Remembering Who Our Father Is
It is one of life’s greatest blessings to know who God is to us. He is not distant, indifferent, or limited. He is our Father, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Maker of all things. There is no limit to His power, no boundary to His authority, no weakness in His nature.
We pause to say:
Father, we give You glory.
You are our God. You are our Father. You are the Almighty God.
We bless You. We praise You. We worship You. We magnify You. We lift You high and we say thank You.
Thank You for who You are.
Thank You for all You have done.
Thank You for all You are doing.
Thank You for all You are going to do.
We exalt You for the glorious and wonderful promises that are being fulfilled in our lives—by Your grace, not by our works, not by our abilities or our strength, but by the fullness of Your purpose. We glorify Your holy name, King of Glory.
Thank You for how much You love us.
Thank You for how gracious You are to us.
Thank You for Your mercy, Your goodness, Your patience, and Your kindness.
Your goodness is shaping us.
Your grace is moulding us.
Your hand is moving us from grace to grace, from glory to glory, from testimony to testimony, and positioning us for a season of celebration that goes beyond human thinking and human understanding.
You are our God.
You are at work.
You are manifesting Your praise in our lives.
And so we worship You, and we say: Thank You, everlasting Lord. Thank You, King of Glory.
Thank You that our path is shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
Thank You that there is no hour of darkness that our faith cannot quench—because You have spoken it, and we believe it.
I. The Shield of Faith: Quenching Every Fiery Dart
In Ephesians 6, when You spoke about the armor of God and the weapons of our warfare, You told us that faith is our shield—the shield that quenches every fiery dart of the enemy.
Every arrow.
Every attack.
Every weapon formed against us.
Your Word says that faith quenches every fiery dart of the wicked one. Any arrow shot against us—against our minds, our families, our finances, our health—cannot prevail when our faith is firmly set in You.
So today we declare:
- Faith is our shield in Christ.
- Our focus is on You, Lord.
- Our trust is in Your Word.
- Our confidence is in Your promises.
Because in us dwells the fullness of Your strength and Your life, the richness of Your mercy, and the abundance of Your love and kindness. Darkness has no power over us.
We are moving:
- From grace to grace
- From testimony to testimony
- From strength to strength
- From victory to victory
The weaknesses that buried us yesterday will not bury us today.
The failures that held us down will not define us now.
In the name of Jesus Christ our God, we receive a lifting up over every area where we once felt buried. We choose to focus not on our failures, fears, or struggles, but on You and Your living Word.
Every pit—
- The pit of darkness
- The pit of sickness
- The pit of worry
- The pit of anxiety
- The pit of fear
—is defeated in Jesus’ name. We step out of those pits and stand in the wholeness, stability, and power of Your Word. Hallelujah.
II. Peter on the Water: A Picture of Faith and Focus
In Matthew 14:22–33, we read a powerful story that speaks directly to our lives today.
Jesus had sent His disciples ahead of Him in a boat, and during the night, He came to them—walking on the water. When they saw Him, they were afraid, thinking they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Then comes Peter’s bold response:
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
And in verse 29, Jesus speaks a single word:
“Come.”
That one word carried enough power, grace, and divine authority to enable Peter to step out of the boat and do what was humanly impossible.
“So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” (Matthew 14:29)
There is a word from God that, when it hits your spirit, enables you to do the impossible.
I pray that you will hear the voice of God in your own life:
- Through His Word
- Through times of prayer
- Through the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit
- Through dreams, visions, or that inner witness in your heart
May His voice stand out clearly to you, saying: “Come.”
Come out of the boat of comfort.
Come out of the boat of fear.
Come out of the boat of limitation.
Come to Jesus.
And as you hear His voice, may you have the courage to step out—onto the waters of faith, into the unknown, trusting that the One who called you will also sustain you.
III. How Fear Breeds Doubt: When We Look at the Wind
The story continues in verse 30:
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’”
Peter started well.
He stepped out by faith.
He walked on the water.
He was actually doing the impossible.
What changed?
His focus.
At first, his eyes were on Jesus and on the Word: “Come.”
As long as his attention was fixed on the Master and on that divine command, he did not consider the impossibility of what he was doing.
But then, he saw the wind. He became aware of the storm, the waves, the noise, the danger. His attention shifted from Christ to the circumstances.
The Bible says: “He began to sink.”
Not all at once. It was a process—a gradual sinking.
That is what happens to us when we move our focus from God’s Word to our environment:
- When we fix our eyes on the news headlines
- When we dwell on the negative reports
- When we meditate on problems more than on promises
We start to shift from faith to fear.
The shield of faith that was enabling us to walk on water begins to lower, and the fiery darts of doubt and anxiety start to find a way in. But the things we see around us—the storms, the winds, the headlines—cannot be our shield. If we trust in them, they will not hold us up; they will sink us.
And yet, even as Peter began to sink, he did something crucial:
He cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Maybe that’s your cry today.
Maybe you look at your life—your family, your health, your ministry, your nation, your city—and you realize: “I’ve been looking more at the wind than at Jesus.”
If so, let this be your prayer:
“Lord, thank You for all the wonderful things I’ve experienced with You.
But in any way, in any form, that I have been looking at the wind—
at the problems, the fears, the uncertainties around me—
in my life, in my family, in my ministry, in my city, and in my nation—
today I cry: Lord, save me.
I turn my focus back to You.”
And what did Jesus do?
“Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31)
The issue was not that Peter had no faith—he had enough faith to step out.
The issue was that fear opened the door to doubt, and doubt began to sink him.
IV. Fear, Doubt, and the Call to Raise the Shield Again
Here is a powerful truth to hold onto:
Fear opens the door for the manifestation of doubt. And doubt will sink you.
Fear doesn’t just make you uncomfortable—it undermines your confidence in God’s Word. It eats away at your trust. It whispers, “What if God doesn’t come through?”
And once doubt takes hold, it begins to pull you under.
So today, we pray:
- That your shield of faith will be raised high again.
- That fear will not sink you.
- That doubt will not take root in your heart.
May no situation, no report, no negative circumstance, and no visible “wind” around you have the power to drag you down again.
No more sinking.
By the grace of God, it is time to:
- Rise up in His strength
- Stand firm in His promises
- Walk boldly in the power of the finished work of Christ
You are called to walk on water, not drown in worry.
You are called to stand in victory, not collapse under fear.
V. Fix Your Eyes on His Word
This is your day of faith.
God is calling you gently but firmly:
“Look at Me.
Look at My Word.
Fix your heart on what I have spoken.”
Let His Word be your focus.
Let His promises be your meditation.
Don’t just glance at Scripture—meditate on it. Turn it over in your heart. Speak it out loud. Pray it back to Him. Let it fill your thoughts more than the news, more than social media, more than your fears.
Make this your decision today:
“Lord, I will give more attention to Your Word than ever before.
I will meditate on it.
I will fix my eyes on You.
Build my heart up in the faith I need to walk on water and do the impossible.”
VI. A Prayer for Healing, Freedom, and Wholeness
Let’s end with a prayer, spoken over every area of your life:
In the name of Jesus, I pray for you right now.
- I speak healing into every part of your body.
- Wherever disease, pain, or weakness has been attacking you, I declare the healing power of Jesus over you.
- I stand against every sickness, every affliction, every infirmity.
I speak against:
- Fears that torment your mind
- Doubts that disturb your peace
- Walls of resistance that block your progress
- Mental disturbances that rob you of clarity
- Psychological turmoil that steals your rest
- Marital conflicts that burden your heart
- Family disturbances that cause division and pain
In the mighty name of Jesus,
I command these storms to cease.
I command these walls to crumble.
I declare an end to their hold over your life.
And I speak:
- Fullness into your being
- Wholeness into every cell and every tissue
- Supernatural restoration to your mind, your body, your emotions, and your relationships
May the peace of God guard your heart and mind.
May His presence surround you like a shield.
May His Word lift you above every wave.
In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen.
As you go through this day, remember:
The wind may blow.
The waves may rise.
But the voice of Jesus still says, “Come.”
Fix your eyes on Him.
Raise your shield of faith.
And step forward—
You are called to walk on water.