hard, or remained completely committed to their responsibilities despite intense hardship.

Those qualities are treasures that should never be discarded. Build upon them and allow them to become part of your own life. One mistake many young people make is believing they already know everything. They believe they are mature enough to make major life decisions without involving or honoring their parent(s).

They ignore the experiences of those who walked before them and end up repeating entirely avoidable mistakes. Experience is a great teacher, but learning from another person’s experience is often far wiser than learning through your own painful consequences. Observe how your parents responded to opportunities.

Some people receive great opportunities but fail to maximize them early because of fear, procrastination, or a lack of preparation. Others turn small opportunities into great achievements through pure diligence and perseverance. As you watch the lives of your parents, ask yourself whether their decisions moved the family forward or kept them in the same position.

Learn to make wiser decisions where they may have struggled. Observe the friends they kept. The people around us heavily influence our decisions, values, and direction in life. If your parents surrounded themselves with godly, hardworking, and wise people, you will likely see the positive impact those relationships had on the family.

On the other hand, if wrong associations brought pain, disappointment, or unnecessary struggles to them, let that become a lesson for you. Choose your relationships carefully because they shape your future. Pay attention to how your parents handled success. Some people remain beautifully humble after God blesses them, while others become proud and eventually lose what they worked hard to build.

Success is not only about reaching the top; it is also about remaining there with humility and gratitude. Learn how to manage blessings in a way that honors God. Observe how they handled failure. Life is not without disappointments, and everyone experiences setbacks at one point or another. The important question is how a person responds after falling.

Did your parents rise again, or did they give up totally? Did they learn from their mistakes, or did they continue repeating them? Their response to failure can teach you resilience, patience, and perseverance. Watch how they treated people who visited them as well. Character is revealed not by how we treat important people, but by how we treat everyone else.

There are parents whose lives are truly worthy of imitation. If your parents loved God sincerely, served people faithfully, maintained integrity, worked diligently, and lived honorably, thank God for that heritage. Preserve those values and pass them on to your own children. One of the greatest legacies parents can leave behind is not wealth alone, but a life that points others to God.

If your parents showed kindness, compassion, honesty, and generosity to people, preserve those virtues, they are part of a godly inheritance that is more valuable than money, and they might help you one day. Observe whether your parents were willing to learn from their mistakes and change. Some people remain trapped in cycles because they refuse correction, insisting on doing things the same way even when the results are poor.

A teachable spirit is one of the greatest qualities a believer can possess. Never allow pride to stop you from learning, growing, and improving. As you observe the lives of your parents, pay attention to the decisions they made at different stages of life, because every decision has consequences. Notice the values they considered important.

Did they place God first, or did they pursue material things above everything else? Did they teach honesty, contentment, and discipline, or did they compromise their values for temporary gain? Our parents are our first mentors; they carry the mirror of our lives. We came out from them, share the same DNA, and by bloodline connection, many of us share in their pain, experiences, and wisdom.

As you grow, it is important to evaluate their lives. Does their example encourage you to serve God, work hard, and walk in discipline, or does it expose you to danger? When a parent fails to train their children, the children may begin to live the opposite life. When you look at your father’s life, do you love it or detest it?

When you look at the life your mother is living, do you love it or hate it? The truth is, behavioral patterns have a way of penetrating the lives of children by default. Some children will unconsciously copy the negative character and attitude their parents exhibit, which severely shapes their lives.  When you see a father or a mother struggling, as a child, what mistake do you pick from their story?

If you see a parent living an unfaithful lifestyle or having another woman, do you accept that? If you are not careful, you may naturally end up repeating that exact same lifestyle. Many people spend years praying against problems without first identifying where those problems came from.  You cannot overcome a pattern that you refuse to recognize.

Perhaps you notice that your father never completed anything he started. He had many dreams and was a hardworking man, but it seemed he was never fortunate in life. Learn from that and rise above that limitation.  Be determined to continue successfully where your parents stopped.  If a parent loves to claim an inheritance they didn’t work for or merit, learn from that and do not build your mind around inheriting what was not meant for you.

You may have observed that your parents found it difficult to forgive, or noticed that your mother refused to forgive your father. If you are not careful, you may carry that same bitter spirit into your friendships, marriage, business, and ministry.  Ask God to give you a forgiving heart before resentment becomes your lifestyle. Some parents never planned for the future; they spent carelessly and lived a compromised life.

A wise child learns financial discipline, seeks knowledge, and prepares for tomorrow. Observe how your parents handled pressure. Did they pray when problems came, or did they panic?  Did they seek God’s direction, or did they depend only on human wisdom or alternative, ungodly sources for a solution? Did they encourage one another during difficult seasons, or did they pull each other down?

The answers to these questions reveal lessons that will shape your own future. Look at their relationships with other people.  Are they peacemakers, or do they constantly cause conflict? Are they generous or selfish? Are they dependable, or do they frequently break their promises? Character leaves an inheritance just as much as money does.

Many people unknowingly repeat the lives of their parents because they never stopped to evaluate the patterns operating in their family.  They assume that what they grew up seeing is completely normal, and before long, they begin making the same decisions, speaking the same words, reacting the same way, and experiencing many of the same negative results.

Becoming exactly like the parent you once promised never to resemble does not happen overnight. Character is formed gradually through repeated habits, daily decisions, and the environment you are raised in. If those patterns are never challenged by the Word of God, they can continue from one generation to another.

The good news is that your family background does not have to become your final destination. Your parents may influence your beginning, but they do not determine your ending. Through Jesus Christ, every believer has the opportunity to live differently. God’s Word is powerful enough to break unhealthy patterns, renew our minds, transform our character, and establish a new way of living.

Make sure your priorities are built upon God’s Word and not merely upon family traditions. Observe how they speak to people, because words have tremendous power.  Some homes are filled with words of encouragement, blessing, and hope, which heavily influence how children see themselves. If you grew up hearing negative words, refuse to continue that pattern.

Fill your life and your home with words that build faith, encourage others, and glorify God. Every family experiences moments of hardship, but those moments reveal true character.  Did your parents continue trusting God during difficult times? Did they remain faithful, or did they become bitter? Did hardship draw them closer to God or farther away from Him?

Their response teaches valuable lessons about faith, endurance, and dependence upon God. The Bible repeatedly encourages children to learn wisdom from those who came before them.  At the same time, if parents make poor choices, those mistakes must become warnings. Look closely: Do you notice that your mother or father talks excessively and often speaks without thinking?

Do you see that a parent rarely shows love, affection, or appreciation in the home? Do you observe that they reject wise counsel or lack the knowledge needed to lead the family?  Does a parent constantly complain instead of giving thanks, or easily become angry? Do they struggle with dishonesty, laziness, addiction, pride, unforgiveness, or poor financial management?

These are not questions to make you judge your parents, but to help you become spiritually aware. If you ignore unhealthy patterns or feel there is no need to know them, you may unknowingly repeat them in ignorance.  Some children grow up in homes where arguments are normal, so they carry that same combative attitude into their own marriages.

Others grow up without seeing genuine love expressed between their parents, making it difficult for them to show affection in their own relationships. Some inherit fear, bitterness, or poor communication simply because those behaviors were constantly modeled before them. Another area you must observe is the spiritual battles your parents fought throughout their lives.

There are some parents who prayed constantly over certain issues but never experienced complete victory. Their experiences should encourage you to build a stronger prayer life and a closer relationship with God. For example, if you notice that your father constantly struggled financially despite working hard, do not simply conclude that hard work is enough.

Seek God’s wisdom concerning your finances. Learn biblical principles of diligence, integrity, generosity, and faithful stewardship. Pray that every obstacle limiting progress in your family will end with you. If you observe that your mother lived with fear, anxiety, or constant worry, do not allow those emotions to become your lifestyle. Replace fear with faith, fill your heart with God’s promises, and refuse to allow yesterday’s fears to determine tomorrow’s decisions.

There are also parents who carried deep, unhealed wounds from past experiences. Some were never healed from betrayal, rejection, or painful childhood memories. As a result, those hurts bled into the way they related to their spouses and children. Learn from this. Do not carry unresolved pain from one season of life into another. Allow God to heal your heart so that your wounds do not become wounds in someone else’s life.

Remember, your parents are human beings with their own weaknesses, struggles, and experiences. Honor them as God commands, but do not imitate attitudes or behaviors that contradict God’s Word. Let Christ become your ultimate example. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can keep the virtues you received from your family while completely rejecting every sinful pattern that would hinder your destiny.

Take the lessons from both angles, the joy and the pain. Build on every good example, and through the grace of God, determine that every weakness, every ungodly pattern, and every recurring failure will end with your generation. May your life become a testimony that God’s grace is able to transform a family. You have been given the privilege of choosing the kind of life you will live.

Be grateful for the sacrifices your parents made, honor them as the Bible commands, and do not ignore the lessons hidden in their mistakes. If you discover negative patterns, do not become discouraged or accept them as your destiny. Take them to God in prayer. Pray that you will not stop where your parents stopped.

Fill your heart with the Word of God, obey His instructions, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your character daily. Refuse to carry forward every destructive trait that you have seen in your family. In Christ, you are a new creation. God can rewrite your story, heal your family, restore what has been lost, and use your life as the beginning of a magnificent new chapter for generations to come.

Choose today to preserve every good lesson you have learned from your parents and reject every ungodly pattern that does not glorify God. Live in such a way that your children and those who come after you will thank God for the example you set. May your life become a godly legacy of faith, integrity, wisdom, love, and obedience to God.

Finally, ask yourself a simple but incredibly important question: “What kind of legacy will my children observe in my own life?” One day, someone will study your life just as you have studied the lives of your parents. They will learn from your decisions, your faith, your character, your speech, and your relationship with God.

Live in such a way that your life becomes an example beautifully worth following.  Let your family remember you as someone who feared God, loved people, worked diligently, lived honestly, and remained faithful to the very end. By God’s grace, you will not live and labor in vain. Let your life become the glorious beginning of a new and godly legacy that will bless generations to come.

Prophetic Declaration

I decree over your life today: Every negative family pattern assigned to limit your destiny shall be broken by the power of God, in Jesus’ name. You will not repeat the same mistakes that brought pain and regret to your parents. The Lord will give you wisdom to learn from the successes and failures of your parents. Every inherited spirit of failure, delay, fear, addiction, anger, poverty, and disobedience is destroyed by the blood of Jesus.

You shall become a godly example to your family, your children, and your generation. Every wound from your upbringing that is affecting your destiny, relationships, or spiritual life receives divine healing today. The grace to build a better legacy than those before you shall rest upon your life.

The Lord will raise you as a generational blessing, and through you, your family line shall experience restoration and divine remembrance. From today, your life will reflect Christ more than any negative family pattern. You shall walk in victory, favour, and divine fulfilment all the days of your life. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Key Lessons for Today

Lesson 1: Your parents are your first teachers. Learn from both their strengths and their weaknesses.

Lesson 2: Your family patterns should be examined prayerfully. Preserve what is godly and reject what is contrary to God’s Word.

Lesson 3: Your family background may influence your beginning, but it does not have to determine your destiny in Christ.

Lesson 4: Honor your parents, but let God’s Word be the final authority for your decisions and lifestyle.

Lesson 5: Live a life of faith, integrity, and obedience so that you leave a godly legacy for your children and future generations.

Personal Challenge

Today, take an honest look at your parents’ lives without criticizing or condemning them. Write down three godly qualities you want to imitate from them and three bad patterns you must never repeat. Pray over each one and ask God for the grace to preserve the good and reject the bad ones. If there are emotional wounds from your upbringing, surrender them to Christ and choose forgiveness instead of anger and bitterness. Make a conscious decision that your life will become a positive example for your children and the generations that will come after you.

Evangelism Challenge

Encourage a family member or young person today by sharing this devotional. Help them understand the importance of building a godly legacy and point them to Jesus Christ, who has the power to transform lives, restore families, and break every ungodly pattern.

Wisdom for Today

“A wise person does not only inherit a family name; he learns from his family’s history, preserves what is good, and allows God to change what is not.”

Bible in One Year

1 Chronicles 1–2

Acts 21:17–40

Prayer Assignment (Morning)

1. O Lord, thank You for the gift of my parents and for preserving my life from childhood until now, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, let every negative pattern operating in my family line come to an end in my life, in Jesus’ name.
3. Every inherited weakness assigned to hinder my destiny, break by fire, in the name of Jesus.
4. O God, give me the grace to imitate every godly virtue I saw in my parents, in Jesus’ name.
5. Every ungodly habit I unconsciously inherited from my family, be uprooted by the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name.
6. Father, heal every emotional wound caused by my upbringing and restore my soul, in Jesus’ name.
7. I reject every spirit of anger, pride, fear, laziness, immorality, and unbelief inherited from my bloodline, in the name of Jesus.
8. O Lord, make me wiser than those who went before me, and help me to make godly decisions every day.
9. Every curse, covenant, or evil dedication speaking against my family destiny, be broken by the blood of Jesus.
10. Father, let the power of Your Word reshape my character and renew my mind daily, in Jesus’ name.
11. Every ancestral limitation working against my progress, lose your hold over my life today, in Jesus’ name.
12. I refuse to repeat the mistakes that brought sorrow into my family, in the name of Jesus.
13. O Lord, teach me to honour my parents while remaining faithful to Your truth.
14. Every evil cycle of marital failure in my family shall not continue through me, in Jesus’ name.
15. I receive divine wisdom to build a successful, peaceful, and godly home, in Jesus’ name.
16. Every spirit of poverty and financial hardship inherited from my family line, be destroyed, in Jesus’ name.
17. Father, make me a blessing to my parents and to my entire family, in Jesus’ name.
18. Every seed of bitterness, unforgiveness, or hatred planted in my heart, be uprooted today, in Jesus’ name.
19. O Lord, let Your mercy rewrite every negative story associated with my family.
20. Every inherited spirit of failure at the edge of breakthrough, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.
21. I receive the grace to become a positive example to my children and the next generation, in Jesus’ name.
22. Every satanic agenda to make me repeat destructive family patterns, be cancelled by the blood of Jesus.
23. Father, surround my family with Your peace, protection, and divine favour.
24. Every evil foundation speaking against my destiny, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.
25. O Lord, let Your light expose and remove every hidden work of darkness affecting my family.
26. I declare that my life shall reflect the character of Christ and not the works of the flesh, in Jesus’ name.
27. Father, raise me to become a generational blessing and a destiny helper to many.
28. Every good thing my parents could not achieve because of spiritual opposition, let Your perfect will be established in my life, in Jesus’ name.
29. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I shall leave behind a legacy of faith, integrity, and obedience to God.
30. Father, let my family history glorify You, and let my future generations serve You with all their hearts, in the mighty name of Jesus.

31. O Lord, let every good seed You have planted in my life grow and bear lasting fruits, in the name of Jesus.
32. Every evil voice from my father’s house speaking against my progress, be silenced forever, in the name of Jesus.
33. I disconnect myself from every inherited spirit of rejection, disappointment, and stagnation, in Jesus’ name.
34. Father, let Your divine purpose for my life override every negative family expectation, in the name of Jesus.
35. Every battle that followed my parents shall not follow me or my children, in Jesus’ name.
36. O God, establish me as a covenant child walking in Your favour and mercy all the days of my life.
37. Every spirit of delay in marriage, career, ministry, and destiny operating in my family line, be destroyed by fire, in Jesus’ name.
38. Father, let my testimony become proof that You can change any family story.
39. I receive divine discernment to recognize and reject every destructive influence around me, in Jesus’ name.
40. Every evil personality assigned to keep my family in bondage, lose your power over us, in the name of Jesus.
41. Every destiny exchange that took place in my family line, be reversed by the power of God, in the name of Jesus.

42. Powers that diverted the blessings of my parents, you shall not divert my blessings, die, in the name of Jesus.

43. Powers that diverted the blessings of my parents, you shall not divert my blessings, die, in the name of Jesus.

44. Every force of darkness saying I will never surpass my parents, you have failed; die, in the name of Jesus.

45. Every power that wasted the prime years of my parents shall not waste my years, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

46. O Lord, let every blessing that bypassed my parents locate me by Your mercy, in the name of Jesus.

47. Every invisible chain tying my destiny to my parents’ failures, break into pieces by the blood of Jesus.

Prayer Assignment (Night)

1. O Lord, make me an instrument of peace, healing, and restoration in my family.
2. Every inherited fear of success and greatness, be consumed by the fire of the Holy Ghost, in Jesus’ name.
3. Father, let every closed door of opportunity that affected my parents open unto me by Your mercy.
4. I break every agreement with failure, shame, and reproach knowingly or unknowingly entered into by my ancestors, in Jesus’ name.
5. Every power determined to transfer family afflictions into my life, be disappointed, in the name of Jesus.
6. O Lord, give me a heart that fears You above every human tradition or family custom.
7. Every evil inheritance contrary to the promises of God for my life, be cancelled by the blood of Jesus.
8. Father, make my home a place where Your presence, love, and righteousness continually dwell.
9. I shall not hand over my bondage to the next generation; I shall pass on the blessings of God, in Jesus’ name.
10. Father, remove every veil preventing me from identifying destructive family patterns, in the name of Jesus.
11. O Lord, give me the courage to make godly choices even when they are different from my family traditions.
12. Every inherited spirit of disobedience to God, come out of my life by fire, in Jesus’ name.
13. Father, help me to become a worthy example that others can follow with confidence.
14. Every evil foundation fighting my spiritual growth, be destroyed by the power of God, in Jesus’ name.
15. O Lord, grant me the wisdom to build where others in my family have failed.
16. Every spirit of repeated mistakes working against my destiny, lose your hold over my life, in Jesus’ name.
17. Every power that stopped my parents from fulfilling their destiny shall not stop me, in the name of Jesus.
18. Every ancestral power that limited the greatness of my father and my mother, lose your hold over my life by fire, in the name of Jesus.
19. What swallowed the glory of my parents shall not swallow my glory, in the name of Jesus.
20. Every inherited chain of failure and disappointment, break by the power in the blood of Jesus.
21. Powers that kept my parents on one spot for years, release me now, in the name of Jesus.
22. Every family strongman assigned to repeat the battles of my parents in my life, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.
23. Every evil pattern that followed my parents from birth until death, I refuse to carry you, in the name of Jesus.
24. Every spirit of rising and falling operating in my family line, your time is over in my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
25. Every power that delayed the breakthroughs of my parents shall not delay my breakthroughs, in the name of Jesus.
26. Every evil altar that spoke against the progress of my parents, catch fire and be destroyed, in the name of Jesus.
27. Every inherited embargo placed upon my family, break by the blood of Jesus.
28. Every destiny killer that fought my parents, your assignment over my life is terminated by fire, in the name of Jesus.
29. Every curse that reduced my parents’ achievements, be broken over my life today, in the name of Jesus.
30. Every power saying I will end like my parents as a failure, you are a liar, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.
31. Every inherited yoke of poverty, hardship, and lack, break and scatter, in the name of Jesus.
32. Every satanic inheritance passed from one generation to another, I reject you by the blood of Jesus.
33. Every invisible hand pulling me backward the way it pulled my parents backward, wither by fire, in the name of Jesus.
34. O God, let every door that remained closed before my parents open unto me by Your mercy, in the name of Jesus.
35. Every power assigned to waste my opportunities as it wasted my parents’ opportunities, be consumed by the fire of God.
36. I decree that my story shall be different; I shall go farther than my parents by the grace and mercy of God, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
37. Every mountain that stood before my parents, be removed from my path by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus.

38. Every household enemy monitoring my progress as they monitored my parents, receive permanent blindness, in the name of Jesus.

39. Every power that turned my parents into spectators instead of achievers, your assignment over my life is terminated, in the name of Jesus.

40. Every familiar spirit troubling my family from generation to generation, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

41. Every evil voice speaking, “It happened to your parents; it will happen to you,” be silenced forever by the blood of Jesus.

42. Every power determined to make me end where my parents ended, be disgraced forever, in the name of Jesus.

43. Every power assigned to make me labour without results as my parents did, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

44. Every chain of untimely delay that affected my parents, break and scatter from my life, in the name of Jesus.

45. Every evil power assigned to transfer my parents’ unfinished battles into my life, die by fire, in the name of Jesus.

46. Every evil load my parents carried throughout their lives, I refuse to carry your burden, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.

47. Every power assigned to reduce my glory to the level of my family struggles, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.

African Proverb

“A child who learns from the footsteps of the elders will avoid many thorns on the road.”

Closing Reflection

Learn from your parents’ lives, honour them, avoid their mistakes, embrace their godly virtues, and allow Christ to write a new story through you. May your life become the generation where every negative pattern ends and every divine promise begins.

This devotional is brought to you by Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries (EJOM)

— Dream it. Pray it. Win it.