Tag: consistent

• Do more, be more.

  

  I started the year off with a lot of momentum and drive, chanting along with faith about how this year will be my best year yet and how things will be exceptional this year. I tried the NSSP  21 day fasting. Well, I’m saying tried because between you and I, there were days I didn’t fast. Days I ate as soon as I woke up because I had forgotten all about the fast. Days I simply starved and joined merely as a tick box exercise. To be honest, I know I could have done better.

  My introduction is not in any way meant to imply that I’ve given up on the year already. Not at all!!

  There are things I started last year that were very practical and helpful in pushing me towards things I have been delaying to do for myself; you know, as a person seeking growth and development.  Just to mention a few, I have some courses that are absolutely important that I finish for work and I was also exploring some masters program. All of which require prior studies, focus and discipline.

  Again, between you and I, I haven’t been consistent with actioning on these things although I know they are extremely important. I have been lazy, making excuses, sleeping. I kid you not, my alarm will go off, I will see the time and I know in my heart that I need to wake up and then I will just go back to sleep. Sometimes, I’m  not even sleepy!!!

  And then I will wake up and complain about how I’m not doing enough, how I need to do more and how I want more etc.

  Well today, when I was saying my morning prayer, the Holy Spirit led me to the parable of the talents.

  While I was praying, I prayed for forgiveness for the slumber and sleep and said to God that I know I shouldn’t be praying for forgiveness because these are things I’m doing deliberately. It doesn’t require a miracle or any doing of God. He has done his bit by giving me the gift of life, I have to do mine by getting off my bed.

  As directed, I took my bible and opened to the book of Mathews chapter 25. I started reading from the parable of the 10 virgins right down to the talents, because the parables to me convey the same message; BEING PRUDENT AND APPLYING YOURSELF.

  The bible clearly gave a distinction between what happened to the prudent ones and the “foolish” ones. (I was looking for a softer word but as bible talk am, whom am I ).

  In the parable of the talents, the bible talks about  3 people who were given talents, each one more than the other but non without. Its safe to compare it to the human talent of skills where a person might be good at 3 things say writing, public speaking and maths. Another might be a creative great with drawing/décor and a third person good at  science and everything  engineering. Each one of them have been born with a set of skills and talents, but its not enough to keep them as-is. They have to develop them, study and practise consistently to build on these talents. Imagine if the creative decided to sleep on their talent complaining that all they can do is only draw so why bother. Yup!

  Same as the 10 virgins, each has a lamp, but only 5 have extra oil. For me, the extra oil signifies self improvement, discipline, application,  training. Basically, everything needed to be ready for an opportunity. The other 5 are me right now; sleeping, making excuses, wishing but not doing. If there was a destiny altering opportunity right now, I wouldn’t be ready. Just as the bride groom arrived and the 5 virgins without  extra oil weren’t  prepared.

  ““At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

  Matthew 25:6-13 NIV

  Just as you are praying, there are other Christians also praying. What sets us apart is our faith, preparation, development and readiness while we pray.

  I am starting a new exercise from today. As I make daily declarations, I will say to myself, “I will not  bury my talent!”. Why? As an awakening to myself ‘wake up’ and do more, be more.

  I hope this encourages you if you are in the same space as I am right now. Join me lets scream “I will not  bury my talent!”.

  5th Feb 2025

  bible, christianity, consistent, faith, jesus, parable

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• Consistency: Embracing Flexibility in Spiritual Practices

  

  The just ended Hallelujah challenge started on the 15^th of October 2024. It was for about 14 days. I remember Faridah sending me the link every day at exactly 12:00am and blowing my phone up with calls to make sure I woke up to join. I did. Every single day.

  I looked forward to the worship, praise and prayers every day. I was excited. I was in the zone! Doing the very most to make sure I caught some hours of sleep and waking up at midnight to join and pray with the Hallelujah challenge.

  I remember all of us being so excited and awakened in the Spirit, speaking about our experiences and encounters for hours the next day.

  I thought to myself during the challenge, “this is the new me!” with so much excitement and enthusiasm. I will wake up everyday at 12:00 to pray from here on out. I wont let this fire die.

  The challenge ended around the 29^th of October if I’m not mistaken.

  The first dawn after the end of the challenge, I remember vaguely waking up and staying up about 15 minutes and going back to sleep. Eeeii, me that joined and prayed with Pastor Nat  for hours.

  Okay, day 2. I don’t even think I managed to wake up at dawn for the next week to come. 

  After about 2 weeks of constant sleep and no prayer, I revised my strategy. I set my alarm to wake at 4:00am to pray and then let my day continue from there.  **hahaha

  The sleep  that continued  was a wonder. The alarm would go off, I would turn it off and readjust my sleeping position.

  Some thing that the Holy Spirit is revealing to me as I type now is:

  1. I was trying to do it on my own without the Strength of God. I wasn’t waking up to pray to maintain that spiritual momentum. It was more of pleasing/ satisfying my own ‘Christian mind’ that I was doing it so I don’t feel guilty about the encounters and experiences I had during the challenge.

  I was jumping from 5 to 50. Let me explain. We all know our individual capacities in faith. And just like anything and everything, this capacity grows the more we nurture it. Most often than not, we have some encounters by virtue of the anointing of the atmosphere we are in, and with that we assume that we have arrived. We don’t take time to nurture our Christian walk with God.

  By now, a few of you have set alarms telling yourself you will wake up at 12 or 1 or 2 to pray for 2 hours. But the truth is your capacity is about a good 20 minutes of prayers and you are maxed out. This makes the 2 hour goal look so herculean that you don’t even wake up at all to pray. You are discouraged from the start because although you have it in your heart to do it, you don’t have the mental and spiritual capacity. So why don’t you start with the 20 minutes? 10, 15, 20 minutes of prayer is way better than no prayer at all.

  Does it have to be 12:00am everyday? Not at all. With my experience as being a new mom, my small madam has her own alarm. She can wake up when I’m about sneaking off to start my spiritual time and there is nothing I can do about it. Singing and worshiping with her wont put her to sleep any faster. I have to cuddle up, rock her back and forth and put her back to sleep.  And this will set my time off, but that’s okay. God knows. He is there watching me all this while.

  My point is, being in his presence, is not a rigid exercise that has to be fit at a particular part of the day for a specific period so much so that if it fails to happen that exact moment, then it means its not worthy of happening at all.

  It’s the earnestness of the session that matters.

  I wanted this to be short so I’ll stop here for today. But you get  me right? Go easy (with reverence), go consistent.

  26th Nov 2024

  bible, consistent, faith, god, jesus, prayer, prayers

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