Declarations For July 2023
Welcome to the second half of 2023. Last night in my time of intimacy with the Holy Spirit, He laid this in my spirit and I’d like to share with anyone out there who is wondering how the rest of the year will play out in your life. Wondering if new battles will erupt or the Lord is finally going to give you rest? Here’s what the Lord says to you;
Even if all the nations raise a war cry or come together to war against you - they will all be shattered.
If they prepare for battle or engineer weapons to fight you, they will still be shattered.
If they gather their councils of war and devise a strategy against your life - those strategies will be rendered worthless. All their evil plans and purposes will not stand because the Lord is with us.
Our Immanuel will prevail. So, fear not and take on the rest of the year with grace and valor.
You’ve already won! (Isaiah 8:9-10, paraphrased)
I decree and declare that it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
The Heart Of The Father
In the past Four (4) years, I’ve been on a journey of building intimacy with God through prayer and spending loads of time studying His word. While I am blessed to see a different dimension of God each day, one attribute of Him that has stood out daily is His heart as a Father towards me.
I have built a stronger and more intimate relationship with God than I’ve ever had with my earthly dads (my biological father and my step-daddy, both who love me unconditionally and dearly). I never thought I’d ever say this but it is true. There are things I bring to God, pour out to Him that no one really knows except Him. I have found this freedom in being able to share EVERYTHING with Him. On the days that He gives me the gift of His presence, it’s so overwhelming I become speechless and I just find myself crying all through.
I see His forgiving heart towards me daily. I have seen His protective side as well, instructing the angels to keep charge over me every day. He has provided for me daily and continues to. I’ve seen Him comfort me on many nights when I felt I could not make it and I know the pep talks He will have with me on those nights to get me back to full strength. I have seen Him teach me things I do not know and give me understanding in my confusion. He usually will warn me of what’s coming ahead and the times that I did not make some good choices or decisions, I saw His disciplinary side towards me and I’ll spare you the details on this one. Even in His discipline, His mercy trumps any punishment I deserve. When you read Deuteronomy 1:31: "There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.", that scripture is how He is dealing with me daily, carrying me in the palms of His hands.
The mind blowing part of this Father-daughter relationship is His love which is so overwhelming I can’t wrap my head around it. To be able to see how much He loves me and His heart towards me, it makes me feel invincible sometimes. I get lost immensely in the knowledge that God truly loves and cares deeply for me. He knows me, and everything about me. It’s the kind of love that no man, born of humankind can ever measure up to. It’s pure, it’s without merit and it’s everlasting. Sometimes in my weakness, I try to run from it but He chases me down and finds me so really, I can’t run away from Him and I could never repay Him for His love. It’s that love that brings me peace and makes me feel so secure in life. Going to bed feeling loved and waking up knowing that His love and goodness is renewed for me and better each day, is a place only He can bring you to. I’m spoiled by the Father and I’ll have it no other way.
I can write thousands of pages about the heart of my Father Jesus and the relationship He has with me, but I pray for you that if you have never experienced His heart, you will make a decision this week to embark on a journey of intimacy with Him so He can show you who He truly is. He is without question the “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:6).
XOXO,
Lady Abena
A Father’s Blessing
We know from Genesis 13:2 that Abraham was very wealthy in livestock, silver and in gold. In Genesis 25, we learn of Abraham’s death and how he had given gifts to his other son’s but left everything he owned to Isaac. Isaac did not just inherit things from his father Abraham but also his anointing and blessing. In Genesis 25:11, God will activate that blessing on Isaac’s life right after the death of Abraham.
The Blessing was so powerful that Isaac will sow in a time of famine and still reap a hundredfold in the same year, because the LORD blessed him. Isaac became so rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. Even the Philistines envied him. (Genesis 26:12-17, paraphrased).
Isaac in later chapters will also transfer the Blessing unto his son Jacob and we will see how Jacob became so prosperous, building an entire nation called Israel. It is important to note that the office of a Father is one that comes with a special blessing. I learned that during the Shabbat dinner on Fridays, the Jewish Fathers will pray and invoke blessings on their children. This is powerful and a practice that every Father, on this Father’s Day, should commit to. Speak life into your children, speak blessings into your children and even the blessings you do not have, pray for them to carry it.
I wish every Father out there a Happy Father’s Day and may your blessings be poured into the lives of your descendants. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.