Today’s Open Heaven devotional, written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, arrives as a timely word for anyone who feels stuck in a season that seems to contradict the promises God has spoken over their life. If the road you are walking right now looks nothing like the destination you were shown, this message is for you. God is not absent in your difficulty, He is actively at work, shaping you into someone who can carry what He is about to release. Settle in, open your heart, and let today’s truth do its quiet, powerful work.
Open Heaven for July 7, 2026
Topic: His Refining Process
Devotional: Open Heaven (RCCG)
Date: 2026-07-07
Bible reading: Exodus 13:17-18 (KJV)
Memory verse: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him. – Psalm 105:18-19 (KJV)
In His wisdom, God often takes His children through different paths on their journey to greatness. He uses each step to refine their character and to separate them from anything that could hinder or destroy them after attaining greatness. For example, before Joseph became great, God took him through a pit, Potiphar’s house, and prison, so as to build his character in preparation for the role of a ruler in Egypt. Today’s memory verse says that he was laid in irons until God’s word came. God’s word tried him as gold is tried in fire until he was certified fit for greatness. David also had to go through God’s process on his way to becoming a king. His path to becoming a king was marked by numerous challenges, including a period of exile in the wilderness.
The path to greatness is often paved with many challenges. The process of attaining true greatness is never easy, but it is always worth it. Apostle Paul described the process as ‘our light affliction’ in 2 Corinthians 4:17. However, no matter how tough the process gets, it is nothing compared to the far exceeding and eternal weight of glory that God has prepared for us.
People who want to become great without going through God’s process do not usually last if they eventually become great. Like King Saul, they often end up losing their place because of habits and weaknesses that should have been addressed. Those who choose to follow God’s process, however, always emerge purified like precious gold. They become men and women whom God can trust with great resources and other people. Even our Lord Jesus Christ followed God’s process, and when the time came for Him to fulfil God’s assignment, He was baptised, and God’s Spirit came upon Him (Matthew 3:16-17). He didn’t start performing miracles the moment He was born, because God never raises a fellow without first ‘trying’ and preparing him or her.
As we see in today’s Bible reading, God guided the Israelites through His process by making them take a longer route on their journey to the Promised Land. He didn’t want them to run back to Egypt at the first hint of war; He wanted to help them become a strong and resilient nation. Beloved, is God currently taking you through a refining process that you find difficult? I implore you to endure the process, as it is part of His plan in preparing you for true and lasting greatness.
Source: Open Heaven (RCCG), official devotional
Open Heaven Prayer Points for Today
These Open Heaven prayer points for today are original PrayerPrompt content, declarations and a reflection to turn today’s message into prayer.
Prayer Points
- Lord, grant me the grace to recognise Your hand even in the seasons that feel like delay, and help me to rest rather than resist the work You are doing in me.
- Father, expose every habit, mindset, or hidden weakness in my character that could become a stumbling block once You elevate me to the place You have promised.
- Holy Spirit, keep my faith anchored to Your word during every dark night of the process, just as Your word sustained Joseph through years of waiting.
- God, I pray that my endurance in this refining season would produce a depth of integrity that makes me genuinely trustworthy with the lives and resources of others.
- Lord, protect me from the temptation to pursue shortcuts to greatness that bypass Your process and leave me unprepared for what comes with the blessing.
- Father, remind me in moments of weariness that what I am enduring right now is temporary, while the glory You are preparing for me is both immeasurable and eternal.
- I pray for every believer reading this today who is in a painful season, let them sense Your presence and receive renewed courage to continue pressing forward.
- Lord Jesus, You are the ultimate example of faithful obedience through process. Make me a follower who embraces preparation as much as I embrace promotion.
Declarations
- I am not forgotten in this season; God is refining me with precision and purpose, and I will emerge as purified gold.
- I choose to trust the longer route God has ordained for my life, knowing it is building a resilience in me that a shortcut could never produce.
- The challenges I face today are not obstacles to my destiny, they are instruments God is using to qualify me for it.
- I will not abandon the process midway; I carry within me the strength of the Holy Spirit, and I am more than capable of finishing well.
- When God's appointed time comes, I will step into lasting greatness, not because the path was easy, but because I allowed the path to change me.
Reflection
Take a few quiet moments today to consider one specific area of your life where you sense God pressing and stretching you. Rather than praying for that pressure to stop, try shifting your prayer to ask what He wants to build in you through it. Journaling your answer can be surprisingly clarifying, sometimes our greatest breakthroughs come not when the fire goes out, but when we finally stop fighting the flame.
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Test Your Understanding
Answer these 5 questions on today's devotional, then see how you did.
