Praying with Understanding

-
Image
Prayer, I believe is a conversation between us and God, either we are giving thanks, making requests or even asking questions. Yet it is not uncommon to feel like a prayer could be such a complicated and maybe even a delicate conversation to have, after all, it's God we are talking to here. There is no way that wouldn't be somehow daunting! I remember learning to pray as a child during family devotions and how nervous I'd get, mumbling through my words, hardly able to get anything coherent out. My auntie, bless her, would jump in the middle of one of my many long pauses to rescue me and carry on with the prayer but once we were done, my uncle would almost chide her for not giving me a chance to learn and develop my confidence. I didn't blame her; I found those long pauses very uncomfortable too! So, I usually understand when people tell me they do not know how to pray and would prefer others to pray for them or they'll just avoid it altogether and some even ask if
Post a Comment

Call it - Unlearning

-

A beautiful, healthy and prosperous year 2022 to anyone reading this! I pray that you are reading this in a place of excellent health and a positive outlook to what 2022 holds. If nothing, hope for the best in every situation is something we need to learn to hold on to tightly.

I am so thankful to God for getting through 2021, not just because it was nothing short of a lighter shade of 2020 but for the help and guidance through every single day!

Like most people I do tend to pen down a few lines of my new year resolutions and try to follow through with most if not all. Top on my list is always a deeper love for God no matter what life throws at me and always knowing I can depend on a higher strength when I come to the end of mine.

I have been considering what exactly I wanted for 2022 and I have been going over the past few years and the progress I've made professionally and personally and what more I wanted in the next 12 months?

What I would love is to look for more ways to develop myself, I mean, look for more ways to explore all the gifts I know I’m blessed with.... for me😃.

For me?? That may sound selfish without a context but for me I am my best self when I make time to look after myself and do things for ‘me’.

2022 will be a good year to unlearn all that we have allowed to hold us back from fulfilling our potentials.

We need to unlearn how little we think of ourselves
We need to unlearn how to focus on pain rather than healing
We need to unlearn how to keep telling ourselves we are not good enough
We need to unlearn how to blame ourselves for others shortcomings
We need to unlearn how to hide under the guise of procrastination
We need to unlearn how to hide our true selves away
We need to unlearn our worldly interpretation of love

The first step in unlearning what we have been so used to doing is by first identifying what it is.
What have we always done a certain way that hasn't worked out? A few examples of what to consider are: talents, relationships and self?
We need to ask questions such as the ones below to identify what needs changing:

Talents: What exactly is my talent? Am I using it? Do I find using it fulfilling? Does anyone benefit from it?
Relationships: What is causing heartaches? What do others say about me? Do other people’s perceptions of me accurately represents who I am? What do I bring to the table? Why isn't my relationships working out? Should this relationship be and is it meant to be as it is now?
Self: Why do I feel this way? Do I want to always feel this way? Can I give more? Can I ask for more? Am I always at fault?

Once you have identified what it is you need to unlearn, you have acquired the power to start doing something about it.
The next step is to consciously and with prayers start doing it all differently.

When everything you do is with love, out of love and supported by good intentions, your peace will never be threatened.

I have learnt that I am able to deeply love anyone even those I don't relate with. I have carried people that have absolutely no knowledge of my existence in prayers and still do- out of love. Everyone needs to feel loved.

I was able to do this by unlearning how to give myself to others, my own way. I learnt from a place of being spent and then I realised I was to blame because my love and giving wasn't selfless at that point, it was with expectation.

There is so much more we may need to unlearn to reveal our beauty and manifest as God intended.

I personally need to unlearn how to worry over every little or big things and trust that God's got me. I'm wise enough to know I don't have the answers to everything, so I am willing to always try my best and leave the rest to God.

Based on what we are constantly being slammed in the face with, especially in the news, it would seem 2022 is already on a wonky three-legged table but then, that depends on what you want to focus on. In all the apparent confusion on how we need to carry on and live life, it is still simple – there is so much good to harvest in 2022!

We have a lot to be thankful for and while we are still able to draw breath, we have hope in the everlasting love of Christ.
The famous lines of the song "Jireh by Elevation Worship & Maverick City" written below resounds in my heart every time, a constant reminder of how much I love the One who first loved me and always will:

If He dresses the lilies,
with beauty and splendour
How much more will He clothe you
How much more will He clothe you
If He watches over
Every sparrow
How much more does He love you
How much more does He love you

Unlearn how to struggle on your own and step into 2022 being assured that Jireh- God our provider is more than enough for all your needs in 2022.

Happy new year!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Invest in Education to Help Young Nigerians

-
Image
Education has a great role to play in all this mayhem in Nigeria. Is quality education being wielded as a weapon against the less privileged? This protest has unveiled a lot to the world or should I say it confirms nothing has changed with the education system except for a rise in private schools which majority of families in Nigeria simply can’t afford. This generation is too 'woke' as they call it and are beginning to see through all the lies and deceit they are being fed. Public Schools in Nigeria is a mockery and I wonder if they think it’s every family that can afford to send their kids to private schools. Why must the less privileged always be left behind? They have been failed in healthcare and in education, two vital provisions of every responsible government to it's citizens. Don’t forget that if you do not train children as you should, they will train themselves as they see fit and God help you when that happens, it's Proverbs 22 vs 6 that says: Point
Read more

When God Restores

-
Image
Still watching the news with much sadness as there are still so much atrocities being committed against peaceful protesters.I'm however gladdened by the way the youths are coming together and demonstrating how resourceful they can be, they have rallied around each other, covering all bases: medical attention for the injured, raising funds to keep the momentum, providing legal services to victims and their families and a host of other exemplary actions. What this government and past ones have failed to do in decades, the youths have achieved within days. These politicians keep recycling themselves and their incompetence in elections just for the sole purpose of lining their pockets. I wonder how and when the country’s resources become a national cake that is to be shared amongst a select few! My prayer is for the youths out on the streets protesting justly and demanding for their basic rights, of which at the fore front is the basic right to life, to live a rich and full life,
Read more

Take Your Stand!

-
Image
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. Galatians 5:1 MSG I have never been actively involved in politics, especially Nigerian politics which I have always found disturbing, disappointing and downright disgusting, all at the same time. I follow the news, make sure I'm well informed and actively engage in discussions with others, even those that have opposing views to mine. I read up on people in government or those aspiring to be a part of it. I've seen some up close in the offices they occupied in the past and ultimately formed my own opinion on these matters. I believe it is important for us to lend our voices by actively engaging in choosing leaders we believe have values that match ours. It is a responsibility we must all carry as their voices will be our representation on a larger scale. Not everyone is born to be a leader. No, scrap that - everyone is, in my opinion. Everyone of us will
Read more