Church On A Journey

FROM THE FIRST HELLO TO THE LAST GOODBYE

I was a witness to your birth
A divine rejoicing on this side of life’s balcony
Serene lights, perfect mood just like a bowl of sweet smelling incense

Your very first Hello to me
Your voice, an incarnate voice from a dream
from a dream to a laughter and on and on and on
A no label family tie
Baby brother? Cute little nephew?
With me as your chief acolyte
Be whoever you want to be to me

But then……………….

Death laid in ambush
Frequently switching shadows to avoid being seen
Seeking for an opportunity to drag you
To it’s solitary and decanted dark chamber
Dressed to kill, death herself attended your first earthful celebration
Death herself, a bitter enemy of mortal joy
Couldn’t stand too much happiness so she had to leave

Death stood a million metres far from where you step
Death envied what you had
Attention
No one paid attention to her like how they did to you
With every milestone you chalked
Death wished she was the chief celebrant and not you
Every applause you earned
Death clinged her fists in pain
It must have hurt

Her face in anguish
Her solitude, smothered
Her cry, scattered
Her dancers, lost
Her snares, destroyed
You, her number one captive
Unconquered

You grew in wisdom far above your years
Death became restless
She felt she was losing her light in the shadows
You began to notice her presence
You talked about her often
She made you believe you are both from common places
An acquaintance
On the brink of such a great event

Death made you live faster and faster
Just like a currency
That is from the fire from an oblong window
You spent it all without a candle light’s blow
Death gave you too many happy instances
And zero tears
Made you not forget the very taste of the air’s marrow

It was a Saturday afternoon
In an uncommon November
Strangers like Roses haven’t visited all year long
An afternoon without age

Death’s voice like an echo
Reported your matter to all who cared to listen
In this case
The ocean listened
The ocean offered his help to death
To see the little boy who dared to escape death’s snare
For over a decade and a quartet of it

The ocean took you in
You warred with it mightily
He shamefully depleted you a little boy of your very strength
And swallowed you in
But unswallowed you almost immediately
The ocean bowed his head in shame
Ashamed that he listened to death
She tricked me! ‘He cried bitterly ‘
The wind bore you witness
Till date it blows your innocence
Across all the memories of the earth

The ocean bathed your wounds
Bathed your bloody eyes attentively
Like a regretful African father,
Places he hurt you, his salty self nurtured lovingly
He carefully rolled you to his feet
Not allowing anything else touch your members
That’s the best apology he could render to your person
The ocean stayed ashore with you
Sang songs of many sorry’s to you
Waited till your family came
Before he went back sad enough

Death the chief celebrant couldn’t rejoice
A victory so so bitter
She sent you on a long long sleep
She couldn’t kill you

Death hasn’t been the same since you died
Everlastingly, we are fine
Fine is the best bid we got
Your very last goodbye hurts

Sheila Naana Oppong

Your Auntie

GIFT IDEAS FOR CREATIVE PEOPLE

Hiiiii everyone. What’s the haps? I miss you too!😂😂i miss you a lot paaaaa.So,after a long observation and a few dramatic personal experiences, i realized that people really don’t know what to get creatives as gifts to celebrate their birthdays,milestones or just to give them a gift for shegey reasons. This matter eh😂 I took time to put together just a short list of ideas you can give to any creative person as a gift. .. and please you really should give them gifts,ah ah 😂😂. You have no excuse anymore

1. HEADPHONES
this one is number one on the list. Any creative person would appreciate a headphone Musician,make-up artist,graphic designer, photographer,chef etc etc. All creatives are music lovers and listening to music whilst working on a project adds a really good vibe to what they are doing. Kindly add this to your shopping list and surprise that geek with one😂.

2. SCENTED CANDLES
. Ayyaaaaaa!. This sets the whole mood right. I’m a huge fan of these and they work so well. This is something an introvert or a creative person would appreciate so much. I highly recommend this one from the Kaeme brand.

Made right here in Ghana. You should try the Salaga Dust and see what i’m talking about.

3. 360 CAMERAS
We’ve all been event journalists lately, haven’t we? Like when we
attend this event and it’s lit, we tend to take out our phones and try to document just a little part and we even go ahead to update our contacts on our whatsapp statuses, IG stories. . Just wait till you try the 360 camera😂😂. I won’t talk pleeeeeeenty.

4. MOBILE PHONE STABILIZER.
Stability is important. You know that kid on the block who is just starting out in photography and can’t keep off his or her phone? A mobile phone stabilizer is a good way to fuel their passion and just grease their elbows you know. Oh, ermmm yeah, professionals need a mobile phone stabilizer too. Any cinematography enthusiast will gas up pretty much about this
Trust me. It’s not ‘just a gift’.

5. SMARTPHONE STAND
I didn’t leave my tech geeks out on the list. The guy in the IT department

who is weird for some reason and you don’t know what to get him as a gift, Well, we found something he’ll love. Tadaaaa!😂

5. CORD KEEPER
can we unequivocally conclude that everyone needs one of these😂😂.

6. PLANTS.
A personal favorite. I love the greens. I love what they give us. I really really really love plants. I don’t mind the whole garden sef😂😂. creative people will appreciate these plants as gifts. Try get them one or two. Or the whole garden 😂

7. LUNCHBOXES
sounds off right? But it works… it really does work. Creatives love to spend their time in
their corner, Especially the introverted ones. A lunchbox will give them an opportunity to just pack their meal at home and chill in their corner during lunchtime instead of going out and torturing themselves to go get food (We don’t like eating in public… you see the thing)😂😂

8. MUGS
Need i say more? Customize as many as you can. I suggest a very funny quote on the mug instead. It makes the creative smile once he or she comes across it.

9. TABLE LAMPS
Can’t wait to own of these. Don’t they just look adorable?😭. Add these to your list,…just in case.

10. BACKPACKS
. A super convenient gift. For travelleing, laptops, etc etc

11. ADVENTURE EXPERIENCE.
book a weekend full of adventure for your creative friends. Could be hiking,a road trip, a street food tour,an obstacle,paints and guns, mural painting, a mini customized cultural art tour of the city’s art history. Creatives depend on experiences to keep them going. Those tanks need to be refilled at all times.

12. DIARIES.
Who saw this coming?😂 I had to throw it in for the culture. Diaries are my thing. Creatives love to write down their creative process, ideas,inspirations, quotes. Etc etc.13. BOOKS
Every creative wants to stay more creative. I initially thought reading was a girl’s thing and a few boy’s. But almost 80% of the creatives i have met are avid readers. They love to read. They love to gain knowledge. Books are definitely a good gift idea.14. MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS.
Aside money and the other enemy which is procrastination,creatives would do anything to spend time with a role model they draw inspirations from. Book them a session,take them to that studio, let them meet that designer, Engineer, writer. Feels really warm and great to have such thoughtful gestures as gifts.15. DRAWING TABLETS.
Don’t be scared, it’s not really as expensive as it sounds😂. A dream for every artist. Photographers, graphic designers,illustrators.16. PAINTS.
Yeah. Paints, paintbrushes,etc..etc They’ll be ‘awwing’ over paints and colors.. Smh. I can’t with creative people 😂😂. Such weirdos17. TOYS
Legos and other toys that remind them of their childhood. Artists are like children at heart. .18. COMPUTER DECALS.
They look lovely innit?😂 A must have actually.19. HANDCRAFTS.
Artists love handmade stuff for a reason i do not even know😂😂. Ah
well,20. DESKTOP SPEAKERS
music, music and more music. Your friends who are music lovers will definitely love this one. Your music director,instrumentalist, sound engineer or a music freak will be grateful for this one. Do the needful 😂21. WATCH
Almost forgot this. The watch has to be weird looking just like these ones below.😂😂😂😂😂22. PANTONE BOOKS oh yes. Pantone books for the paint lovers, graphic artists and photographers, i guess….23. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT and accessories. An acoustic guitar,saxophone, maracas, local drums,flutes etc. Any musical instrument as a gift is one of the best gift ideas.Wheeew! I said i was making a list of just 20 gift ideas but ended up with a little over 20. Not bad huh👍😂 Yes, creatives are weirdos,that’s just how they are. Now you won’t struggle so much to get your weird friend a gift. You actually should.If i left anything out, kindly comment with them.
Thank You

ATTITUDE OF THE ON-LOOKING DISCIPLES

Simon the Leper was a rich ruler. In our modern times let’s say he was a political minister like the likes of Ken Ofori-Atta. Simon the Leper was very rich. His fame spread across the town due to his social status and his wealth.
Then he was struck with leprosy,his social status didn’t matter, wealth didn’t matter. Leprosy was a disease you couldn’t easily get cured from in those days. His name changed from Simon the rich ruler to simon the leper. Infact, from the time he got leprosy till he died,people still referred to him as Simon the leper.
Then Simon threw a party and asked Jesus to be his special guest of honor( simon must have been healed from leprosy after an encounter with Jesus and threw a party to celebrate this). He invited his rich friends, other rulers and people of influence and he invited Jesus too. I’m picturing a modern day presidential banquet that our politicians normally host at the state house. The finest of everything. Flashy cars, glamorous lifestyle, expensive wine,best live band and the whispering and talking behind loud music old folks do at these parties.
Jesus arrived with his ‘boys boys’. Simon received him and his disciples very well. He let his servants attend to Him whilst he went on to continue greeting his other guests he invited.

Whilst Jesus sat at meat with his disciples, Mary came.
Right there she opened a jar of a really really expensive perfume and poured it on my Lord’s head.

I didn’t expect what happened next to happen but the disciples were really angry. Judging by their outburst, the perfume must have really cost a fortune and it was a rare type of perfume.

The attitude of the disciples was really surprising knowing that they were with Jesus 99% of the time. They ought to have known better. He expected them to know better, after all they were the ‘Disciples’. The inner caucus,the dream team, the ones Jesus trusts and loves. And just like them, we do same thing too.

THEY MISS OUT ON OPPORTUNITIES OF PERSONAL REVELATIONS OF WHO CHRIST IS EVEN WHEN THEY ARE IN HIS PRESENCE.

They enter the same, leave the same. They don’t ‘catch Him’ when He shows up. I’ve been countlessly guilty about this.
Personal revelations of who Christ is deepens our relationship with Him. Aside the general revelation of who He is; He is Jesus, He is the son of God etc. Jesus reveals Himself on a very personal level to us anytime He shows up anywhere. The more He pours Himself into us the more we get into new dimensions of Him. We get to see a glimpse of his glory ahead of time at least.
Mary knew this. Infact, she was the only one at that time who knew this.

Even when they read the bible, they still miss out on personal revelations. Maybe by focusing and looking for something mysterious but Jesus wants to just reach out to you on a much more deeper level when you study the word. It could be a simple verse but the way it jumps right into your heart. Wheeew! It becomes really personal to you.

THEY HAVE UNBELIEF IN THEIR HEARTS EVEN WHEN THEY ARE IN HIS PRESENCE.

Jesus had told His disciples so many times that He will be killed and buried but on the third day He will resurrect.
Knowing His disciples i’m sure they will be like ‘ smh yoo we hear wai but let’s focus on other stuff’.
When He told Peter that he would deny Jesus before the third cock crows but Peter said never, Jesus must be making a mistake but he Peter was sure that thing cannot happen.
Same way when God tells us something. At some small corner of our heart we kind of have this unbelief so we panic and forge ahead to have a plan B, plan C just in case God’s plan for us ‘doesn’t happen’.
Poor us! Smh.
When God gives us a word, it gives Him the greatest pleasure when we hold on really tight to His words with all our hearts and strength. We can even be extra when we boast about His words😂😂. Shows how much of a complete trust we have in Him and that makes Him happy to be honest.

SUBSTITUTE CHARITY FOR WORSHIP.

They believe in being religious. To worship in an extraordinary manner? Nope,maybe next time let’s just donate this to these people. God would still be pleased either way.
Jesus is jealous about worship. Like father like son😂😂😂😂😂
I would love to see the look on His face when the disciples didn’t want Mary to worship Him and rather sell the jar of perfume for the money it could bring. So he quickly cut in nicely and said ‘Guys,guys, why are you stopping her? You shouldn’t stop her? (He was enjoying the worship😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂). He said thet would always have the poor with them but they won’t always have Him with them.

The church needs to get back to worshipping. No, wait. Disciples need to get back to worshipping.
To get back to digging deep.
To stop putting systems up which we think is the substitute for worship.
We need to move past that
Break the jar.
Break the box.
And just pour it all on Him.

I struggled to write and post this for a while because it really hit me pretty hard.
I saw myself in those disciples and i’ve been repenting since.
At worship services why be so prim and proper?
Mary didn’t care about being ‘on point’ or modest.
This was a party, a secular party at that and she just broke her alabaster box when she knew Jesus was there.

Aside the jar that broke that day, Mary also became broken.
Broken people worship differently.
No wonder she was the first person Jesus revealed Himself to when He resurrected on the third day.

God bless You!

Sheila Naana Oppong.

SOWING INTO ALTARS…

2 Samuel 24:25

[David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and Israel’s plague was stayed.

An altar is any structure which sacrifices and worship is made. An elevated place on which a priest or priestess places an offering either to God or to the devil. It’s a place where decisions are made and decrees are established. It could be meant for evil or good depending on the motives of the priest or priestess.

It’s vital that we make time to pray and study God’s word to build us up spiritually.

Giving is also a form of sacrifice and it’s necessary that we find altars worthy of our offerings so we sow into.

BUILDING THE ALTAR OF PRAYER…

2 Samuel 24 in Context

David had built intimacy with God over several years. He was the apple of God’s eyes (Psalm
17:8) and the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). This relationship was built on trust,respect, obedience, devotion, love, humility, reverence and repentance.
David gave in to the temptation of counting the fighting men of Israel and Judah, which he did.
This brought a sharp punishment to the nation as God was angry. David’s action betrayed God’s trust because regardless of how many men David had in the past, God consistently gave him
victory in battle and protected him from his enemies. It subsequently brought a pestilence.
Remember that God had previously been angered by the blood-stained house of Saul when he
killed the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21).
We are in quite similar times as human behavior has not changed much; if it has, then it has
possibly become worse. We are constantly sinning against God and abusing His grace. The world has created all kinds of perversions and many Christians have accepted them. We have not
upheld the standards of God and have failed to condemn sin for fear of losing favour with men.
This sometimes allows certain misfortunes to befall us when God withdraws His covering.
David eventually recognized and confessed his guilt but the consequences were not immediately
stayed. Often, even when God forgives our iniquities we still face some of the consequences of our actions or inactions (David lost 70,000 fighting men – the strength he had confidence in). We
must be careful about sin because it does not only affect us but often hurts the people around us
also.

When we are intimate with God he reveals secrets of reconciliation with us. The prophet Gad directed David as to what to do in order to be reconciled. These directions were his process of
repentance (very necessary component of intimacy).
David had been praying and confessing his sin when the prophet Gad gave instructions for him
to go make a sacrifice. He needed to commit himself again to God (the burnt offering) and to
renew his fellowship with God (the peace offering, 2 Samuel 24:25). God instructed him to
present these sacrifices at the place where He had shown mercy (2 Samuel 24:16). David
willingly obeyed (2 Samuel 24:19) (Source:
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/2-samuel-24.html).
David insisted on paying for the threshing floor because he wasn’t going to make a sacrifice that cost him nothing. It is important to remember that prayer is a sacrifice. It is a sign of humility.

Christians who do not pray are proud because it suggests that their own strength and abilities are enough. Prayer is a sacrifice of time and strength. When we call on the name of God, it is a sign of total surrender. Consistent prayer affords us the opportunity to know God in special ways.
As Christians, we must have a sacred place of prayer and this should be our prayer altar. It could be a place in our homes or a special period of time. Prayer on these altars must be pure and sincere (honesty ensures trust in intimcay). Prayers here must be done with seriousness as it must be a worthy sacrifice. Note that this place is where you meet God. The sacrifice of prayer is costly but it has rewards beyond what our minds can imagine.

Selah.

Yours Ever,

Nana Gyamera

Nana Gyamera is a worship leader, songwriter ,saxophonist and minister of the Gospel based in Accra. Nana Gyamera life’s mission is to tap into the POWER that is found in PRAISE and WORSHIP and motivate others to do same. He has been seen doing this by leading worship across the churches in the country with his saxophone. His unique sound has endeared him to go ahead and work with various music ministries in the country.

His music pieces can be seen across all social media platforms. You can also book him directly for his unique sound and style for your music projects on -0207221514

LOCKDOWN DEVOTION SERIES – THE INVITATION

God is about to POUR into us and we need to in the right posture to be FILLED

Hi Lovelies! How’re you doing today? How’s the lockdown? 😂😂😂😂

So an idea came to mind ‘Lockdown Devotion Series‘ and i think it’s not a bad one at all. It’s not an online worship or service. To be honest i think I don’t have any plans (big or small) about this. Immediately the idea dropped i prayed about it. I needed to be sure that this isn’t my flesh trying to do something simply because i can or if it’s something that God inspired.

So after praying, i still don’t have any plan😂😂😂😂 Isn’t God wonderful? All i keep hearing is ‘Pray, Pray a lot… Reach out and just talk about Jesus ‘… if that’s the plan then i’ll go with it.

Just join me, let’s do this together. The Church needs much prayers. You need to pray a lot. This isn’t the time for netflix and chill or relaxing but rather an opportunity to spend day, noon and night with the Holy Spirit. I strongly believe God is about to POUR into us and we need to be in the right posture to be FILLED. God is about to re-ignite our fire, fan into flames our passion for Him alone. Such a good God!

A personal revival will happen in our lives before the lockdown ban is lifted. God bless you very much as you open up your spirit to be filled.

Yours Ever,

Sheila Naana Oppong

COVID-19 BLESSINGS. LESSONS. TIMINGS

Our lives certainly won’t be the same after this pandemic and this means alot to us as children of the light. We have been advised to practice social distancing as much as we can, frequent handwashing and hygienic respiratory system practices. I thought i’ll highlight seven ways Christians can get through this pandemic

.7 THINGS YOU CAN DO IN THIS SEASON

.1. PRAY.The recent initiative from the President of Ghana,His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo to declare a day for national fasting and prayers was indeed a brilliant. Not because he declared it but the eagerness and desire to see people from every part of the country to spend time talking to God about anything and everything and pleading His blood over the land. The young, the old, the churched,the unchurched. Everyone had something to tell God and it was a delightul time.This is a very crucial time. These are no longer ordinary times. Much much much prayers need to be lifted up. The Church needs to spend so much time in prayer. The church needs to focus on prayer and live by prayer. Despite the statistics, pray. Despite the news pray. Just spend alot of time in prayer. If there is one thing that this pandemic has made known, it is that alot of people look up to the Church to exude it’s power. I think sometimes they expect too much but it feels great to know that people believe that when we pray miracles can happen.It’s not the time to ask God to increase your ministry or membership or spread your fame across the shores immediately the pandemic is over but rather interceed. Step in the gap, wrestle it out in prayer. Pray that God intervenes and brings to a halt every plan of the enemy to use this pandemic against the Church and children of the light. Fast as much as you can but pray so much too.Pray for families who have lost someone. For some they have lost a breadwinner, a spouse, a guardian. Life won’t be the same for them after this pandemic. Pray that God brings His peace into their lives and comfort them.We have heard so so many testimonies of people miraculously recovering. God is doing it! Keep praying that God releases His healing virtue in their bodies. The church will not loose its power. Pray that people in coma, critical conditions, intubations begin to miraculously get healed by God’s prayer.Pray for the frontliners. The healthcare practioners. They are physically fighting a battle and a common enemy. Many have already lost their lives and left families behind. Pray that God protects them, God sanitizes them with His blood. God keep them safe. God strengthen them with His might.Lastly, our leaders. They will be faced with hard decisions. Many national econonies will be crumbled. God should revive the African Economy and cause us to bounce back mightily in such a way that we might never face hunger or famine.Don’t forget, the Church hasn’t lost its power

.2. DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM THE MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES.Try staying away from the news for a few days. Distract yourself from the news statistics for a while so you don’t panic and get disappointed. Everyone has something to say. Everyone is being calculative and predictive. Alot of conspiracy theories are flying around. Some people believe God told them this is the end of the world, others will tell you God sent this to punish the world. Mind you, they will back it with believeable evidences but right now you need to distract yourself a little from the ‘them say, them say’,.Try creating a music playlist that is speaking to you in this season. Try writing a book. Oh, ahaa you can actually create a diary or a journal about your daily experience,your thoughts ,emotions, throughout this whole pandemic. I bet your kids would be grateful to read this wonderful historic piece when they grow up. Try cooking. Personally i’m looking forward to trying new recipes…hehe…Try reading a book. Try your hands on fashion. Now will be a perfect time to clear out your wardrobe and re-arrange the home. Work on a music piece

.3. STUDY THE BIBLEYou know how you have been complaining of not having time to study the Bible so you read just two pages and pray? Yeaaaaahhh.. God heard you wai…lol do your best to study the Bible, get revelation out of every page. God is definitely seeking to speak to everyone in this season and you wouldn’t want to miss out on this. If you haven’t started yet i could recommend starting with the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Really powerful books and they actually let you know Jesus for He is. Like you get to know a person from their birth to their death and everything in between, and oh, you’ll get to experience JesJesus’s sense of humour in there too. Interesting huh?

4. FELLOWSHIPDunsin Oyekan’s song ‘Breathe’ keeps reminding me of what fellowship is and why i should constantly desire it.You can read your Bible, you can pray but if you don’t have fellowship with God especially in such a time like this you will easily fall for any plan of the enemy. The enemy is still roaring and seeking for whom to lie to and will use any means available including a pandemic.Crave God’s presence so much. Even in the midst of the storm, you will feel His peace. Set an alarm,just to spend time with the Holy Spirit. You’ll be amazed at how much He will pour His heart to you.Also, try and fellowship with other Christians as often as you can. Have blastful virtual worship experiences and Bible studies

.5. FAMILYSo many dysfunctional familes have used this time to resolve, forgive and create memories. For a wife, her prayers to see and spend time with her husband has been answered. For a husband, his wife finally has time off work to rest and get well from an illness. For Children, as for them they have no worries😂😂. They are ‘coming to continue the Christmas holidays’. Families will be healed. Broken homes will be restored.Now will be a great time to create amazing memories with family whilst social distancing ooo yoo. Lol.

6. STRANGERS.A great time to actually get to know other people. A great time to be there for others. A great time to live the ‘love the neighbor as yourself’. Try and reach out to people grieving somewhere on the globe and offer your shoulder to lean on. As it is now, the whole world is actually going through this together. We are practically a family now. On your social media timeline if you know anyone grieving just offer your care and support. Make a friend in a different country. Let this bring us together.If you also can, try and get a sanitizer or send a little token to people you know will find it difficult to get by this season. People won’t forget this gesture in a hurry. Everyone is thinking about stocking up for themselves and family meanwhile you went out of your way and made sure you made a total stranger feel loved in this season. God bless you richly in advance.

7. LEARN A NEW HOBBYLearn how to make DIYs,(Do it yourself). Painting, writing with a left hand, lol..anything. a new language, anything.Just learn something new this quarantine season.This will soon pass too.Keep practicing safe social distancing strategies, wash your hands. Cooperate with the government. 2020 is still a really really great year.

Yours Ever,

Sheila Naana Oppong.

PRAYER : A PLUG. A SHIFT. A ROOT.

“Prayer is the mother of a thousand blessings “

We have heard prayer like a zillion times. As a topic, it’s not overrated or underrated in a way. Prayer is just what it is.
PRAYER; Our weapon that causes heaven to meet earth. Such a powerful force right? It’s ours

Prayer is a plug.
A plug is like that ‘go-to-person’ who has links and connections to people and places that can get us sorted out when we need anything.
That’s how prayer is. You tell someone that ‘Yo! I really need a better paying job, they go like ‘Let’s pray into it’
‘I need this’ they’ll say let’s pray
‘I need that’ – ‘Let’s pray’
Yo! I need a wife’ – Let’s pray.
Prayer is a plug- solution to everything.
(We even Google prayer) ahaa you see.

Prayer is a shift
(Acts 16:16-40)
You remember the famous Paul and Silas story?
Sincerely, this is a living example of when Heaven meets the earth.
Paul and Silas were in prison.
At midnight, they began praying and singing hymns whilst in prison.
Yes, the angel indeed appeared but it was the prayer of Paul and Silas that fetched the angel!
Their prayer caused a shift on earth.
Such a force!

Prayer is a root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings
-Saint John Chrysotom
By far my favorite quote on prayer. It helps me think of a million things that a prayer can do.
I marvel anytime i see a fountain, be it at the mall, a hotel etc. I stopped seeing a fountain as something ordinary without having an active imagination of what it really communicates to me. Water flows nonstop, it even overflows but stops once the plug is taken out of the switch – That’s how i see prayer.

Here are some few tips on prayer that i put together that will definitely be a blessing to you as much as it blessed me.

1. PRAY FROM A PLACE OF VICTORY.

praying from a place of Victory is the most important posture during prayer. You can kneel, lie down, pray your heart out, cry, shout your voice away, clap till your hands get swollen and still pray and miss it.
Praying from a place of total confidence.
Knowing your authority
Knowing the power your words carry.
Knowing that you are praying to a God who has never lied nor failed. Not even once, not ever!
Wow!!

Praying from a place of Victory knowing that God’s ears are just eager to hear you and act accordingly.
Not praying with a ‘Maybe God will’ attitude but rather with a ‘God has already done it’ attitude.
That is a place of Victory
That’s our authority.

2. GOD IS NOT A GENIE!

It’s sad enough that a 5 minute prayer has like a 100 wishlist on it. Things you need from God, things you can get from God.
Try just talking to God, no wishlist, no petition. He is your Heavenly Father who is excited when He hears from you. Just talk to him about everything, about anything. How you are feeling today, about what you are thinking about, about anything at all. Just talk without the asking for this and that.
It’s exciting to do.

3. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT.

I know you’ve heard and read about this so many times but what i mean in this text is praying Holy Spirit inspired prayers.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead your spirit, mind and soul into the realm of prayers
This has little or nothing to do with the Latin Jargons people throw about just to appear spiritual on the outside. You can pray in the Spirit with or without speaking in tougues as long as it is Holy Spirit inspired.
Praying in the spirit means letting your inner man partake in the prayer feast as well. Don’t just pray with your lips. Pray with your inner spirit, pray with your heart, pray with everything you’ve got in you.

4. PRAY THE SCRIPTURES

Pray the promises of God over your life, over your situation.
Kenneth Copeland’s testimony and prayer for healing not only challenged my faith but it taught me how to pray scriptures over my health when i wasn’t feeling too well.
After being stressed out from a very tight preaching schedule, Kenneth Copeland had lost his voice and could barely whisper. He had a Church to preach to in the next few hours. He didn’t call to cancel, he decided to go ahead with it.
Whilst in his hotel room, he prayed and said
‘God i thank you for healing me, Bible said that by your stripes we are healed from our sicknesses and diseases.
My body may not feel like its healed but it has no choice than to succumb to the word of God.
My voice may not sound it’s healed but it has no choice than to obey the word of God because i’m already healed by your stripes.
Thank You Jesus.

Kenneth Copeland mounted the podium when it was time for him to preach, his voice was still not back but he took the microphone anyway.
He whispered a prayer of Thanksgiving once more and started preaching. Minutes into his sermon, his voice was restored!

Pray scriptures into your life.
Pray the promises of God.
For everything in life, there is scripture and there are promises for us in there.
That’s how intentional and well thought God has made the world and made us.

5. PRAY TO GET RESULTS.
Being a prayer warrior is not about being a person who can pray from 10pm to 4am.
It’s being a person who can pray for 15minutes and get results.
It’s about being able to pray for 5minutes and heaven will meet the earth.
It’s about praying and causing a shift. That’s what being a prayer warrior is all about.
To get results from your prayers, you need to be specific in your petition.
If you need a new job, be specific in your prayers. Tell God you need a job at Harvard University as an administrator that pays $5000 a month with bonuses and includes health insurances, paid leaves.
Be so specific with your prayers.

6. PRAY AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN.

That’s the pray without ceasing attitude bruh!
You don’t need a timetable to pray.
Like pray 3 times a day
Pray at 3am
Pray at 12am
Pray as often as you can
If you can pray 10 times in every hour, do it.
If you can pray every 5minutes for it.
Don’t go for 20minutes without talking to God.
That’s fellowship and relationship.

7. PRAY AS LONG AS YOU CAN
For anyone called to Ministry, its highly recommended that you are able to spend very long times in prayer.
Reading about William Seymour inspired me to actually desire to spend long times in prayer, the results can impact generations.
William Seymour spent 5hours in prayer daily.
The result of that daily 5 hour prayer sessions was the famous Azusa Revival that we are still benefiting from
Jon Bevere spends 2 hour a day in prayer and his revelation about the word of God has blessed many lives including mine.
Push in, travail for long periods. Keep pushing in prayer
Just keep pushing. You’ll make generational impact with your Ministry.

8. ENJOY CORPORATE PRAYER AS YOU CAN

Get the most out of Corporate prayer.
There’s so much untapped power in unified prayer.
Don’t be shy to call 5-9 people and meet them with them and ask them to pray with you over a situation.
During prayer meetings, make your prayer requests known and ask that they pray with you and journey with you on a fast.
Having a faith family to fellowship, pray and travail with is very much important.

9. HAVE A ROBUST PRAYER LIFE.

Let me guess. Errmmm it’s one of your 2020 goals right? Lol
It’s very rewarding and very achievable
It won’t be easy like that. There would be days you just don’t want to pray but mind you those are the days you should actually pray so hard. Call a friend for help when such days come.
Having a robust prayer life is an intentional decision.
Everyday, you have to decide to pray.
Write prayers if you can. Just decide to pray.
Having a robust prayer life is a must. Imagine the joy of having to cause a shift on earth with your words each time you open your mouth to pray. Such joy! Such divinely given authority!
It’s a discipline. Getting started is actually the hardest part, but once you start, you’ll keep going.

I hope this blesses you. Selah.

Greetings,
Sheila Naana Oppong.

“MY TREASURE, MY ASSIGNMENT”

It was a sunny sweaty saturday afternoon as I juggled between the ever popular “trotro” in a bid to reach the wedding before it closed. I was about an hour and half late. Gladly, I reached the venue a few minutes before the exchange of vows which is almost always the emotional part of the entire wedding ceremony.

Seated in one of the back pews at the church auditorium, the solemn ceremony progressed and soon it was time for the pastor to give a sermon. This is the part of the solemn service I believe most wedding guests don’t pay much attention to. I must say I really enjoyed the message. A part of the message kept echoing in my head throughout the weekend. This is the part I want to share with you. However, I have extended the boaders of the message a little so as to cover other issues.

The preacher in his message admonished both groom and bride that they are each other’s TREASURE AND ASSIGNMENT all at the same time. This is the part I kept regurgitating throughout the weekend. The bride, groom and by extension the wedding guest were told that, whoever you are married to or in a relationship with is your treasure you must cherish and value and at the same time an assignment for you to work on because no one is perfect.

I want to talk about relationships and the fact that they are treasures and at the same time they are assignments for you to work on. By relationships, I am not referring to just romantic relationships but also platonic ones as well. Each party involved in any of these relationships must understand that, they each are a treasure to be cherished and at the same time an assignment to be worked on.

We belong to a generation where people are quick to drop relationships because they consider certain parties and their actions as “toxic”, “bad energy”, ” negative energy” or better still “negative electrons”. What we forget is that, inasmuch as we consider others to be toxic, we in ourselves are toxic.

Treasures are costly and often require much work in keeping them. In most of the “pirates” movies we watch, you realised that treasures are hidden (usually under sea or an isolated Island). This demands lots of work and patience in searching them out. If it is a treasure, it surely will take some time and work. Treasures don’t come by easily. And for that matter, when God hands over a treasure to you, you must relentlessly work out in ensuring that it is kept. Treasures in themselves are assignments that need to be carried out. And when assignments are carried out faithfully, it reveals the treasures hidden in them.

The friends, spouses and partners God gives us have sides that make them treasures to behold and keep. When we pay attention to these treasures buried in them, we begin to appreciate them. These treasures makes them glow and attracts people to them. It takes extra work to identify these treasures and appreciate them. Whatever you appreciate, appreciates.

Lazy people usually do not find them. Treasures are usually buried under the dirt and so if a partner, a friend or a spouse isn’t ready to dig, they may not find these treasures. All they will see is the dirt. And when they see the dirt they are most likely to give up.

“However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 (AMP)

The earthen vessels containing these treasures is you and I. We therefore must appreciate these treasures for what they are. The relationships we have around us therefore must show forth the glory of God. Learn to treasure people and commit to working on each other, that way we will well complete our assignments a on our treasures.

Always remember, whoever you choose to be in any kind of relationship with becomes your TREASURE AND ASSIGNMENT.

By Paa Kwesi Blessing.

RAYMOND WINS A SOUL

This is Raymond. A 10 year old Sunday School member of Grace Citadel Church.

Raymond attended one of our adult midweek services where I preached on the impact of soul winning. After hearing the message this young lad got so convicted that he decided to attempt what I preached, he set out into the community very early Sunday morning to evangelize to 40 people and guess what? all 40 successfully followed him to church that same morning. Wow!!

Your Church members become what you teach them, they catch the Spirit and the heart you posses regardless of their age. The pastor is the mirror of his members. What a blessing to be a soul winner!

🔥♥️