Recently, I was invited to minister to a group of Christians. I taught on the subject of the power of God. I emphasized the basics i.e. God’s power has been given to all believers (Acts 1:8) in equal measure (John 3:34). Furthermore, since God’s power is a spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3 lets us understand that all believers have been blessed with all spiritual blessings from the moment they got born again. Therefore, no Christian lacks His power and we should never ask God for power (as this will mean unbelief). I pointed out that it is our responsibility to understand and express the power we have received from God. Finally, I gave some guidance on expressing the power.
To my surprise, Brother Jack came to round off the meeting and prayed – “We ask Oh God that you release your power unto us afresh this moment in Jesus name”. Guess what? There was a resounding “Amen” across the congregation. I felt gutted. What could have gone wrong, I asked myself. Was I such a terrible teacher that I could not communicate the message with clarity? Why were they asking God for something they already possessed? I had just shown that from the scriptures? Even if they had not fully grasped the truth, surely they should have remained in neutral gear pending further personal study like the Berean Christians in Acts 17:11? As I pondered on the possible cause of this error, my mind flashed back to what occurred the last time I visited Jack some years ago.
He took me to his private library filled with a staggering number of books – over 1500. He seemed delighted at the fact that he had read all those books, most of which, I must admit, had changed my life. But Jack’s life appeared to be at variance with the teachings in those books – and he is not alone! Many Christians, perhaps you are one of them, have sat under great teachings and read great books, including the greatest of them all – the Bible. But their lifestyles contradict these great messages. So today, I’d like to share 3 things you must consciously amend in your life immediately you listen to any gospel message or read the bible / any gospel book. Let’s use the acronym P.U.T (Prayer. Utterance. Thoughts) to remind you of the immediate necessary action:
- Prayer: Your “prayer points” should change immediately. Ask yourself, how do I pray concerning things relating to this subject and what change is necessary based on this message? For instance, I expect that over time, Jack’s prayer regarding God’s power will change to “Lord, thank you for your power at work in me”.
- Utterance: Ask yourself how you have spoken in the past concerning the subject and what changes are required in your utterances? For instance, if your last discussion with your friends, everyone said things like – “If only God would give us power like he gave the church general overseer”. Next time such a conversation comes up, you should be saying – we all need to work on expressing the power of God just like our general overseer has been able to do.
- Thoughts: This is the bedrock and it affects your prayers and utterances. You have to consciously put all the previous thoughts you had concerning that subject on the table including scriptures you had wrongly misinterpreted. Evaluate them one by one on the basis of the insight you now have. It is better to do it on paper. If you get confused at any point, do further research. By so doing, you turn on the lights in every dark area of your life.
Please let’s not be like Jack who found it difficult to change probably because he made the word of God of no effect by his traditional prayers, utterances and thoughts. We must start practicing P.U.T founded on the truth of the Word, and then we will be changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of God.
“Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think.” – Romans 12:2 (GW)
– Tope S. Aladenusi
