OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
THE GAINS OF GOD’S COVENANT II
MESSAGE BY: Pastor E. A. Adeboye
MEMORISE: ” Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:” — Deuteronomy 7:12
I. OVERCOMING IMPOSSIBLE BARRIERS THROUGH COVENANT BACKING
Welcome to Monday, August 17, 2026. When you walk in a covenant relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth, doors that are firmly shut against others open to you effortlessly. Human laws, geopolitical restrictions, and religious hostility buckle under the weight of divine covenant backing.
Pastor Adeboye shares a striking account illustrating this reality:
“Years ago, a highly influential man in an Islamic nation, where church planting was prohibited, invited one of our missionaries to establish a church within his compound. When the church started, his wife said to him, ‘With your position in government and your influence in this nation, you allowed a church be established in your compound?’ He looked at his wife and said, ‘Don’t you dare say a word against these people!’ I believe that it was easy for the RCCG to plant a church in that nation, and indeed many nations in the world today, because of God’s covenant with its founder, Pa Josiah Akindayomi.”
When God makes a covenant with a person, that covenant creates a spiritual canopy that covers organizations, ministries, and generations connected to that individual. What appears impossible to human diplomats becomes an easy pathway for those backed by the covenant!
II. SUPERNATURAL RESULTS BEYOND HUMAN EFFORT
One of the greatest gains of being in covenant with God is that He produces results in your life that far outpace your physical efforts. What others labor and sweat to achieve comes to you with ease, not because you are superior in skill, but because covenant mercy is at work.
God expressed this divine distinction in Exodus 19:5:
“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.”
To be God’s “peculiar treasure” means to be set apart for extraordinary favor. People will look at your progress, advancement, and achievements and marvel, unable to explain your success through natural logic.
Pastor Adeboye reflects on this divine reality:
“Several times, when I wake up at night and reflect on all the good things God is doing in RCCG, I usually say, ‘Lord, how can you love us this much?’ Some people might claim that it is because we fast and pray, but believe me, some people fast more than we do. I recall vividly that when I became the General Overseer, I had some of my friends join me in a 36-hour non-stop prayer session. We thought this was a remarkable feat until we heard of a man who prayed non-stop for so much longer! I may not have spent as many hours in prayer at a stretch as that person, yet what God has done for RCCG is unprecedented and truly remarkable. Indeed, there are immense gains in being in a covenant with the Almighty God.”
Prayer and fasting are vital spiritual disciplines, but human sweat alone cannot substitute for covenant favor. Covenant alignment turns labor into favor!
III. DIVINE PROTECTION AND VINDICATING FAVOR
Another fundamental gain of God’s covenant is absolute, sovereign protection. When you are in covenant with God, He guards you, your family, and your inheritance as the apple of His eye.
In our Bible reading from Genesis 20:1–18, when King Abimelech unknowingly took Abraham’s wife, Sarah, God did not sit back. The Almighty intervened directly, appearing to Abimelech in a dream by night and declaring, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife” (Genesis 20:3).
God went as far as closing up all the wombs in Abimelech’s household until Sarah was safely restored, and He instructed the heathen king to ask Abraham to pray for his healing!
God Shields Your Interest: Even when you make errors in judgment (as Abraham did in Gerar), God’s covenant steps in to correct the situation and preserve your destiny.
God Reproves Kings for Your Sake: As Psalm 105:14–15 declares, “He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”
When you keep your side of the covenant through total obedience and holy living, God takes up your battles, silences your adversaries, and causes even your enemies to bless and enrich you!
IV. TWELVE POWERFUL PRAYER POINTS
Pray these prayer points with holy boldness, laying hold of your covenant heritage:
1: Thanksgiving for Covenant Grace: Heavenly Father, I thank You for making me a beneficiary of Your glorious covenant of life, favor, and protection through Jesus Christ.
2: Grace for Unwavering Obedience: Lord, give me the heart to diligently hearken to Your voice, obey Your Word, and walk faithfully in Your covenant terms every day.
3: Activation of Peculiar Favor: Father, let Your covenant set me apart as a peculiar treasure; cause Your favor to do in my life what my human effort could never accomplish!
4: Opening Closed Doors and Nations: Lord, let Your covenant backing break down political, spiritual, and financial barriers before me, grant me international breakthroughs, in Jesus’ Name!
5: Surpassing Peer Performance: Father, by the power of Your covenant, grant me extraordinary results that far surpass the efforts, qualifications, and background of my peers!
6: Sovereign Protection over Household: Heavenly Father, let Your living Wall of Fire guard my marriage, my children, my body, and my ministry against every satanic encroachment!
7: Rebuking Evil Interferences: Every king or authority figure plotting to seize my heritage or compromise my destiny, be confronted and arrested by God, in Jesus’ Name!
8: Enforcing Restoration: Father, just as Abimelech restored Sarah with silver, sheep, and land to Abraham, let every stolen blessing be restored to me with multiplication!
9: Healing for Nations and Households: Lord, make me a channel of blessing and healing; let my prayers break curses and open doors of fruitfulness for others, in Jesus’ Name.
10: Exemption from Frustration: I declare that I shall not labor in vain or bring forth for trouble; covenant mercy eliminates unnecessary struggles from my life!
11: Preserving Generational Covenants: Father, let the benefits of my covenant walk with You spill over to bless, protect, and prosper my children to distant generations!
12: Personal Covenant Demands: [Present your specific areas of need, career goals, or spiritual desires to God, appealing directly to His covenant faithfulness.]
V. BIBLE TEXT SUMMARY & FURTHER STUDY
Bible Text Summary: Genesis 20:1–18
Abraham relocates to Gerar and claims Sarah is his sister out of fear for his life. King Abimelech takes Sarah, but God intervenes in a dream, warning Abimelech that he is a dead man because Sarah is married. Abimelech pleads his integrity, and God acknowledges his innocent heart, revealing that He personally kept him from sinning against Him. God commands Abimelech to restore Sarah to Abraham—identifying Abraham as a prophet who will pray for his healing—or face total destruction. Abimelech restores Sarah, gifts Abraham livestock, servants, and 1,000 pieces of silver, and invites him to dwell anywhere in the land. Abraham prays, and God heals Abimelech’s household, reopening their closed wombs.
Further Study Scripture References
Deuteronomy 7:12: “Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:” — Reaffirms that divine covenant faithfulness is tied to human obedience.
Exodus 19:5: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people…” — Highlights the unique, elevated status God accords to covenant keepers.
Psalm 105:14–15: “He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” — Demonstrates God’s aggressive protective canopy over His covenant partners.
VI. BIBLE READING PLAN
1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Jeremiah 44–46
Jeremiah 44: Jeremiah delivers a scathing message from God to the Jewish remnant living in Egypt (Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, Pathros). God rebukes them for burning incense to queen of heaven idols, reminding them that Jerusalem was destroyed for this exact sin. The people stubbornly refuse to listen, claiming things went well when they worshiped idols in Judah. Jeremiah pronounces severe judgment: the sword, famine, and pestilence will consume the remnant in Egypt, and Pharaoh Hophra will be handed over to his mortal enemies as a sign.
Jeremiah 45: A short, personal message addressed to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, during the fourth year of Jehoiakim. As Baruch despairs over the sorrow and burden of writing God’s judgments, the Lord tells him not to seek great things for himself, promising to preserve his life as a prize wherever he goes.
Jeremiah 46: Prophecies against Egypt. Describes the crushing defeat of Pharaoh Necho’s army by Nebuchadnezzar at the Battle of Carchemish along the Euphrates River. Jeremiah foretells the coming invasion and humiliation of Egypt by Babylon. The chapter concludes with words of comfort for Israel, promising that God will correct them in measure but will not make a full end of them.
VII. HYMN 19: ROCK OF AGES, CLEFT FOR ME
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
VIII. PROPHETIC DECREE
I decree and declare that on this Monday, August 17, 2026, the gains of God’s covenant are fully activated in your life, household, and career!
Every closed door, institutional barrier, and legalistic restriction standing between you and your God-given destiny is dismantled by fire!
Where others struggle and sweat without result, covenant mercy will speak for you, granting you supernatural speed, ease, and unexplainable favor!
God will reprove kings for your sake; no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every power attempting to manipulate your heritage will face divine judgment, in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ! Amen! Hallelujah!
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