Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries

40 Days Fasting & Prayer Announcement

Theme: A Cry for Mercy

Scriptures:

Psalm 51 | Psalm 57 | Mark 10:47 | Psalm 86:3 | Luke 18:13 | Psalm 130:2

⏱ Fasting Schedule:

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays: Early Morning to 6:00pm

Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays: Early Morning to 2:00pm

Let’s come together in prayer and fasting, seeking God’s mercy, grace, and divine breakthrough!

DAY 8: A CRY FOR MERCY TO RESTORE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Numbers 32:23

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Psalms 32:5

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Proverbs 28:13

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Romans 6:1-2

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Malachi 3:7

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

INTRODUCTION

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

No matter who you are, you will need to interact with people. It does not matter if you are a leader or a follower; you need to engage with people to be successful. Having a sound connection with others will determine if you will be successful as a leader or team player

One of the greatest losses a believer can experience is not material loss, it is a distance from God. A distance from God is a distant from your relationship with God. A relationship lost with God represent a life vulnerable to more trouble.

The Bible says, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him. This means that we need Jesus to show us the way, we need Jesus to tell us the truth, and we need Jesus to give us life, strength and empowerment to our grace and anointing.

David understood the importance of having a personal relationship with God, and it enhanced his love and trust for Him. Any believer that must go far in his Christian race must develop a strong and intimate relationship with the Lord. Christians have a wonderful gift from the Lord Jesus because it is in Him that we have obtained an inheritance according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1: 11).

Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is He your Father with whom you interact and communicate on a daily basis? If not, you should call upon the Lord Jesus right now to save you from your sins. Then you will become a member of God’s family (John 1: 12-13). Try it now and talk to God in prayer!

You don’t enter into a relationship with someone you don’t love. You don’t enter into a relationship with someone you don’t believe or having a little trust.for You don’t only enter into a relationship because of what you what to benefit but what you want to give. It is what you give, you will receive. If you give love, you receive love.

If you give out hatred, you will get hatred.  In John 14:23, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Our relationship with God must strong if we want to get His attention. Your fellowship with God is more than what you think. In your intimacy with God, you must sacrifice your time, your resources, your energy, to serve God. If you don’t move or make an effort, God may not move. Blind Bartimaeus made an effort by shouting: ”Son of David, have mercy on me”.

You don’t worship God with your flesh but with your spirit. The Bible says, you must worship me in spirit and truth. When only your flesh is connected to him, nothing would work. It takes the spirit to connect to the spirit of God.

A broken relationship with God does not always happen suddenly, it happens gradually. It begins with reduced hunger for prayer, God’s word, and a fellowship with God. Sin is not only a cause of broken relationship. Sometimes distractions, pressure, fear, hidden habits etc. The Bible says, your sin has separated him from you.

A believer under sin may still pray, but not connected to God. He may still worship God, but his spirit has departed from that worship. Some fast more, but no time to pray. A man can be busy for God and yet his mind is far from God. A person can quote scriptures and yet he is still spiritually disconnected from God.

Relationship with God is not sustained by activity, but by our strong intimacy with God. When our intimacy is broken, prayer becomes a difficult task, studying the Bible becomes a punishment, you see it as if you are punished to read a Bible. All these are not normal, that’s why you need to cry to God for mercy to restore your relationship.

Nothing about the things of God moves or interests you anymore. You pray anytime you are in church, but when you at home, you see no need to do such. If you are such a person, you need to pray for divine mercy to restore you back.

When David lost his relationship with God through sin, he did not ask God to defeat his enemies, he did not pray against his foundation, break ancestral curses, he moved closer to God.  He cried for mercy because he understood that without God’s mercy, every other prayer is a waste of time.

Mercy is what repairs broken intimacy. Mercy is what reconnects the heart to God. Mercy is what revives dead hunger and restores lost sensitivity.  There are seasons in our life when God deliberately allows dryness or difficult period to resurface so that a man can deepen His relationship with God and can recognise how far he has drifted away from God.

Like Job’s story, it’s not in God’s will to destroy us according our sin, but to draw us back to Him. God is not punishing us; He is interested in restoring us better. Restoration requires humility, it requires brokenness, it requires a cry that says, “O Lord, I am sorry for drifting away from You spiritually; show me mercy”.

Today is not just about praying against your enemies, but a season set aside to return back to God in regret and pain.  This is not the time to give up, but to draw back to God. Our intimacy must be restored and our fellowship must be maintained. You can’t grow with your personal devotion.

Relationship with God is fully restored when pride dies, excuses for sin dies, and mercy is embraced. God is waiting to embrace you. As we pray today, may our relationship with You be restored.

CONFESSION

Father, I confess that my love for You has grown cold. I acknowledge the distractions I’ve allowed and the ways I’ve walked in disobedience. Today I return to You with my whole heart, holding nothing back.

I ask for Your mercy to cover my failings, Your love to draw me close again, and Your grace to empower me to serve You faithfully. Restore in me the fire of first love, the joy of Your presence, the hunger for Your Word, and the intimacy I once knew with You. Thank You for receiving me back. I surrender all to You again. Amen.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP 

Spend 15 minutes to worship God and thank Him for restoring you, for restoring your faith, prayer, focus etc. Sing quality songs to Him for answering your prayers.

HYMN – MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS

1.⁠ ⁠My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

CHORUS

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

2.⁠ ⁠When darkness veils His lovely face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

3.⁠ ⁠His oath, His covenant, His blood,

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

4.⁠ ⁠When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found;

In Him, my righteousness, alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

(DAY 8): A CRY FOR MERCY TO RESTORE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – Prayer Points

1. O God of mercy, I cry to You, restore my broken relationship with You and draw me close again, in the name of Jesus.

2. O God of mercy, I cry to You, forgive me for losing my first love with You and replace it with fresh fire for You, in the name of Jesus.

3. O God of mercy, I cry to You, cleanse my heart from everything that has created a big distance between me and You, in the name of Jesus.

4. O God of mercy, I cry to You, forgive me for reaching You as an option in my life instead of my priority, in the name of Jesus.

5. O God of mercy, I cry to You, restore my confidence, faith and boldness to serve You more and more, in the name of Jesus.

6. O God of mercy, I cry to You, teach me to love You with all my heart, soul and strength again, in the name of Jesus.

7. O God of mercy, I cry to You, restore my desire to please You above pleasing men, in the name of Jesus.

8. Father, I refuse to let sin destroy what You’re building or keeping in my life, by Your mercy, correct all my mistakes, in the name of Jesus.

9. Father, let Your mercy cover my nakedness and Your grace show me Your great salvation, in the name of Jesus.

10. Father, help me not to justify what You’re calling me to surrender, I receive the grace to trust You more this year, in the name of Jesus.

11. O God of mercy, I cry to You, heal every wound, disappointment, and anger that have pushed my heart away from You, in the name of Jesus.

12. O God of mercy, I cry to You, restore my confidence to approach You boldly without fear or shame, in the name of Jesus.

13. O God of mercy, I cry to You, disconnect me from relationships and influences manipulating my fellowship with You, in the name of Jesus.

14. O God of mercy, I cry to You, wherever I have grown cold toward You, warm my heart again, in the name of Jesus.

15. O God of mercy, I cry to You, strengthen me beyond religious activity into a personal and stronger relationship with You this year, in the name of Jesus.

16. Father, revive my hunger for Your Word. Make the Scriptures come alive to my spirit again as I read and meditate on them, in the name of Jesus.

17. Father, remove every spirit of laziness and complacency from my spiritual life and give me a zealous heart that pursues You diligently, in the name of Jesus.

18. O Lord, deliver me from the fear of man and people-pleasing. Let my primary concern this year be pleasing You alone, in the name of Jesus.

19. By Your mercy O Lord, remove every root of rebellion and stubbornness from my heart. Make me submissive and obedient to Your Lordship, in the name of Jesus.

20. Father Lord, by Your mercy, rescue my soul from drifting away from You and pull me back into Your presence, in the name of Jesus.

21. Lord, I confess my involvement in gossip, slander, and harmful speech towards others. Set a guard over my mouth and help me speak life, in the name of Jesus.

22. O God of mercy, cleanse my heart from secret sins that have broken my intimacy with You, restore me back, in the name of Jesus.

23. Father, have mercy on me for every season I have walked without seeking Your counsel and direction for my life, in the name of Jesus.

24. Lord, forgive me for honouring You with my words while my heart has drifted away from You. By Your mercy, draw my heart back into true devotion with You, in the name of Jesus.

25. Father, by Your mercy, help me restore spiritual discipline and consistency in my relationship with You, in the name of Jesus.

26. By Your mercy, O Lord, remove every misplaced desire, and help me to hunger for You above the blessings, achievements, and outcomes, in the name of Jesus.

27. Father Lord, by Your mercy, locate me wherever I have wandered spiritually and bring me back to You, in the name of Jesus.

28. father, show me mercy for not taking my spiritual life serious and help me to improve in my fellowship with You, in the name of Jesus.

29. Father, remove anything that is killing my zeal or passion to serve You in truth and in spirit, restore me by Your mercy, in the name of Jesus.

29. O Lord my God, by Your mercy, reactivate the grace to maintain my daily devotion with You. Help me to delight in it and be fully satisfied in Your presence, in the name of Jesus.

30. Father, forgive me for every time I have allowed busyness and distractions to rob me of my intimacy with You, in the name of Jesus.

31. Father, forgive me for allowing disappointment to weaken my pursuit of You. Have mercy on me and restore my confidence in You, in the name of Jesus.

32. Lord, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions and wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, in the name of Jesus.

33. I plead the blood of Jesus over every sin, every failure, and every area where I have fallen short of Your glory. Let Your blood cleanse me completely, in the name of Jesus.

34. Father, extend to me the same mercy You showed the prodigal son. Receive me back into Your loving embrace, in the name of Jesus.

35. Lord, forgive me for every time I have loved Your blessings more than seeking Your presence, in the name of Jesus.

36. Father, by Your endless mercy, seal my restoration and keep my heart permanently connected to You this year, in the name of Jesus.

37. Father, have mercy on me for becoming too comfortable with distancing from Your presence, help me, O Lord, in the name of Jesus.

38. Father, by Your mercy remove every barrier between us and tear down every wall I have built through sin and bad habits, in the name of Jesus.

39. Lord, I ask for a fresh encounter with Your presence this year. Visit me in Your power and let me find rest, joy and satisfaction while serving You, in the name of Jesus.

40. Father, fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Let Your power work in me and through me for Your glory this year, in the name of Jesus.

41. Father, revive my prayer life this year, help me to pray with passion, persistence, and power that moves the heart of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus.

42. Father, by Your blood, cleanse my heart of heaviness, purify me and let me see things from Your own perspective of faith, in the name of Jesus.

43. O Lord, deliver me from every demonic oppression and influence that has hindered my relationship with You, restore my hunger for You, in the name of Jesus.

44. Father, give me a new vision for my life and calling. Show me the purpose You have ordained for me from the foundation of the world, in the name of Jesus.

45. Father, I repent of the secret sins that no one knows about but only You. I confess them to Your light and cleanse me completely, in the name of Jesus.

46. O Lord, give me discipline to study Your Word systematically and apply it faithfully to my life this year, in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER ASSIGNMENT
Spend 15 minutes alone with God, without asking for anything just talk to Him. Tell Him honestly what has changed in your walk with Him. Pray over it and ask for grace to overcome it. Ask Him to restore your first love. (Read Ps 51:8, Luke 15:11-20).

MEMORY VERSES:

Mat 6:33, Malachi 3:7, James 4:8, Psalm 51, Psalm 57, Psalm 86:3, Luke 18:13, Psalm 130:2, Luke 15:20, Isaiah 57:15, Lam 3:22-23.