I Shall Not Labour in Vain

“In all labour there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23)

Fruitfulness is a command. It was part of the major commands that God gave to man after creating him. Profitless labour is a sign that the enemy is at work in your life.

When the forces of darkness attack someone’s labour, they ensure that the person has nothing to show for all their hard work. At times, these powers may even allow someone to make progress, but suddenly overnight trouble arises and wipes out years of labour.

Many believers today are labouring in vain because they lack spiritual understanding of the enemy’s operations. They are gifted but not lifted—qualified yet jobless, intelligent yet financially struggling. Some work multiple jobs, from morning to night, and still live in debt. Others are already successful and therefore assume they no longer need prayers like these. What they fail to realize is this:

It is better to pray before the enemy attacks than to cry after he succeeds.

The devil attacks whenever believers become spiritually careless. Today’s success can be lost tomorrow. Consider Job: he was blessed, wealthy, and established. Yet in a single day, when the enemy attacked, Job lost everything. His restoration happened only because God was with him.

Major Reasons Why People Labour in Vain

1. Bondage

The Israelites experienced profitless labour because they were under bondage. All their strength, time, and effort served their taskmasters.

Exodus 1:9–11, 13–14 (NKJV) describes how Egypt afflicted Israel with rigorous labour, making their lives bitter. Their harvest did not benefit them—it benefited the enemy. Bondage ensures that the fruits of your labour never reach your hands.

2. The Wickedness of the Wicked

The Midianites in Judges 6 reveal another demonic strategy:

They allowed Israel to plant, water, and grow their crops.

But at the moment of harvest, they appeared and destroyed everything.

This is how the enemy operates in many lives today.

“So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up… and destroy the produce of the earth… So Israel was greatly impoverished.”
— Judges 6:1–6 (NKJV)

Sometimes the enemy allows a young man to prosper early in life, only to strike him with sickness in old age—draining all his finances. At other times, he attacks people’s children, causing the labour and investment of parents to be wasted.

Stop the enemy before he stops you. Fight before he fights you.

Your real enemy is not people.

Your real enemy is the devil, but he influences human vessels to carry out his agenda.

When you deal with the spiritual powers behind the scenes, their human agents lose their influence.

3. A Sinful Lifestyle

Sin opens the door for the enemy to attack one’s labour. Scripture says:

“Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld good from you.”
— Jeremiah 5:25

When sin is present, the blessing is withheld, and the labour produces little or no result.

Biblical Examples of Profitless Labour

1. The Wise Man Who Was Forgotten

In Ecclesiastes 9:15, a poor wise man delivered an entire city, yet he was forgotten. His wisdom was great, but his reward was withheld. This is what profitless labour looks like:

effort without honour, impact without recognition, contribution without compensation.

A person can be gifted and still remain poor if they do not confront the spirit that makes people labour in vain.

2. Jacob

Jacob laboured faithfully, yet he was cheated repeatedly by Laban. His wages were changed ten times. He suffered loss, exhaustion, and injustice. What preserved him was the covenant of God over his life.

“Unless the God of my father… had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed.”
— Genesis 31:38–42

There are many “Labans” in society—people who cheat others and deny them the full reward of their labour. But when you pray and invoke the covenant of God, He steps in to restore what has been stolen and ensures you receive your rightful portion.

Remember

Profitless labour is not normal—it is spiritual.

If not confronted, it will continue from generation to generation.

But when you rise in prayer, break demonic patterns, close the door to sin, and walk in covenant with God, your labour will produce fruit, your efforts will be rewarded, and your destiny will flourish.

You shall not labour in vain.

By the help of God, you will see the harvest of every seed you have sown.

Further Study: Luke 5:5-7, Isaiah 65:21-23, 1 Corinthians 15:10

Bible Reading Plan : Mark : 1 - 6

Pray each prayer missile for at least 2 minutes or until you sense a release in your spirit.

1. I scatter every power assigned to destroy my harvest in Jesus' name. (Joel 2:25, Isaiah 54:17)

2. I destroy any evil force working against the works of my hands in Jesus' name. (Deuteronomy 28:12, Psalm 90:17)

3. By the anointing of God, and the blood of Jesus, I destroy any power attacking good things in my life in Jesus' name. (Isaiah 10:27, Revelation 12:11)

4. I rebuke devourers, robbers, and spoilers over my health, business, and family in Jesus' name. (Malachi 3:11, John 10:10)

5. I forbid any power assigned to make my labour in vain in Jesus' name. (Isaiah 65:23, Psalm 127:1)

6. Father, bless the works of my hands and cause them to produce a 100-fold harvest in Jesus' name.

(Genesis 26:12, Deuteronomy 28:8)

7. I recover each of my stolen blessings, virtue, opportunities, and wealth in Jesus' name. (1 Samuel 30:18-19, Joel 2:25)

8. By the blood of Jesus, I stop and block any evil in my foundation in Jesus' name. (Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 12:24)

9. Any plantation that my heavenly Father has not planted in my life be uprooted in Jesus' name.

(Matthew 15:13, Jeremiah 1:10)

10. I destroy any curse and failure that is programmed into my life from my foundation in Jesus' name. (Galatians 3:13, Lamentations 5:7)

Day 06: 40 Days Fasting & Prayer

I Shall Not Labour in Vain

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