Watch and pray!

Many believers engage in the discipline of prayer, but I am beginning to find out that prayer alone is not enough in the realm of the spirit. Jesus taught and instructed us to pray quite alright, but He also enjoined us to watch and pray. If we really understand what He meant by those words, we would appreciate that this is a "do both" admonition and not just a use of interchangeable words. Watching is a spiritual activity and so is prayer. We need to actively do both to enjoy victory in this life.

When we pray to God but do no take happenings in the spirit realm into consideration, we set ourselves up for catastrophe. The dreams we have in the night, the words God speaks in the ears of our heart, the impressions that grab our attention, the circumstances that require a spiritual interpretation, all these are as important as the prayers we say. Again, our prayers will not be effective if our heart, the place from where the wellspring of life flows, is unguarded against all sorts of offences and bitterness. These and more are part of the watching dimension of our prayer lives.

At the final analysis, true prayer is not done with the mouth only, but also with the eyes, ears, spiritual insight and understanding. God will help us all!

(There's surely more that I will be writing about this Watch and Pray command!)

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God really knows your name!

A lot of the times when God had called each of us by name, it was not just to catch our attention. Of course, He does need our attention at different times, and sometimes has to deliver us from our many distractions by calling out to us. But usually, He is doing more than this. When He calls us by name, He is making a direct reference to the purpose for which He has called us. He is not just identifying our name tag, but acknowledging the fullness of our calling and destiny.

When God created you, He had a purpose in mind, and after He finished the work of bringing you forth, He gave you a name - a name that is linked to the purpose of your creation. This is the name by which He knows and calls you. This is much deeper than the earthly names we bear (even though it may be necessary for some to change their earthly names to one that the mouth of the Lord will call). This is an eternal dimension of our earthly existence.

So, do you know the name by which God calls you in the eternal realms? You should. You should locate yourself in His heart and discover yourself in His book. God has a book in the heavens in which He has recorded all names and all purposes. The earthly copy of His book, the Bible, is a good place to start. Let the Holy Spirit, the Author of His books, guide you as you search yourself out. Who knows, you may find that the book was referring to you when it called some, "oaks of righteousness" (Is 61:3), "restorer of desolate places" (Is 61:4) or "priest of the Lord" (Is 61:6).

Seriously, ask the Lord and He will tell you great and mighty things that you do not presently know. And this revelation will be the beginning of a new journey of becoming all that He has created and named you to be.

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The three invitations of Christ

The first invitation that Christ gives to all in the world is a "come". Everyone is invited to come unto Him with all their burdens, fears and weights. In exchange, the Lord has promised to give rest, much-needed rest to much-weary souls. This is the rest we receive at salvation. Oh what a joyous day this is both on earth (in the heart of the saved) and in heaven (in the company of angels)! If you have known this joy - this endless joy of salvation - you have already come. Praise God!

The second invitation narrows down a bit, because it is not to everyone but to those who have already come to Him. To these ones Christ will say, "sit". After coming to receive rest, we are expected to sit at His feet and learn of Him - His heart, His ways, His passion and His agenda. We learn His meekness and begin to conform to His image. Oh what a process this is, one that strips us of ourselves and cloaks us with His self - His life. Many who come to Christ hurriedly leave. They do not have the patience to sit, to learn and to mature through obedience. They leave with their blessing of rest without yet knowing the place of rest. Not knowing how to sustain the blessing, it is only a matter of time before they have to come again with burdens, needing rest and thus repeating the process all over.

The third invitation narrows down even more. It is to those who have not only come but have also sat for a season. Amongst these, the Lord extends an invitation for active involvement in His eternal programme. To these ones the Lord will say, "go!" This go launches them into the reason for which they were created. Fully equipped with the knowledge of the Holy One and His Spirit, they set out in obedience to fulfill their Master's bidding. They are no longer settlers in this world, but pioneers with a heavenly, ambassadorial agenda. Oh the joy of partnership with the Lord in His glorious work on earth!

Which of the invitations have you hearkened? Come? Sit? Go?

I beseech you, don't just come to God for blessings; sit at His feet and learn of Him. Don't be a forgetful learner that always needs to repeat the lessons of life; drop every personal ambition and pursue the Kingdom and the righteousness thereof. Understand that there is a "go" that you have to obey in this life; the purpose for which you will be remembered amongst men and judged amongst saints.

The Lord is still calling: Come! Sit! Go!

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Nowhere to hide!

As David once wrote, there is nowhere on earth or under the earth that a person can go to hide from God. Not that I am looking for somewhere to hide or any such thing; I am just acknowledging His Omnipotence that continues to benefit those who belong to Him.

I belong to God, but this 'belonging' cannot be by mouth. It must be substantiated by constant obedience. Whenever we are in disobedience - whatever the issue - it does feel like we are hiding, because God's Spirit will continuously tug on us and speak to our spirits. From this tugging, there is nowhere to hide. Those who are truly His will recognise this grace and yield to the Lord, whatever He is saying and demanding.

Okay. It's confession time! No, I have not done anything worthy of death. My confession is that I have not posted any blog for a long, long time (even though the Lord had wanted me to; He was the One who got this thing going in the first place!). From this reality, there is nowhere for me to hide. I now yield myself (again!) to the Lord and to this ministry.

Thank you Lord, for grace for every new beginning!

(Friend, is there anything you are hiding from? Remember, there's nowhere to hide from God!)

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I have found water!

That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba. (Genesis 26:32)

God's plan is for each of us to be a channel that refreshes lives and communities around us. As channels, we are meant to connect and remain connected to God, the immeasurable and unending Source of life. The deeper our connection into God, the greater the flow of life from within. We will also remain fresh as long as we abide in the place of our connection.

It is only a matter of time for the present place of connection to become a place of ease, comfort and disobedience - if we neglect the call to continue in our pursuit of God. When laxity enters our fellowship with God, all sorts of compromise will seek to take advantage. The life from within is polluted, first unnoticed and later evidently to all. It's either that or an overwhelming dryness that only God can reverse. May we never get to that level of spiritual contamination or spiritual emptiness.

We need to keep on digging, keep on transitioning, keep on seeking God - because God is always moving and calling. If we continue to behold the face of Christ through His Spirit, we will be changed from glory to glory. If we take our eyes off the Lord and stop obeying His promptings, we will remain pegged in the glory of yesterday. There will be no joyous exclamation, "I have found water!"

Jesus said, the water that He gives will become a spring of eternal life within us. This water connects deeply and blesses widely. However, when we stop coming to Him to drink (when we think we have drunk enough), the flow of life ceases - slowly but surely.

Keep on digging deep into God! Keep on drinking from His Spirit! Do not mind the enemy who will try to contend with the life you receive from God. Though he tries, he will fail woefully. He has failed already. God will bring you into your Rehoboth, the place of much room for greater fruitfulness. I pray a cry will rise up within you once again: I have found water!

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Transitions!

Our walk with God and our pursuit of purpose is a journey. A long one. It's not a quick dash or a momentary attainment. The Kingdom we are called to seek is an ever-increasing Government of peace. So is our journey in the Kingdom. Hence the different transitions at different times.

After a few posts last year about becoming a bestseller, I began to sense another level of the transition I was already experiencing. And by God's grace, I have learnt and am still learning the importance of following the Spirit's leading, whether to the left or to the right. There was a shift indeed, and I just could not continue with the posts (apologies to everyone who was following the series).

During this transition, I had written and published The Shift of A Lifetime, a sociological study of and timely message for Nigerians aged between 40 and 50. Many consider it a classic, for which I humbly give God glory. There is still a lot of work to do for the book's potential to break forth. And the transition continues...

I am experiencing change in preparation to obey God's call to missions. I am also getting clarity regarding my calling and purpose as a writer. For me, these two go hand-in-hand. They are major reasons for the present transition.

We are expected, as believers, to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. In other words, we must always welcome transitions when they are initiated by God. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

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On Becoming a Bestseller (6)

I want to answer a question recently asked by a member of The Writers' Well: What does it take to write a "good" book let alone a bestseller? A very relevant question indeed. After all, for a book to be a bestseller, it has to be a good seller, and for a book to be a good seller, it has to be a good book.

A lot goes into writing a good book. The first, in my opinion, is vision. Your vision and purpose for the book you want to write should be clear. If it is non-fiction, it will help if you first write an outline, even if it just the chapter titles (which is how I start). If it is fiction, your plot should be clear. How does your story begin? How does it end? Of course, this written roadmap is flexible and subject to adjustment.

A clear vision should translate into a good title (and subtitle where appropriate). Titles make or break books. They give readers a clue about what to expect in the book. Activate your creativity when crafting a title. Don't be too fixated on a title that you cannot change it when it makes sense to do so.

Now, writing. The secret of writing a good book is... writing. Just get down to it. Let your in-built "creator" flow without much interruption for a while before engaging your in-built "editor". If you are analytical of your writing too soon, you are not likely to get too far and may soon become discouraged. Write regularly each day for a week or two before engaging your "editor". You'll be surprised how much you've written.

Engage your "editor". It must get its turn to make the writing better. Writers sometimes are not objective enough when it comes to their own writing - a weakness that affects their ability to edit themselves. Do be open to other people editing your work (and every written work needs some level of editing - "every written work"). Every written work would need some amount of rewriting. Only make sure that the quality of the finished work is improving all the time.

Sharpen your writing gift by learning from those who are good at it. Is there a style you admire? Study it. Your unique style will emerge sooner or later. You can learn a great deal through reading the writing of others, learning from blogs (Cec Murphey's "Writer to writer" is a good one), attend Writers' seminars/workshops (we hope to host one soon).

Write with your readers in mind. It is not enough you like your book. Your book is not good enough if your readers are not excited by it. If your book is intended to provide a solution to a problem, then your readers must feel that their questions were answered by the end of your book. If it is written to entertain, readers should not be bored. If you are writing to inspire, engage your readers from the very first page. Don't just write for yourself; write for your readers.

Finally, please be thorough. By this I mean do your homework and know your subject. Spend time researching. Be creative with words. Be grammatically correct. Use a thesaurus. Be expressive... and believe you can do it!

PS - If it will help, I can give you some feedback on your written work. Contact me via facebook or through israel@bookswithamission.org.

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