FAST FRIDAY FOR FIRSTBORNS
FRIDAY 4TH MARCH 2022
THEME: MERCY AND HELP FOR ADVANTAGE
TEXT: HEBREWS 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Happy new month beloved parent-intercessors. I trust we’ve all had a great week so far. Indeed, our GOD is good and HE is worthy of our praises! Another working week is done and we give GOD all the praise for the results we have been able to achieve in it. Halleluyah!
Its another Fast Friday today, the first in the month of March 2022, it is a time of blessing, fasting and prayers for our first-borns, and we shall be doing the needful again by the help of the Father, His Son and their Spirit.
As we pray the prayer of mercy and help for our children’s first born positions to be preserved in GOD, we shall be looking at a full excerpt copied from Pst Ayo Otuyalo’s Personal Prayer Guide Devotional (Episode 16) and be guided by it as we pray:
Title: The First Born Syndrome (Genesis 25:1-5)
The Death of Abraham
25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
EXPLANATION: As we study the genealogy of Abraham, it is important to point out that there is an established pattern that puts the 1st born in a place of disadvantage. In Genesis 16:2 Sarai gave Abraham permission to go into her maid Haggai that she might obtain children by her. This means that technically Ishmael was Abraham’s first son and Isaac was the second son but GOD declared in Genesis 17:19 that HE would establish HIS covenant with Isaac for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. This set a pattern of the second born being blessed over the first.
Isaac was deceived by Rebekah in Genesis 27:28-30 by blessing Jacob who was the second born and not Esau who was the first. Jacob himself in Genesis 49:3-4 exempts his first born Reuben from the blessings because he had gone into his father’s bed and defiled it. The text in consideration (Genesis 25:1-5) shows the lineage of Abraham through his wife Keturah. Keturah had four sons but similar to the established pattern, the first born was exempted (Zimran) and the second was selected (Jokshan).
As we pry into Jokshan’s family, we see he had two sons: Sheba and Dedan but Sheba who was the first was exempted and Dedan was selected. Even when we fast forward to Joseph in Genesis 48:14, Joseph blesses the younger son and exempts the first born.
The above explanation shows a pattern of how first-born children are shortchanged. It therefore behoves us to pay special attention to our first-born children especially in the African context as some of the fathers who were in cults or are chiefs of a specific throne, dedicated their first born sons to take over from them and therefore make commitment on their behalf without the children’s knowledge.
We need to really pray for our first born children especially if they are male, that the mercy and help of the Father will be theirs so that they don’t fall prey of the established pattern of being short-changed.
PRAYER
- Father I ask, that every cycle that exempts me or my child (as a first born) from my blessing and place of my blessing is cancelled in JESUS’ Name!
- I cancel every pattern that short-changes the first born’s identity in my child’s life in JESUS’ Name.
Isaiah 49:3 “And He said to me, You are My servant, O Israel (insert your child’s name) in whom I will be glorified.”
LET US PRAY:
- That GOD will be glorified in and through our first born’s lives.
- Pray that GOD’s mercy and help will locate your child(ren) so they won’t be sidelined or shortchanged of their inheritance and true position.
To our duty posts dear mums and dads. As we pray today, may we continually persevere in our supplication to the LORD for the lives and destiny-fulfilment of our children and may we have a good reward for our labours over them in the name of JESUS CHRIST – Amen.
See you at the corporate fast breaking meeting at 6pm WAT. Remember your direct log in link to the Zoom Meeting Room is bit.ly/FastFridayFirstbornPrayers.
I love and honour you.
