Are you a giver or a taker? Is deception a part of how you earn a living or put food on your table? Are you putting in an honest day's work for each day's pay? One needs to repent of being a taker and become a generous giver to grow into the man of God Jesus wants you to be who can build up the wall and stand before the throne in the gap on behalf of the land.

Men don't snap their fingers and become mighty men of God. The will to succeed is the will to prepare. Preparing begins by being faithful in little. Waking up early to pray and to honestly meet the financial needs of yourself and your family, including paying all your child support, if applicable. 

As Scripture says, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) King David became a mighty warrior by watching diligently and caring for his father's sheep for many years. When the patriarch Jacob watched his father-in-law's sheep, he bore the loss himself when anything was stolen or torn by wild animals.

Fatherhood is a challenge. We must first be faithful in our natural work and set an example of selfless service for our households. We must be transformed by the blood of Jesus to willingly give and give and give some more. We must stand in the gap, first for our households, and then for our towns and counties. Will you rise up and be a tithe – a tenth of the men – in your town or county that Jesus wants to rise up and grow into spiritual fathers. Will you become a father who will be spent beyond their natural families for growing the kingdom of God in the hearts of sons and daughters either abandoned by their natural fathers or who ran off as prodigals?

Dear Heavenly Father,

I confess that I have failed in many ways as a man and as a father. I thank You that You have not abandoned me wounded by the roadside, but that You have bandaged my wounds. Help me not to be lazy or inactive due to past shame or fear of future failures. Help me to resolve deeply in my heart, that whatever my failures may be, they will not be abandonment, abdication, infidelity, or sloth. As You are the God who is there, help me be the dad who is there, both the dad to the natural children you give and the dad to the spiritual children You provide. In the Name of Jesus, I Pray. Amen.

Reading scripture is like looking in a mirror. Ask God to show you in Scripture what you look like to him. Ask him to reveal one or two promises you need to grab hold of to grow into a spiritual father. Ask him also to reveal between one or two sins you need to repent of to succeed in your fatherhood task. Write these down.