Saturday 27 October 2012

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Waiting Prayerfully

There are many different ways in which we can wait on God. One of the ways is waiting prayerfully. What does that mean? Well, just like the phrase itself say wait prayerfully, it means that while we are waiting for God to answer us, we need to continue to pray and bless Him and thank Him.

It doesn't matter if you haven't received what you asked for yet, keep thanking Him. By doing so, you will be confusing the enemy. Satan will be confused, because he will not know if you are still waiting or if you have already received your answer.

The hardest thing to do in life is waiting. Nobody likes to play the waiting game anymore. We all want things to happen real quick. This world is fast becoming a microwave world, where we all want things done quickly. No one has the patience to wait for anything anymore.

We all know that good things come to those who wait. We need to learn to have patience. We must take things one step at a time. We need to realize that God is not a respecter of person. He does what He wants when He wants. He is not going to do something for you just because you decide to throw a tantrum. He is just going to make you wait longer if you do that. He wants to cultivate patience in us.

Even as parents, we teach out children to wait. We teach them to wait until after dinner to have that sweet, chocolate or ice cream, we teach them to wait until they have finished their chores or homework before they can go and play. If they throw a tantrum, we teach them patience by making them wait for a longer period of time before they get what they want.

God is our Father, and just like we teach our children to wait, He wants to do the same for us. He wants us to realize that life is not all about us getting what we want when we want.

Don't waste your time getting angry when you see things not happening at the time that you want it to happen. Just keep praying, keep hoping, and better still, keep waiting. Because whatever it is that you are waiting for will come to pass one day. In God's timing. He saves the best for last.

I know that waiting can be very painful, but in the end it will be worth it. I am still waiting on God's promises for my life and believe me I feel the pain of waiting everyday. Sometimes I feel like giving up and forgetting about what I am waiting for, but then as I pray and chat with God about it, He gives me the reassurance that He is going to come through for me. He comforts me and rocks me in His arms like a baby as I cry my eyes out to Him. He takes the pain away and makes me feel confident again.

It is ok to feel tired of waiting. We all do sometimes. Just don't give up. Keep building the patience. I know that one day I will shout from the mountain tops, "It was worth the wait!"

After all, we are all waiting for the return of Christ. We don't have a clue when that will happen, but we still keep on waiting and watching prayerfully every day don't we? If we can wait for that, I am sure we can all have the patience to wait for whatever we have asked of God or for whatever He has promised us He will do in our lives.

Keep on waiting my friend. Wait prayerfully and it shall come to pass.

Take care.

Friday 12 October 2012

In His Time - Song

This song is really inspiring and encouraging. Watch and let it sink deep into your soul and you will be encouraged to wait on God's perfect timing for everything.

Be blessed by this video.



Thursday 11 October 2012

The G.O.S.P.E.L Rap

Life in 6 Words video! Rap artist Propaganda simply unpacks a 6-letter word that tells the life-giving message of salvation. The G.O.S.P.E.L. tells the whole story of the Bible in 6 key truths.

Check it out. It is worth it!


How to Wait on God

Today we are going to take a look at how to wait, more specifically, how to wait God and what happens when we take the time to wait for His perfect timing. When we have prayed a certain prayer, we have to wait on God for the answer. Daniel waited 21 days to receive an answer to his prayer in Daniel 10:14. God hears our words whenever we pray, whenever we set our hearts to understand and to humble ourselves before Him.

Waiting is a testing of our faith. It is a testing of our commitment and our submission to Him. When we wait on God, we are simply placing ourselves under His authority and submitting to His better idea for our lives. When we try to run ahead of Him, we will come face to face with, anxiety, frustration, exhaustion, turmoil, panic, stress, etc.....

Many times in the Bible we have seen examples of people running ahead of God. Think of Abraham and Ishmael, Saul taking the place of a priest, the people of Israel turning to Egypt for help. These all reaped the consequences of not waiting on God. There are many more such examples in the Bible. Running ahead of God will always bring disaster.

We can learn many things when we are waiting on God. We get to learn so much about God Himself. We learn about His perfections, His ability to take control of everything, and His perfect timing. While we are waiting, the Holy Spirit is working in us patience, long suffering, etc......Waiting on God is not simply doing nothing. It is not like waiting for the bus, or the train, or waiting at the airport terminal, or even at the doctor's. There are several ways to wait on God. There are some things that we need to do while we are waiting.

 Here are some examples of how to wait and what to do while waiting:

  • Wait prayerfully: Psalm 25:4-5
  • Wait with strength and courage: Psalm 27:14; 31:24
  • Wait while you rejoice and trust in Him: Psalm 33:21
  • Let your waiting be based on the fear of the Lord and His unfailing love: Psalm 33:18; 22
  • Wait with hope: Psalm 33:20; 39:7
  • Wait patiently: Psalm 37:7; 40:1; Romans 8:25; Hebrews 6:15
  • Wait obediently: Psalm 37:34; 119:166; Isaiah 26:8-9
  • Wait desiring Him: Isaiah 26:8-9
  • Wait single-mindedly: Psalm 62:5
  • Wait expectantly: Psalm 123:2; Micah 7:7
  • Wait believing in His every word: Psalm 130:5
  • Wait with assurance that He is all we ever need: Lamentations 3:24
  • Wait quietly: Lamentations 3:26
  • Wait continually: Hosea 12:6
  • Wait in anticipation of joy: John 3:29
  • Wait eagerly: Romans 8:19; 23

As you can see above, most of the verses associated with how to wait on God is taken from the book of Psalm. Why? Remember we said the other day that David was a master in the art of waiting? He knew the secrets of waiting, and since he wrote the book of Psalm, he has given us all his secrets. We only have to put them into action. Waiting on God like David did will never lead you astray. It will instead develop in you the heart of God just like it did for David. That is why he was called a man after God's own heart.

You can be also be called a man or woman after God's own heart today if you will only learn the secrets of waiting and act on them. God is ready to do for you what you have asked of Him. All he needs is for you to wait for His perfect timing. He will do it all in His own time which is the right time. Go and check out the above verses and learn how to wait on God. There is untold blessings in waiting. Don't ever try to run ahead of God or you will face consequences.

Go and ask God to teach you the art of waiting. You will see the difference in your life once you learn its secrets. Take care and stay blessed.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

The Art of Timing

Timing is an art. Nobody just woke up one morning and leaned to master the art of timing. God is the ultimate master of this art. Just look at the story of creation. God did not just decide one day that He was going to create the earth. He designed and planned it. He waited for the right time to begin His creation.

David was another master of the art of timing. He is well known in the Bible as a man after God's own heart. Why do you think that is? Let me explain.

David knew the secrets of waiting on God more than any one in his time. The Bible says in 2 Samuel 7:18 that he went in and sat before God. He looked to God for everything. God was his confidence and he trusted in Him in every aspect of his life. He trusted in God for guidance and instruction, for help, for victory over his enemies, for justification, for deliverance, to defend him against all unjust accusations, for his refuge, for forgiveness and much much more.

In reality, David trusted God for everything and he was prepared to wait until God was ready to act on his behalf at the right time.

Jesus was another person who was a master of timing. He knew exactly when to do what. Even though He had heard that His good friend Lazarus was sick at the point of death, He waited two days before leaving to visit him. Why? He knew very well that Lazarus was not going to live. By the time He decided to make His way to Bethany, He knew that Lazarus was already dead and buried.

Do you know why He waited until His friend was dead? The reason is that He wanted His Father to receive glory. When He brought His friend back to life, it got the attention of every single person in Jerusalem. His fame grew even more and God received all the glory. In other words, His timing was perfect.

Timing is everything with God. Nothing ever happen by coincidence. God times His every move. Though sometimes we may not see things happening in our lives, we only have to pray and wait. God is at work. He is cooking something for you and I. Whatever it is that you are waiting on Him for, the only advice I can give you is to keep waiting and keep praying and thanking Him. It will come to pass in time. In God's perfect timing.

God sees the big picture. He views time differently than we do. We all know that Jesus is to return to this earth, but when. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

Jesus is waiting patiently to return because He wants to harvest every single soul that He can. Just like Jesus, we must learn to combine the ability to wait for results with the ability to seize the day. We need to learn how to both wait and watch.

God knows everything there is to know about us, so we have to learn how to wait Him. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Beloved, my advice to you is not to try and push ahead of God's plan for your life. Do not allow impatience to get the better of you and make you do things in your own strength. Wait for God's perfect timing.

Waiting is not wasted time. When we begin to master the art of timing and we wait on God, He acts on our behalf, He blesses us and He strengthens us. What does it mean to be blessed by God while we wait on Him? As we wait on God and His timing, He can accomplish so much in our hearts. We often find new purpose in life, receive answers to prayer, see God work, increase our faith, and more often than not, we see God’s perfect plan fulfilled in our situation. Remember, waiting is not wasted time! Learn to master the art of timing!

Be blessed and may God help you learn how to wait on Him. God be with you all!

The Law of Timing

Timing is something that is crucial in life. When we want to do something we need to do it at the right time. Sometimes we miss the things that God has for us because we missed His timing. God's timing is everything. If you do things in your own time, you will surely fail. But when you wait on God's timing, then things work out smoothly.

Let's take a look at some examples of God's perfect timing in the bible:

  • God's dynamic leadership: Numbers 9:15-23
    In this scripture we see the people of Israel journeying from Egypt to the promised land. During their journey, they had to camp at different places. They had no way of knowing whether they would camp in a specific location for a few days or a few years. They could not let themselves slip into a rut and trust in a schedule. They had to remain flexible, always ready to pack up and move when God says it's time to move. They learned to trust God, who was their Ultimate Leader.

  • A divine call and charge: Joshua 1:1-9
    Consider this: it actually took 40 years for Joshua's leadership style to match the need of the moment. Moses was a diplomatic leader. He was like a judge. He always found himself having to patiently judge the people of God as they grumbled through the long years in the desert. All through their travels, they needed Moses to be there to lead and judge them as a political leader. But when they reached Canaan, they were faced with fierce enemies and therefore they needed to have a more confrontational leader that would be able to lead them into battle. Someone who is skilled in the arts of war. That is where Joshua comes in. he was more of a military man than Moses and he was the right person at the time to lead this people into war. Right here we can see how the timing of God dictated the appropriate leadership styles.

  • Nehemiah chose the right moment to see the king: Nehemiah 2:1-5
    every good leader understand that timing is everything. Nehemiah himself understood the law of timing perfectly. He waited four months after he first heard of the broken wall of Jerusalem before he even spoke to the king about it. When he first heard it, it was in December and he immediately started to pray about it. But why did he wait until April to speak to the king? Until today, no one knows for sure why he waited so long. Scholars have put together several reasons as to what he might have been waiting on.
    Let us take a look at these reasons:
  1. His ownership of the burden and vision.
  2. A foundation of prayer to be laid.
  3. His own readiness with a plan.
  4. The king's mental and emotional mood.
  5. The season when he could move quickly.
  6. A trust to deepen between him and the king.

  • A season for everything: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
    We all know the famous poem of king Solomon about a time for everything under the sun. A time for birth, death, planting, reaping, weeping, laughing, etc.... Solomon was a man who knew the law of timing very well. None of us can control the timing of events in our lives, though we might think that we do. The only thing we can possibly do is to recognize the timing.
  1. As a leader, you are responsible to recognize God's timing, not to change it.
  2. You must accept and cooperate with His timing.
  3. Aligning yourself with God's timing will make a big difference in your life and your ministry.
  4. God has already made everything appropriate in its own time.
  5. You need to trust God to communicate His timing to you in His own time.
  6. All you can do in this life is to rejoice and do good.

    Tomorrow we shall be looking at more examples of God's perfect timing and how it can help us also to recognize His timing in our own lives. So don't forget to bookmark this blog and come back for more.