Post by Obafemi EMILOLA, FIMC, CMC® (@ObafemiEmilola)

OPEN HEAVEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY JULY 23RD 2026

THEME: SUSTAINING YOUR FREEDOM I

MEMORISE: I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, 0 thou most High.
Psalm 9:2

READ: Psalms 149:1-9

1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;

7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

MESSAGE
When someone who is under the burden of the yoke of satan cries out to God genuinely for help, God steps in and delivers such a fellow. However, after receiving the deliverance, there are certain things the person must do and continue to do so that the 'taskmaster (the devil) will not lay a heavier burden on him or her. For example, God heard the cry of the Israelites when the Egyptians enslaved them, and He came to their rescue (Exodus 3:7-9), but there were steps they had to take to ensure that they were not re-enslaved by their Egyptian taskmasters.

Matthew 12:43-45 tells us that if a person becomes free from a burden of demonic possession and remains empty, the burden will return in a worse form because the evil spirit that left the person will return with seven other spirits that are more wicked than itself, so that the latter end of the person will be worse than the first. I pray that in any area the enemy wants your latter end to be worse than your beginning, the Almighty God will frustrate his plans, in Jesus' name.

When a fellow has been freed from a burden, the first thing that he or she must do to keep the enemy away and ensure that the burden that has been lifted does not return is to praise God continually. Acts 3:1-8 tells the story of a lame man who lay by the Beautiful Gate of the temple. When God visited him and took away his burden of stagnation, poverty, and shame, he began to walk, leap, and praise God without caring about anyone who was watching him. This man was born lame, and before his healing, he was already above 40 years old (Acts 4:22). This means that he was being carried from one point to another for over 40 years and must have been unable to enter the temple unaided. He might have been praying silently, "God, I wish I had legs so I could enter the temple and dance and praise You as You deserve." This must have been why he leapt and praised God with so much joy when he received his deliverance.

Beloved, has God been good to you? Has He taken away your burdens? Praise Him abundantly, everywhere, and at all times. As we see in today's Bible reading, fill your mouth with high praises to God. Dance and use musical instruments to praise Him, for He alone is worthy of your praise.

KEY POINT
Praise is a powerful weapon for sustaining your victory and freedom.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 32-34

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 18: PRAISE TO THE LORD THE ALMIGHTY
1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is
your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear;
now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.

2 Praise to the Lord, above
all things so wondrously reigning;
sheltering you under his wings,
and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all
that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?

3 Praise to the Lord, who will
prosper your work and defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy
shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends you.

4 Praise to the Lord! O let all
that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath,
come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound
from his people again;
gladly forever adore him

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