Happy New year everyone! I apologise for the long break since the last blog post . I pray for the grace to be more consistent with blog posts this year (Please pray for me too).

I know it is the beginning of the year and everyone probably has a list of new year resolutions they can’t wait to get started on. For most Christians, this list usually includes better bible study and a more consistent prayer life.

Trust me, I know this struggle quite well. You start the year off pumped and ready to go but life gradually tumbles out of order and 24 hours is no longer enough to do all the things we need to do. Nine times of ten, the first thing to take the hit when the whirlwind of busyness comes is our spiritual life.

I was reading the book of Genesis and I noticed something for the first time in the verse below.

Enoch walked in [Habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah and had other sons and daughters” Genesis 5:23 [AMP]

Enoch, the famous Enoch who walked so closely and intimately with God that he was taken straight to heaven (Genesis 5:21-24). No death, just straight to heaven. The one person who was noted in the bible for consistent and intimate fellowship with God was a family man who probably had a full-time job as well. He wasn’t some hermit in the middle of nowhere with all the time in the world, he wasn’t even a pastor, he was a regular person with a regular life like you and I.

When I saw this, it encouraged me greatly to keep pushing and not relent. God cherishes the time that we spend with Him. Yes, The God of the universe wants to walk with us. It’s so amazing that it made David ask the question below,

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” Psalm 8:3-4

The love that God has for us is second to none. This is why He gave his only son to die for us that we may be reconciled to Him.

 Busyness is one of the enemy’s timeless tools for hindering children of God. We see this in the book of Exodus when Moses challenged Pharaoh to release the Israelites so that they could serve their God. Here was Pharaoh’s first reaction,
 “Don’t supply any more straw for making bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’”  Exodus 5:7-8 [NLT]

In other words, when we give them more work they won’t have time too serve God. They will be too overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed to spend time with God. Sound familiar?

No matter how busy we get, let’s guard our time with God jealously.

I would like to share a few important points we should consider and seek to walk closer and more consistently with God.

1. Seek to understand the “why?” the value of understanding the reason for anything we do cannot be over-emphasised. Why do we pray? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we worship God with songs? The Bereans Christians were commended in Acts 17:11 because “they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” As we begin to probe and uncover the reasons and benefits for certain things we do as Christians, our walk with God is put into clearer perspective

2. Keep it real! Remember that prayer, the word and worship are only instruments that we use to achieve our goal with God, what do I mean? You are not spending time with your bible. You are spending time with God using your bible. Hope you got that? Don’t get so overwhelmed by the activity that you shift your focus from God, the person who you are spending time with. This is a really easy trap to fall into, so we need to be watchful. The minute you notice your focus drifting, pull yourself back. 

3. Have a plan! If you don’t set apart the time you spend with God, something else will take up the time. Routines help us build habits, habits keep us going when willpower is weak or absent.

4. Give God time! Be generous with the time that you give to God. The God of Heaven and Earth wants to spend precious time with you and you give him just a few minutes? C’mon. If the president of your country wanted to speak to you, I’m sure you would gladly clear your day. Please don’t get me wrong, I know there aren’t enough hours in the day. But do give God as much time as you HONESTLY can (even if you have to cut back on some sleep and Instagram time). I promise you will never regret it!

5. Ask for help! Always ask the Holy Spirit for His assistance, He is always more than willing to help.

Prayer
Lord, I pray for the person reading this post. I pray that you grant them the grace to seek you diligently and consistently. I pray that the blood of Jesus will wipe away every stain of guilt, condemnation and frustration that the enemy may have planted. Help them to see and perceive Your immense love for us and the desire you have to walk with us. Please, plant in them an unquenchable hunger for You and Your presence daily. This I pray, in the name of Jesus.

 
Thank you so much for reading! Let’s get talking in the comment section below, what keeps you dwelling in the secret place? What tips do you have for us? You never know someone else may learn a thing or two.

If this piece has blessed you, feel free to share with a friend. Remember, there is love in sharing!

By Ayowade Adeleye

One evening, I asked my Bible study group what they would think if the building we were in started shaking suddenly due to an earthquake and I just calmly said “Guys, let’s carry on, it will be fine”,

We concluded that it would be one of two things.

1. I had lost my mind and was trying to get everyone killed.
2. I had extra information about the hurricane and I had been assured of my safety and that of those who were with me (some action movie vibes, but you get the idea)

We say knowledge is power, but I think we mean that privileged knowledge is power. As citizens of God’s kingdom, our privileged knowledge is the Word of God and complete understanding and revelation of it make us literally unstoppable. God bless you as you read.

Last week, I wrote about God’s waiting room and the understanding that we are waiting with Him and not for Him. He is right there in the waiting room with us. Through all the long nights and tears, He right beside us waiting for the word that He has sent forth to come to pass. But this week I wanted to put a bit more flesh to the topic from another dimension. As I believe that the last post touched on the loving God and not wanting to turn our backs on Him when He asks us to be patient.

So, let’s complete the trio with faith and hope

Faith, Hope and Love – against these three nothing in this world stands a chance.

How do they tie in with waiting for an answer to prayer or waiting for a breakthrough?

Let’s get some definitions sorted…

Faith- A divine persuasion that fuels patience and motivates obedient action.

Hope- An expectation.

The bible defines faith as the substance of things hoped for. This means to have hope you must have faith. The same way, it is not a “leather bag” if it’s not made of “leather”, so also, it’s not “God’s kind of hope” if it is not made of “God’s kind of faith”.

I’ll explain it further this way, in order to expect something, someone, I must be persuaded of their willingness, capacity and integrity (let’s keep these three things in mind)

If we look at the case of parents promising their daughter a car. In most cases, the daughter can even start shopping for her key ring and car air freshener because she knows that her parents are willing because they love her very much, they are financially capable and have been consistent in delivering in their promises over the years. Therefore, she is persuaded and can be expectant.

This is why we need faith and hope as we wait for our prayers to be answered. As this prevents us from getting frustrated while waiting.

“So how do we then get faith? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

When we look through the bible and see the things that mighty men of faith did (Hebrews 11 is a wonderful summary), it becomes obvious that faith is much more than simple human belief, there must be a divine element to it.

I mean how does a man believe that his 90-year-old wife can give birth to a child (Abraham) or how does a man stand and tell the sun not to set (Joshua). It has to be more than human belief.

Faith comes as we engage with the word of God by studying, listening and understanding

Remember our three points of persuasion, willingness, capacity, integrity

As we go engage with the word of God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we see

• His willingness is expressed through the numerous promises that He has made to us
  

  Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. Psalm 2:8 [NLT]

• His capability is obvious through the wondrous works of His power.
  

  “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27 [NIV]

• His integrity testified by His track record of faithfulness to mere men.
  

  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9 [NIV]

This is why we need to study the word of God intentionally so that we see His character and understand how He works. The word of God is our inside information, it is our rock. It keeps us standing when everything seems to be falling apart. It is this word that keeps us rest assured in God’s waiting room.

God wants to do it, He can do it, He has always done it. Therefore, we know that the next time will not be different.

The word of God empowers the wait, Always wait with the Word.

God bless you. Thank you very much for reading.

Written by Ayowade Adeleye (Through the revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit)

We have been taught that time is money and money is time. “Move quick, Move fast, it’s the only way to survive.” This ideology tends to make us impatient. When anything seems to be taking its time, we dump it and move on to the next. (Ain’t nobody gat time, right?)

Sadly, we have translated this notion into our prayer lives and walk with God. We take this “now or never” mentality to God and expect Him to start running to supply our every need simply because we are in a hurry. And when God demands that we wait a little while for His promises to be birthed and for our prayers to be answered, we either try to make our own alternative or eat the fruit before it is ripe. I pray that through this post, we will begin to understand how God’s waiting room works so that we do not get tired of waiting.

Let’s picture an empty waiting room. With a long row of chairs facing a door. Let’s put a clock on the wall as well, for a bit of decor and also to remind us that time is passing. Please keep this picture in your mind as you read the next few lines. A lot of us think that while we are waiting for our prayers to be answered, we are sitting alone in that waiting room, hoping that God will come through the door in the next minute with the answer. At least that’s what I thought.

Last week, while I was praying, I heard God say, “Ayowade, will you wait with Me?” Initially, I didn’t understand but when it hit me, I was in tears. He changed my picture of His waiting room and as you read this I pray He changes yours too.

In God’s waiting room, you are not waiting for God, rather you are waiting with God.

God made me understand that He is right there in that waiting room with us anticipating the arrival and manifestation of His word. Many have abandoned Him in the waiting room because they didn’t realise that He was there with them the whole time, wiping their tears and giving them the strength to keep going. Please read the scripture below slowly and carefully.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11[NIV]

Every word that comes from the mouth of God is a messenger that must accomplish what it has been sent to do as long as we stay in the will of God. In the verse above, God is reminding us of the confidence which He has in His own word. It might take some time to come to pass but it must come to pass because God has said it.

I think it’s worth mentioning two more rules about how the waiting room works. A lot of the time when we feel God is taking His time in answering our prayers, we either give God “the silent treatment” or we complain. But this is when we need to spend even more time in the secret place to fellowship with Him, to grow in our love for Him, to worship Him with all our heart.

It is also a time of preparation. It’s not a passive place where we sit and feel sorry for ourselves. We must ensure that the answer does not meet us unprepared. As a pregnant mother does not wait for the child to be born before she starts buying all that the baby will need so also we must start preparing for the arrival of the answer to our prayers through the wisdom of God.

“Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” Hebrews 6:12 [NLT]

Perhaps you are reading and you are in a waiting phase, wondering if God has forgotten what He promised or whether He even heard, to begin with. God has a track record of ensuring that His word comes to pass. So don’t let thoughts of discouragement set in.

THE WAIT WITH GOD IS ALWAYS WORTH IT!!!

So how do we wait? We wait patiently, We wait preparing and We wait praising. Halleluyah!

Thank you for reading, I trust you have been blessed.

Please like and share. God bless you.

Written by Ayowade Adeleye (through the wisdom and inspiration of the Holy Spirit!)

Sometimes, I have to ask myself if I would have believed that Jesus was the son of God if I was alive in bible times? Would I just have shouted, “Blasphemy!” just like the Pharisees did? Continue reading “Always Watching…” →