Day 15 of 40 days of Prayer- Day 1 of Repentance for Dishonor

Exodus 20:12

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”

Honor and dishonor, one is a command the other is a sin.  God desires to be honored and honor starts at home.   Our scripture reading today speaks of us honoring our parents, which is a command from God, not a suggestion.  Gods commands come with rewards when they are followed and recompense (consequences) when they are not.  Deuteronomy 28, tells us clearly what God is commanding us to do in verses 1

“Now it shall be, if you diligently listen to and obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all of His commandments which I am commanding you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭28:1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

The scripture further lays out Gods plan of administration for our obedience. (Verses 2-14)

“All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you pay attention to the voice of the LORD your God. “You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭28:2-14AMP‬‬

Likewise in our reading today in Exodus 20:12(which is reiterated in Ephesians 6:1-3)

God is commanding us...

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”

Your ability to honor your earthly parents is a representation of how you will or will not honor God.

Both have given you life, provide, protect, and made promises, but even if your natural parents (father and mother) didn’t know how to be good parents, there is still no excuse for not honoring them.  The same as in Deuteronomy, Exodus gives us the rewards of our obedience to the command,  “that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” Ex.20:12b

Ephesians 6:1-3, explains further the reward for your obedience to Gods command to honor,

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord [that is, accept their guidance and discipline as His representatives], for this is right [for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline]. H ONOR [esteem, value as precious] YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER [and be respectful to them]—this is the first commandment with a promise— SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY HAVE A LONG LIFE ON THE EARTH.”‭‭ Eph.‬ ‭6:1-3‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Who wouldn’t want to reap the blessings of obeying God? No one, but yet we struggle with obedience to our natural parents as well as our spiritual parent, therefore causing the consequences of our actions to bring destruction into our lives.

Our relationships in the natural should be mirror images of our relationship with the Father, one of love, honor, reverence and respect, but instead, our relationships are filtering through broken hearts, minds and souls, flawed and dysfunctional.

Well it is time to move passed the broken and frail reality of the flesh and walk into the supernatural empowerment of obedience as Jesus did.  Honoring your father and mother is not always about doing everything our natural parents say because they are flawed as well, but reverencing God for the blessing of having parents, (no matter how flawed) by the gratefulness we express in how we honor those relationships no matter how imperfect.  Disobedience and dishonor is the sin of witchcraft, and although the scripture in Exodus or Ephesians does not name what happens when we “dishonor” or “ disobey” the commands of God, it is named, listed, and spelled out plainly to us in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, what our payment shall be for it. So, because we are frail and fail we must repent and seek the Lords forgiveness so that the blessings, not curses may flow in our lives.  We need to renew our relationship with the Lord that we may honor him and reap the reward of it in our lives.

Prayer:

Father, forgive me for my disobedience and foolishness towards your word and those you have placed in my life. Lord I release bitter thoughts and hatred, animosity and unforgiveness from my heart and I release those who were or like a mother and father to me but disappointed, abused, neglected or rejected me.  I am open to receive your spirit of love, obedience, forgiveness, strength, healing and wholeness today that I may walk in right relationship with you and my parent(s).  In Jesus name Amen.

Apostle Michelle Allen