Prayer Works Morning Devotion: October 29, 2025

Thus Says The Lord-Who God Says He Is, His Commandments and Promises

Jeremiah 24:7 "Then I Will Give Them A Heart To Know Me, That I am The Lord; And They Shall Be My People, And I Will Be Their God, For They Shall Return To Me With Their Whole Heart"

---

A very good morning, a very good morning, everybody. I pray that you had a wonderful, restful night, and that you are ready for another exciting day with the Lord.  

And we get to fellowship with one another, we get to encourage somebody, we get to see the Lord move in so many different ways and aspects of our lives and every day is an opportunity.  

It's literally an opportunity to get to know the Lord and to see who He is and to have a greater understanding of how He moves, how He does what He does. So we want to start this day with a devotion in prayer so that we can study it right. Let us go to the Lord in prayer.  

Heavenly Father, We thank you this morning for your goodness and your mercy towards us. We thank you for all that you're doing and what you're still going to do. We thank you, Lord, that our hope and our faith is secure in you.  

We thank you, Lord, that we have an inheritance, spiritual inheritance, that we are complete in you, that we have an eternal home, that our hope and our lives are secure in you.  

That our faith will endure, and that we have a destiny that you have carefully orchestrated for us to get to. Thank you for righteousness, for wisdom, for knowledge, for revelation, and for strength and grace and mercy, all these statues that belong to us as your children.  

So this morning as we gather today, we have a clear understanding, Lord, that you hear us from heaven and that new mercies you have for us this morning. So, Father, as we lean into you, as we get closer to you, our prayer is that you get closer to us.  

In fact, it's your promise that as we get closer, you get closer to us. And we thank you, Lord, that when you come closer to us, you always reveal yourself so strong, so that our faith will grow, so that our faith will endure, and as we slowly continue to glory in you.  

So Father, this morning we give it to you, because we know without you we are nothing. We bless you and honor you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen.  

Brothers and sisters, today we are back in Jeremiah 24. And I'm going to try to, I'm going to read the whole entire chapter it's very short. But while I'm reading it, I want you to put James chapter number 1 and verse 2 in your head most of you know this.  

It says, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testings of your faith produces patience. And then it says, let now patience make its work in you, so that we may be found perfect, lacking nothing.  

So count it all joy when you first trials and tribulations because it will test your faith. There is nothing like a faith that's not tested. You want your faith to be tested because that's the only way we grow and that's the only way we know where we are in the scale of growth in God and in knowing who He is.  

So let us now go to the book of Jeremiah chapter number 24. So this is a story, this is a story of two groups of people. And as I read, just keep that in mind. After Johiakim son of Johiakim, king of Judah, and the officials, the skilled workers, the artisan of Judah was carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  

The Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripened early. The other basket had very bad figs. so bad they could not be eaten.  

Then the Lord asked me, what do you see, Jeremiah? Figs, I answered. The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten. Then the word of the Lord came to me.  

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, Like these good figs I regard as good, the exile from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of Babylonians. Now God sent these children of Israel to Babylon.  

He sent them there. My eyes will watch over them for their good and I'll bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I'll plant them and not uproot them. I'll give them a heart to know me that I am the Lord.  

They will be my people. and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten, says the Lord. So will I deal with the Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and his survivors from Jerusalem.  

Will they remain in this land or live in Egypt? I will make them abhorrent, and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and by word a curse and an object of ridicule wherever I banish them.  

I will send the sword famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors. In this particular passage of Scripture, our key verse is verse 7, I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. 

They will be my people. I will be their God, for they will retain to me with all their heart. This is what God is speaking to Jeremiah about. Two baskets and this is two groups of people, the children of Israelite that were taken into captivity in Babylon.  

In fact, God sent them there and the ones that stayed behind. The ones that stayed behind are considered the bad figs and the ones that went into exile, they are considered the good. And the reason for it is because not all challenges are bad.  

There are some things God will put us through in order to create in us the heart that He desires from you and I. A human being who is not solving problems is not growing. A human being who is not going through anything will not grow.  

It's unfortunate that we grow when there are challenges. And every challenge comes sometimes to check and to test your faith in order for you to understand and to know whether you have grown or not grown.  

So the children of Israelite that we're taking into captivity. You could look at it and say this was not a good situation. Nobody wants to go into captivity. Nobody will volunteer to go into captivity. 

But God says those were good because count it all joy sometimes when you face trials and tribulations because the testings of your faith will produce something that will not be produced under normal circumstances.  

When we are comfortable, we are at our worst. When everything is good, most times we are bad. Because when we are not challenged by circumstances or situations, most times we just don't grow or we don't find the motivation to grow.  

So Jeremiah is shown to groups of people. The one that had easy, because they stayed in Jerusalem, and the one that went through hell to go live in Babylon. And remember, they were in Babylon for 67 years. 

And those are considered the good figs, because through their journey and through the challenges they went through, God created in them. God created and gave them a heart to know Him, that He is Lord.  

They will be My people and I will be their God for they will return to Me with all their heart. Now, we know the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and we know Daniel's story in the lion's den, nobody will volunteer to be thrown in a fire.  

Nobody will be volunteering to be thrown in a lion's den. But those experiences in Babylon caused these boys to have a clear understanding of who God is, the power and authority that he has, the revelation knowledge they acquired through their experiences.  

Caused them, or cause God to give them a heart that loves and knows Him. So, when we look at the challenges and the problems that sometimes come our way, most times they are not there to destroy us, but rather to grow us in faith. 

This is why most of us When asked the question, if you are to go back, will you change anything? The answer most times is always no. Why? Because you know I benefited from those challenges to become the person that I am to do it today.  

But when we are going through it, most times we don't see what God is doing five years, ten years from now. So our prayer should be, Lord, open my eyes so I can align to that which you are doing five years, ten years from now.  

Because everything that we go through is either growing us or destroying us. But if we walk by faith, that means everything that we will go through and endure, God will elevate us and make sure that your heart is growing in the love of God. 

That's what we want that's what every single one of us want to grow in the knowledge of who God is and for God to give us a heart that knows Him so they went to Babylon spent 67 years in Babylon it was not good it was not rosy it was difficult it was something that you wouldn't wish on anybody. 

But yet God is showing Jeremiah that those who were going through things were good figs that was the good basket, the people that were in exile that was the good basket and the people that stayed in Jerusalem those were bad people. 

And when God is asking Jeremiah what do you see says figs I answered. The good ones are very good the good ones are very good, not they are good, the good ones are very good. That means they've gone through something and the testings of your faith has produced something.  

If you don't want your faith to be tested, then it won't produce a patience, a perseverance in you. And when patience and perseverance is not produced in you, then it won't finish the work that God is doing in you.  

Not you finishing, because when you read that scripture it says let now perseverance or perfect patience finish its work in you so that you can be found perfect. Now, when you think about this story of the good baskets with the good figs, which is the ones that went into exile, God said to them, you're going to be in exile for 70 years.  

But through the testings of their faith, Daniel prayed and God cut short those years by three years. Instead of going to 70, they went to 67, which means that what they went through from year one to year 66 produced in them a faith to alter that which God had made a statement that it's going to be 70 years.  

But through their faith and through what they went through in exile for 66 years, it produced a faith in them that when Daniel prayed in year 66, God heard him from heaven and answered and altered what he had already set in stone as the years they were spent in exile and it became 67.  

But that does not take place if they don't go through all they went through in Babylon. Every challenge, if you take time to study it, is actually an organized system and if you can learn to endure. 

And if you can learn to dismantle your problems and take time and look at them, you'll realize God has this ability to use all that in order to create in you a heart that loves him, that know him.  

And that will produce in you a faith and a patience and a perseverance that you actually count it all joy that you are going through challenges. So when I'm saying let us grow literally in simple words it's literally saying let's endure the challenges that we are going through. 

And let's understand them because out of it God is creating in us a heart that loves Him, that knows Him, and He Himself will give us a heart to know Him. Then, after He has given you a heart to know Him, He says, that's when He says, You will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart not knowledge and wisdom. 

But no with all their heart in the scripture Jesus said we must serve the Lord with what? With all our heart intentions of the heart the purity of your heart does not come if you don't go through anything. 

This is why when you see spoiled kids They're angry because they haven't gone through anything. They haven't learned the ability to solve problems. So count it all joy when you see trials, tribulations, and problems and challenges.  

Because they are here to test your faith. And when your faith is tested, it will produce something in you. that will allow God to give you a heart that knows you yesterday we were talking about this knowing. 

Having this knowing that God is with me. That knowing does not come if you haven't gone through anything. If you ever if you study everybody in scriptures who is an incredible inspiration to our faith.  

You realize they went through tremendous suffering, strife and challenges just to produce that which we can stand on. Paul suffered the most in order to write the doctrines of the church after Christ had departed.  

And we still enjoy his books today. But it all came because the man went through hell. He went through exiles. So brothers and sisters, all things will work together to those who are called according to his purpose.  

And part of it is recognizing where you are, the challenges that come your way and understanding that all those challenges are opportunities to know God even better. Do not waste pain. Do not waste challenges.  

The things that you've gone through that seem like they are there to crush you. Don't waste that pain. Let that grow your faith so that the testings of your faith can be measured and can produce something that will give you perseverance and the patience. 

And then allow that patience and perseverance to finish its work in you. so that you may be found lacking nothing. It's all part of it. God is able to take every little thing, bring it into this ingredient, and make sure that when you get to the other side, you will count it all joy, because you face trials and tribulations.  

So as we go out through today and as we take stock and look at the end of this year, make sure you examine where you are and the things that are happening around you and recognize that some of those challenges are opportunities to accentuate the person that you are in and for God to give you a heart that loves Him.  

When the enemy comes in through one door, the scripture says if you defeat him, he lives through seven doors, which means on his way out, he will reveal to you and I seven other doors that we had no idea existed.  

Not all problems are there to destroy you. Sometimes God creates things in order to grow you. When you pray to God for wisdom, the only way you will know that you have wisdom is if you go through complex problems.  

When you ask God for patience, the only way you will know is now have patience is He surrounds you with belligerent people to test your patience so that you can understand now I have attained a different realm of patience.  

When you ask God to grow you, He sends you problems to accentuate your thinking, to accentuate your fasting, your reading of scripture, your level of worship, so that He can draw near to Him and He can draw near to you and that leads to your growth.  

So brothers and sisters, as we look out the remainder of the year and as we go throughout today, may we count it all joy as we face trials and tribulations because it's going to grow and test our faith and that is what we need in order for God to put in us a heart that loves Him. Let us pray.  

Heavenly Father, today we just want to simply thank you for being in our corner, for taking us windy roads that sometimes we don't understand. And we want to thank you for challenges and problems and things that we go through sometimes that we cannot understand or fathom. 

Father we know that as long as we continue to put our trust in Him, to bring all the good and the bad to You, that You will make our path straight. The word says, let's not lean into our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge You, in all our ways acknowledge you, and you will make our paths straight.  

So thank you, Lord, for the many challenges that we face, because we now know you have put in us a heart that loves you. Where will we be if our lives were rosy? With no challenges, everything perfect.  

So today we count it all joy and we thank you for the many challenges that we've been through because it has produced in us a good basket of figs. And I pray a special blessing as we evaluate, as we look at our lives, as we meticulously check the challenges and problems that we face.  

Because we know as we continue to dismantle these things, in them we will see something that is so remarkable beautiful ashes. So I pray, Lord, for a strength that is uncommon to rest upon every single one of us, to endure, which seems difficult.  

But knowing, Lord, that it's leading us to a glorious place. I pray for every person as they deal with challenges of their lives, that may you, by your grace, give us grace and standards to go through these problems.  

I pray for your many blessings upon everybody and in families and children that we will not want for anything. May You kindly, Lord, supply all our needs according to Your riches and glory.  

The sleepless nights that we tear up, the sleepless nights that we cry, and sometimes when we look around and we don't know which way to go, remind us that we should count it all joy.  

Because as we continue to persevere and allow patience and perseverance to do its work in us, we know the testings of our faith will produce something remarkable. And in return, you put in us a heart that loves you, and you then call us your children, and you our God.  

It's a privilege and honor sometimes to suffer. And I pray, Lord, that may You raise glorious ruins in the challenges that we go through. Lead us in all things true, in all things right. I pray a special blessing for this day as You continue to guide us.  

And I pray, Lord, that may we do your will in earth as it is in heaven, and lead us not into temptation. Continue to deliver us from the evil one. For thine the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.  

Brothers and sisters, may the good Lord bless you in all that you go through, may constantly remind you that He is the anchor of your souls. And He is right there with you in the fire. He's right there even when you don't understand.  

And He's right there when you understand Him. All in all, just to create in you a heart that loves Him so that He can call you His own and we can call Him Our Father. May the Lord bless you and your children and everything concerning you.  

May we all have an awesome, wonderful, phenomenal day in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will see you tomorrow morning.