How to BREAK FREE from the SPIRIT of RELIGION! | Brother Chris Teaching

A religious mindset attempts to replicate results at the price of process.

The religious mindset substitutes inspiration with imitation.

It replaces revelation with repetition.

Wow, people of God! Grace and peace to you all in Jesus’ mighty name.

Thank You, Lord.

You're all very welcome to this Partner Service here at the God's Heart TV Studio.

I want us to begin this time together
in a moment of prayer.

Let us pray right now.

Lord Jesus Christ, we are connected here at this moment unto Your glory.

Help us to remain spiritually
and mentally alert

in this time of fellowship,
meditation and prayer.

Manifest Your strength in our weaknesses.

In Jesus’ mighty name we pray.

And the people of God said, “Amen!”

I have a word of encouragement for you today, a word of exhortation

about the dangers of a religious mindset.

And this is going to be taken from a story
in the Old Testament actually.

It's contained in two passages -
in 2 Samuel 5 and also in 1 Chronicles 14.

But for today's message, I'm going to read the account from 1 Chronicles 14.

So please, I would encourage you to turn with me in your Bibles to this portion -

1 Chronicles 14:8-17.

And once again, I'm going
to read the story and

really highlight the dangers
of a religious mindset.

It is one thing to start in the Spirit,

but it is another thing to stay in the Spirit.

As we're preparing to read the Scripture, you can just say that to your neighbour,

or speak it out right now:

“Don’t just start in the Spirit;
stay in the Spirit.”

Let's keep that in our hearts
as we read this portion.

As we read the verses, I'm going to be emphasising some lessons,

practical lessons of life from this account.

This is about King David.

1 Chronicles 14:8 - “Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king

over all Israel, all the Philistines
went up to search for David.

And David heard of it and
went out against them.”

Okay, let's just pause the story here.

Because there's already
a very big lesson here.

I want you to think about this.

God had been equipping David in private long before anointing him in public.

He was being prepared spiritually long before the battle broke out physically.

Because anointing attracts attacks.

Don't be surprised when blessings are accompanied by battles

to remind us just how much we need God.

Ammunition selected by your enemy
is a clue to his fear of you.

That’s a deep statement.

I'm quoting Prophet T.B. Joshua there.
I'll say it again.

Ammunition selected by your enemy
is a clue to his fear of you.

The devil does not waste attention on those who don't threaten his kingdom.

Why am I pausing to emphasise
this point, children of God,

before we even get into the
main focus of this story?

This is a point of reflection because

there are many of us today who fall
into the trap of attributing delay

to the blockage of the devil,
rather than to the building of God.

What many of us see as delay - ‘I'm praying for this, but it's not yet come to pass.

I'm expecting this in my career;
it’s not yet happened.

I'm expecting this to happen.

I'm seeking God for this, but I have not seen the visible results.’

What you see as delay is God building you, not the devil blocking you - as a Christian.

It's common for people today to attribute their delay or their disappointment

to the work of the devil -
‘The devil has blocked me.

The devil is behind this. The devil has stopped me from fulfilling my destiny.’

Whereas rather than the devil blocking you,

it is actually God building you,
preparing you, equipping you.

But if you are so focused thinking about
what is the cause of this blockage,

you may miss the process of building.

Why must God build us?
Why must God equip us?

Because blessings are accompanied by battles. Anointing attracts attack.

God's favour draws man's envy.

That's why we must be equipped.

The problem today is when, out of impatience or man's ambition,

we take actions to jump ahead of God's time or try to skip ahead of God's process.

But in your skipping, you miss equipping.

If you have skipped the building,
then you are not equipped for the battle.

What many of us are passing through today is the process of God building us.

You can say that to your neighbour right now or speak it out if you are alone.

“I am being built, not blocked.

I am being strengthened, not stopped.”

Say it again, “I am being built, not blocked.

I am being strengthened, not stopped.

My delay is not denial.”

Just as God was equipping David in private before anointing him in public,

as a child of God, what you are going through is part of the process

of building your character.

A word of warning:

If you rise by gift, you may fall by character.

Or let me put it even clearer.

If you only rise by gift, you will
surely fall by character.

Don't get carried away by your gift to a place your character cannot carry you.

Your gift can lead to greatness of man.

But it takes character to
have greatness of God.

Your gift can entertain men.

It takes character to entertain angels.

This is just a pause in this story
to think about this point.

The moment the Philistines learned that David had been anointed, the attack started.

Don't be surprised when
what you are praying for

attracts the attention of what
you are praying against.

God must build your character.

Because what is being built in private will equip you to face the attacks in public.

Anointing attracts attack.

Let's read on - this story: 1 Chronicles 14:9.

“Then the Philistines went and made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim.

And David inquired of God...” -
this is very important.

Before anything else, before setting up his military tactics, strategy and plans -

‘How are we going to face the Philistines’ - his first source was God.

“David inquired of God, saying,
‘Shall I go up against the Philistines?

Will You deliver them into my hand?’

The Lord said to him, ‘Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.’”

Thank You, Jesus.

“So they went up...” - in accordance with that instruction, that direction.

“They went up to Baal Perazim,
and David defeated them there.

Then David said, ‘God has broken through my enemies by my hand

like a breakthrough of water.’”

He did not say, ‘I have defeated my enemies by my hands.

My tactics have defeated these enemies.

My superior military strength
has defeated these enemies.

The skills and gifts of my men and myself have defeated these enemies.’

Even though they, of course, will have played a part in the victory.

But David did not say that.

He said, “‘God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.’

Therefore they called the name
of that place Baal Perazim” -

which literally means,
‘Master of breakthroughs’.

1 Chronicles 14:12 - “And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment,

and they were burned with fire.”

There's a lot to think about here.
Let’s pause a moment.

The evidence of the genuineness of David's relationship with God

was shown in his attitude
before battle and after victory.

Before the battle, David sought God's face.

After the victory, David glorified His name.

The intensity of the battle and the immensity of the victory

did not take his focus from God
or his dependence on God.

This is a very big lesson for all of us today.

When a battle comes, who do you seek?

Whose opinion do you seek?

Whose direction do you seek?

Whose counsel do you seek?

To whom do you entrust your heart
when the battle comes?

Look, at this time, we know we are talking about a physical battle.

I am, of course, referring here to
the battles that life can bring.

Not just physical - emotional battles, financial battles, marital challenges,

challenges in health, work, career -
just name it. Battles.

Who do you seek before?

When you know a battle is coming,
who do you seek?

And when victory comes,
who do you ascribe the glory to?

The evidence of David's
relationship with God -

how God had equipped him in private before anointing him in public -

was his attitude before battle and after victory.

Also, I want you to take note.

He did not attribute the victory to his strength.

He did not attribute the victory to his skills.

He did not attribute the victory to the strength of his men or himself.

He took no credit for the victory.

The spoils of success did
not spoil his spirit.

His conquest did not
give rise to compromise.

That is why, immediately after the victory, he glorified God.

But not only that, he burned the idols rather than keeping them as trophies.

Some of us are busy toying with
what is meant to be burning.

David knew the source
of his victory was God.

So that is why he didn't give any space to the devil after the victory

by collecting those idols as trophies.

He acknowledged God,
glorified God for the victory,

did away with any form of idolatry,

and the result of this is reflected
in what happens next.

So let's read on - 1 Chronicles 14:13.

“Then the Philistines once again
made a raid on the valley.”

People of God, this is an interesting story.

They had just been defeated.

David had won the victory by the hand of God after seeking God's opinion.

But the Philistines attacked
the very same area.

Don't think that victory today automatically assures you of victory tomorrow.

That you overcame today

does not automatically qualify
you to overcome tomorrow.

God gives grace for each day.

You must depend on His grace each day.

I hope you follow what I'm saying here, children of God.

They attacked the very same area.

That an area of your life is attacked and by the grace of God you overcome

does not mean you are automatically immune from attacks in that same area.

If David had attributed the success to himself,

or he was busy toying with
the trophies of past victories,

he would not have had the
sensitivity to recognise

the needed revelation for
the present decision.

Because if we read what happens,

David did not just assume that the tactic he used last time would work this time.

He didn't just conclude, ‘Well, the Philistines attacked here. God said I should do this.

And so let me repeat the same process and the same victory will ensue.’

No! What did he do?

Let's read 1 Chronicles 14:14 - “Therefore, David again inquired of God...”

People of God, don't think that the approach of yesterday will work today.

You need to depend on God daily.

This is the danger of a religious mindset

because a religious mindset attempts to replicate results at the price of process.

‘We did it like this. It worked.
We will continue to do it like this.’

The religious mindset substitutes inspiration with imitation.

It replaces revelation with repetition.

David did not repeat the
same approach to battle.

He repeated the same approach to God. Take note of this.

He still ran to God for guidance.

He still ran to God for wisdom
of how to manage this battle.

He still sought God’s opinion.

He didn't just conclude that the guidance he received in the last battle

would automatically be the same
for the next battle.

In fact, if we read on, God gave him a different tactic. Let’s read.

“Therefore David inquired again of God...”

Did God say to him, ‘I have already told you what to do. Follow the same path...’?

No. God said to him, ‘You shall
not go up after them.’

In the first battle, the instruction from the Spirit of God was to go up.

If David had succumbed
to a religious mindset,

he would have taken the same approach and expected the same result.

But what did he do? He sought God again.

And this time “God said,
‘You shall not go up after them;

circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,

then you shall go out to battle,
for God has gone out before you

to strike the camp of the Philistines.’

So David did as God commanded him,

and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

Then the fame of David
went out into all lands,

and the Lord brought the
fear of him upon all nations.”

People of God, I hope you
understand the lesson

I'm bringing forth from this passage.

It’s a practical lesson for each
and every one of us today.

Look, the religious mindset subtly seeks to disconnect your daily dependence on God.

If David had been overwhelmed by the spoils of success

or busy toying with the trophies
of his past victories,

or attributing the results to his own efforts, rather than God's grace,

he would not have been sensitive to seek God's direction when the next battle came,

even though it was in
the same battleground.

What am I saying here, people of God?

We must be careful of anything
that tries to interfere

with our total dependence
on God for everything.

We need God each and every moment.

That you are in the right
place with God today

does not give you the space
to relax in the spirit.

If you relax in the flesh,
don't relax in the spirit.

Victory should not give room to complacency.

Your victories today should not breed complacency tomorrow.

‘Everything was fine. We overcame this.
I can relax.’

If you relax in the flesh,
don't relent in the spirit.

You need God each and every day.

This is the danger of the religious mindset.

We reduce the things of God to a formula

that we can apply irrespective
of the state of our hearts.

The religious mindset does not recognise the importance of the heart.

That's why we can just follow a plan of man, even if initially it was inspired by God.

We now turn it into a blueprint that we adopt irrespective of the heart.

You may look at this message and say, ‘Brother Chris, can you be more practical?

How do I apply what you're talking about?
I don't think I have a religious mindset.

Be more practical with what
we are talking about here.’

If reading the Bible just becomes a routine...

Every day I must read my verse,
read my chapter.

If prayer just becomes a ritual -
I say the words but I don't mean them -

then the heart is no longer required
and the Spirit can no longer inspire.

Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.

Relationship lies in the heart.

Without the help of the Holy Spirit, your prayers can just impress man, not reach God.

Without the help of the Holy Spirit,

you will read the Bible just to be informed, not to be transformed.

You may read the Bible.
The Bible will not read you.

Without the help of the Holy Spirit,
our fasting is just a hunger strike.

You must be careful to not fall
into a religious mindset

that sets the mind or the mode
above the heart.

We just follow tradition,
convention, ceremony.

This is a word that calls for self-examination.

Even in churches today,
when we go to the house of God,

from the perspective of you
that are attending,

are you just going because it's traditional?

‘On Sunday, I must go to church’ -
even if your heart is not in church.

That's religious.

We may tick the box that
we have attended church.

We will not truly receive what
will change our lives.

Even from the perspective of those leading church, ministries, the work of the Lord -

if everything is pre-planned,
the heart is no longer required.

If the script is already written,
the heart can be missing.

If the script is present, don't be
surprised the heart is absent.

It can become a ceremony.

If everything is prepared before in a script,

what's the difference between
a service and a show?

I'm not in any way discouraging godly routine or regularly attending church.

But that something is regular does not mean it should become religious,

where we just go through the form, the motions without taking care of the heart.

We need inspiration from the Holy Spirit, not imitation of man.

We need revelation from the Holy Spirit,
not repetition of what has worked in the past.

We need relationship with God,
not religion.

That is a message I take
from this story of David.

This is a reflection of David's
relationship with God.

He sought God before the first battle.

He glorified God after the victory.

And when another battle came,
he didn't automatically conclude

that the same approach would work.

He still went back to seek God, and this time the approach was given differently.

Because David knew the military tactics were not the source of his victory.

It was the Source of those tactics.

It was the Source - God.

The source behind it determines
the force behind it.

This is why we need God
every day, every moment.

That you took a wrong step in the past does not disqualify you,

and that you took the right step in the past does not qualify you.

Many who are first will be last,
and last will be first.

There is grace for each day.

That I was right with God yesterday does not mean it’s guaranteed I am right with God today

because each day has its own battles.

Each day has its own challenges.

Each day has its own trials.

That's why I need God each and every day.

The religious mindset is so dangerous because it uses seemingly godly things

while disconnecting our daily
dependence on the Source, God.

As I said at the beginning of this message, it’s a word of encouragement,

but it’s a word of exhortation, a word that calls for reflection, people of God.

It’s not about the way you overcome.

It's about the One who overcomes.

It's all about Jesus.

We must be very careful of anything that attempts, whether directly or indirectly,

to cut off our dependence on God, our communion with God and our duty to God.

That's the religious mindset.

‘This approach worked. Let's stick with it.’

Your approach to battle may change.
Your approach to God will not.

Approach God and let His Spirit direct your approach. That's the answer.

So people of God, this is
the message I wanted to

share with everyone in today's meeting - the danger of the religious mindset.

We must break free from
the spirit of religion.

How? Daily dependence on God.

Daily dependence on God requires
daily settlement of the heart -

daily checking your heart,

so that we are not toying with things
we are meant to be burning.

David gave the instruction to burn those idols.

Don't try to build bridges with what is meant to be burned.

If your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off (Matthew 5:30).

Some of us are taking trophies
of past victories as if,

‘This will help me to understand
the world better.’

It will help the world to overcome you,
not you understand it.

I will bring this message
to a close at this point.

I know there is a lot of food for
thought in this message,

and we are going to have an opportunity now for questions, comments.

If you have something from today's message you'd like to ask about,

or you have a lesson that you would like to share with fellow people of God

here in God's presence, this is an opportunity for you to do so.

And I pray that the message you have received today will sink deep into your hearts

to root out every religious mindset,
in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Thank you so much, Brother Chris.

This sermon really touched me.

Because I think I've fallen in that rut of depending on past victories.

And I would say that in the past I would probably call them principles.

But my question to you is this -

when we find ourselves in that state,

what is the best way that
we can settle our hearts?

You said that we first of all
need to settle our hearts.

What's the best way that we can do that?

Okay. Thank you very much, brother.

All of us can know - if we are sincere.

You can know when your
heart is not settled.

Because no one knows you better
than you know yourself.

You may attempt to attribute
it to other factors or forces,

but no one knows your
heart better than you.

If your heart is not settled,
your heart is disturbed,

first of all, we have to identify what is causing that disturbance.

What is behind that ‘unsettlement’?

And if we are to be direct, the thing that disturbs our spirits as Christians is sin,

in whichever way, shape or
form it manifests itself.

If we recognise that the source of our disturbance spiritually is sin,

we must equally recognise
that the solution is spiritual.

Sometimes we try to mask
our disturbance by

engaging ourselves in other activities
to try and just forget about it

or take our mind away from it or
try to postpone dealing with it.

But the answer is spiritual.

And the answer is not too far from repentance and seeking God’s face for forgiveness.

That's the answer, my brother.
There's no formula here.

That's the answer. No one is perfect.

That's why we depend on the Blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary for us.

But I think one of the big problems people have today is that they delay

in settling the issues of their hearts

because they're not truly ready to deal with the sin that has caused the disturbance.

Maybe because there's a fleeting enjoyment of that sin,

or maybe because they have not been alert to recognise what it truly is.

I so often talk about, for example, this issue of unforgiveness, bitterness.

It's such an easy trap to fall into
because you can be deceived

into thinking you are justified in harbouring it because of the wrong done to you.

But what you don't realise
is that by harbouring it,

you are violating the very command Jesus Christ gave us to release forgiveness.

So even though it is the wrong done to you, not that you've knowingly done wrong

to someone else, but the
wrong done to you -

by harbouring it, you're going to cause a
disturbance in your heart.

So that's an example of something that we often are not alert to recognise.

We don't realise that that's the cause of our disturbance because we are clouded by

the pain of the wrong done to us,

or the feeling that such a response is justified because of what has happened.

So the light of God's Word opens our eyes to where we need to repent

and reconcile with God, and that is
why we hear a message like this.

You hear the Word of God and it brings you to the place of reflection, examination.

And the beautiful thing is that when we turn to God with all of our hearts,

He’s ready and willing to welcome us,
to forgive us and the past is over.

That's why I said the wrong steps you took yesterday don't disqualify you.

Satan tries to use guilt from the past

to paralyse us in the present from
taking the rightful actions.

But if you hear a message like this today and right here, right now,

identify where you have gone wrong, ask God for forgiveness, reconnect with Him -

the heart can be settled and
you continue your journey.

But if you delay settlement,
then you are building disturbance.

It's only going to build up.

It's not going to be solved by trying
to cover it with hard work or

recreational activities or
schemes of blaming.

It's not going to work.

You have to get right with God.

And to conclude, brother, I really can't emphasise this enough.

My brothers and sisters in Christ,
I cannot emphasise this enough.

We are living in a world
where there is no shortage

of temptations and distractions everywhere.

And this flesh is weak.
We are weak.

So we must take actions
actively to help us spiritually.

Have a place in your house
set aside for prayer.

When your heart is troubled, go there.

When your heart is disturbed, go there.

Go on your knees before God.

I tell you, if you seek God sincerely, you will identify what is causing that trouble.

And as you bring it before God's presence, the peace and joy will be restored.

But so many times something disturbs us and everything around us

contributes to that disturbance,
rather than helping us to settle it.

Sometimes we need to set aside a place.

Look, I talked today about
the danger of religion.

I am not saying, ‘If I go to that prayer room, automatically my heart will be settled.’

I'm saying find a place on the outside that will help you reconnect on the inside.

Have a place which you can set aside
for prayer. Life is full of distractions.

Life is full of temptations.

There's no shortage of things trying to shift our focus, take us away from God.

But you know yourself.
You know your heart.

Everyone listening right now -
we know our hearts.

You can know if something's disturbing you.

You can know if your spirit is not settled.

And if you are sincere and go deep,
the cause of that disturbance is sin.

But the Blood of Jesus is enough.
Run to Him.

To quote Prophet T.B. Joshua again,

“If you make a mistake, as we all do,
don't run from God; run to Him.”

And that mistake will become
a tool to teach you,

to mature you, to improve you
as far as you run to Him.

But that's the issue - running to Him.

That's the lesson from David -
he ran back to God.

In the victory, he ran to God.
In the battle, he ran to God.

When the battle happened the second time, he ran back to God.

It was the consistency of his running to God that was the source of his victory,

not the strategy that God gave him.

Blessings! My name is Fabiola from Honduras living in Kentucky, USA.

Thank you very much for this message, which has really filled my heart.

What happens when we go
to God as David did...

Because David asked God what he had to do and God’s answer was clear.

The first time He said, ‘Go’ and the
second time He said, ‘Don’t go’.

So, the problem I have is that I ask God
but I don’t hear His answer,

or I cannot distinguish the answer
He has to my question.

I’m going to give a simple example.

I have been living here in
Kentucky for four years

and I desire with all my heart
to go to live in Florida.

It seems like it is something simple
but I want to ask God if it’s His will

but I don’t hear what His answer is.

This is the first question:

How can I recognise God’s voice
when He answers me?

The very first question you asked
is a very common question.

And at its root it is - how do
I hear the voice of God?

Because it is easy to read this portion and say, ‘Well, it was very easy for David.

David just inquired of God. The instruction came. He acted on it.

Why is it not so easy for me?’

Some of us would just like to pray and then we would love a voice from the heavens

to come and say, ‘Go this way’
or ‘Don't go this way.’

And I think it's important to emphasise that this is why we talk about relationship.

Because the closer you draw to God, the clearer His voice becomes in your spirit.

God is able to speak to us in multiple ways.

We cannot restrict God in the way
He speaks to His people.

Yes, I used the example that people would like to hear a voice.

Some people - you can hear
a voice audibly. It can happen.

Some people may receive a message from God in a dream, a revelation, a vision.

Sometimes God may send someone to you with a message that you needed to hear

at that moment - God can
use someone to convey.

Sometimes the circumstances of life are themselves a message to us.

Often, it’s the still, small voice of God’s Spirit in our hearts.

What I can say to you, sister,
is very clearly this.

Although we cannot determine
how God speaks to us

or the way God will choose to
answer us when we pray,

what we can do is take care of the heart
to whom God will speak.

Prayer is not just about talking.

It’s a two way conversation.

It's about talking to God, listening to God not with these ears, but with the heart.

If I go back to the answer
I gave my brother earlier,

the best way to position yourself to hear from God is to settle your spirit.

If your heart is disturbed, your heart is troubled, your heart is weighed down,

you will likely be insensitive to what
His Spirit is telling you.

This is why we reduce to desiring for our ears to hear the audible voice.

Because we want to bypass the
process of settling our spirits.

Or we want to go to a man of God and just receive a prophecy - ‘You must do ABC.’

God can speak through His servants.
Prophecy is real.

God can direct people
through prophetic words.

But we should not see prophecy
as an avenue

to bypass God's processing
of settling our hearts.

I can just go to church and receive a prophecy that I should do this.

Even if God speaks to you in prophecy, there must be a confirmation,

which is why you must settle your own heart, settle your own spirit.

I would love to say to you today, sister,
‘It's as easy as following this formula.

Do this and you'll hear the voice of God.’

Look, the ways of God are
higher than our ways.

God sees the bigger picture always.

And the way in which he communicates
to us as His children

can often be mysterious to these senses.

But what I can tell you, God does not leave us without direction.

If you seek Him with all your heart,
you will find Him.

He does not leave us without guidance.

If you seek Him with all your heart,
you will find it.

You focus on the seeking and
the direction will come.

You focus on caring for your heart and

sometimes events beyond your control will be supernaturally orchestrated

from above to take you to where
He wants you to be.

But take care of your heart.

So my question, I think
it's pretty straightforward,

but for me, sometimes it tends to be a challenge in the practical sense.

So my question is, how do you depend on God in a practical way, on a day-to-day basis?

And then what example do you have of how you do this yourself daily? Thank you.

All of us need to examine ourselves - ‘Okay, I hear this message.

How does this apply in my life, situation, family, marriage, workplace - everything?’

I think it all comes down to
what we prioritise in life.

If you prioritise your relationship with God,

then you will structure your daily schedule around time with Him.

It doesn't mean you neglect your other assignments and responsibilities.

Of course not!

I am sure you are a working man and I believe brother, you have a family, right?

You have a divine responsibility to care for your family when you're at work,

as you give your best at your work
for the glory of God.

These are not things that you neglect,
but you must structure

your time management around the principle of your relationship with God first.

In other words, time with
God is non-negotiable.

It’s not like I can adjust my way of life to manage without investing time with God.

It's essential. Now, how does
that work out for you?

You may say, ‘Okay, because of prioritising my relationship with God,

I need to get up earlier in the morning and have some time of prayer

or time to read the Scriptures.’

Maybe it means in certain areas recognising there will be some sacrifices -

time I would ordinarily spend perhaps
in leisure or recreation,

I rather want to give that time
for the things of God.

That’s why I can't begin to share with you today specifically for you - ‘This is how to do it.’

You asked me the question - you should give an example of your own life.

And for myself, I am, by God's grace,
in full time ministry.

Everything about me and
everything surrounding me

are things that redirect me to God, which is an incredible privilege.

But you can't compartmentalise your life to think, ‘Well, I have my time at work,

which is just for making money,

and then I have my time with family, which is to enjoy fellowship with family.

Then I have my time for God.’

No, our relationship with God influences and impacts everything about that.

So when my relationship
with God is my priority,

how I navigate marital issues is informed by my spiritual principles.

As husband and wife, you have a clash, marital misunderstanding.

The evidence of what
you prioritise in your life

is reflected in how you react
to that misunderstanding.

So if my relationship with God is
the most important thing to me,

I cannot afford to remain in a state of marital disagreement.

So even if I have to lower my pride, I must do so for the sake of settling that issue

so my heart can be right with God.

Oftentimes, marital misunderstandings are prolonged because we, at that moment,

are more concerned about proving ourselves before man rather than being right with God.

So if my relationship with God is my priority, love God above all else,

everything else flows from that principle.

So I could talk about time with God, reading the Bible, prayer.

These are not things that should just be seasonal or circumstantial.

They should be daily.

But even that, it’s not - ‘Well, I’ve got my...’

That's why I talked about a religious mindset.

‘I’ve read my five verses.
Let me get on with my life.

I have offered my prayer.
Now let’s get back to business.’

No! What I read in those verses
guides me through life.

What I pray to God guides me
in business, family, marriage,

guides me in how I respond when I take a wrong step as we all do, how I handle mistakes.

So there is no formula, my brother.

But I would still - you know,
you asked me to be personal.

I really encourage everyone to have a place set aside for prayer.

I can't emphasise it enough.

On a personal note, when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed at night,

I will go to a place of prayer.

Whether it's for one hour, whether it's for one minute - it’s not about length.

It’s about making sure our
heart is right with God.

That does not depend on being in a physical area. Our heart is the prayer room.

But sometimes setting aside a
place can be very beneficial,

so you are surrounded by things
that remind you of God.

Even if the heart disconnects - when you walk by and see it, you are reminded.

So I hope my brother, you take
a message from this.

So let me even ask you.
This is a good opportunity.

I want to ask you, do you have a place in your home set aside for prayer if you can tell me?

So, I pray in the living room.

I try to be consistent waking up in the morning, but sometimes it's a challenge.

And the reason why I was also
asking this question was -

when the Bible says pray without ceasing...

I think there was also a message where T.B. Joshua was saying

you need to pray in your heart all the time.

So, sometimes I pray in my car.
I pray when I wake up.

Sometimes, I forget.
I get carried away by work.

So, that's why I was asking -
how do you keep that engaged?

But I think your answer
has been very insightful.

Thank you, my brother.

Look, living room is for living. Dining room is for eating. Bedroom is for sleeping.

Find another place for prayer.
Don’t combine it.

I understand that not everyone
may have the rooms available,

but what I mean is - have a place set aside, not a place that you combine.

Today it’s like this;
tomorrow it’s like that - no.

Even if it's a space within a room, have it dedicated - if you need to corner it off.

Even if it's a small space - ‘Oh, this is an altar. This is a place for God.’

Not that you go there and pray today but tomorrow you are relaxing, watching something.

Don't combine the two. Set it aside - even if it’s just a small part of the room.

It’s a principle. It’s important.

And the question you are asking about - how do we pray all the time in our hearts?

As I said, the closer we draw to God,
the more we prioritise Him,

the more time we spend with Him,
you will find that spontaneously,

your spirit is engaging in godly things without your mind even being conscious of it.

It’s a process. It doesn't happen overnight. That's why we have to persevere.

We have to press in, and we have to disconnect from those things that contaminate us.

The problem we have today is that we easily give room to things that contaminate our spirits.

And then we wonder why our
spirits begin to disconnect.

Look, it can reach a point where your mind can be at work solving a problem

or engaging in a conversation with someone,

and at the same time, there's a song
going on in your heart.

There's a prayer going on in your heart.

Your brain may not even be conscious of it but your spirit is at work.

Just like when you sleep, this body is dead, but the heart is active, alive.

At the beginning, it may be
your mind being conscious

and repeating words or meditating consciously on words

but a time will come where
it just becomes part of you.

Your spirit unconsciously goes to
God for wisdom, for guidance.

But we have to be careful of what contaminates our spirits.

What are we watching?
What are we giving attention to?

What are we feeding our spirits with?

Grace and peace to everyone.

My name is Patricia and I am speaking with you from the United States of America.

And I'm in the state of Minnesota.

Thank you. So I have two questions.

So one of them is in regard to the Scripture that we read today.

So I want to ask - if King David did
not hear a clear message from God,

telling him to either move forward
or not to move forward,

he had been living right with God -
would he change his prayer point?

For example, if he didn't hear that he should go and fight the Philistines,

would he have to change his prayer point?

Or would he just assume - ‘Since I’m living right with God, I’m good to go.

Silence is not denial. I can go,
overtake them and win the battle.’

So that’s one question and then,
my second question is -

for example, I'm praying about something and
I hear from God, ‘Soon, you will have this’,

does it mean that in the meantime while
I wait to hear from Him,

can I go ahead and do other things?

Or is He saying, ‘Soon but I want you to remain in prayer. Don’t move anyhow.’

So I was wondering if you
could help me with that.

Ok, thank you, sister. So, the key principle here is the fact that David,

before concluding on a course of action, chose to seek God and approach God.

Now, if we begin to say, ‘What
would happen in Scenario A

if he did not hear from God or
there was not a clearcut message

or what would happen in Scenario B?’

There's so many different scenarios that you could talk about.

That's why we need spiritual sensitivity because situations change.

We need wisdom for each situation,
which is why we need God.

So I don't think it would be particularly beneficial to the general message

if we began to say, ‘Well, if it was Scenario B where he did not do this,

David would have done that’,

because if an answer does not come in the way you expect,

then there will be another way in which God speaks to you.

I really believe that God will not leave us without direction.

It's not a formula that says, ‘Right, if you don't get Answer A, then let's look for B,

and if it’s B, that means you should do this.’

No. That's why we talk about
relationship with God.

So it's not like when the battle comes -
‘Let me quickly bring out my book.

Ok, let’s try A. If that doesn’t work,
then we go to B.

If the answer is B, then we try C’ -
like it’s a chart.

No, it's about the overflow
of relationship with God.

That's why I talked about David being equipped before this battle.

The attitude he had in the battle was a reflection of the relationship he had

before the battle - relationship with God.

So we need to prioritise caring
for that relationship.

Okay, maybe this brings us to
the second question you had.

And I want to quote something I said in a recent message that waiting on the Lord

is not a justification for
laziness or mismanagement.

If you are seeking something from God and it's not yet come,

and you have that prompting of the Spirit that it’s going to come soon,

it doesn't mean you sit back,
just relax and say,

‘Well, when that soon comes, it will come’.

You have to make use of whatever
is in your hands today

to do what is right and work hard towards what you believe God has put in your heart.

So, in your particular example, although we don't know specifically the area you're referring to,

what I would just say very simply is this -

satan will do anything to try and stop us from acting faith in the present.

Waiting should not be an idle time.

Waiting is an active time because waiting is also part of preparing.

God is building us, but we have to pay attention to the lesson.

We all know if you go to school but you don't pay attention, you're not going to pass.

You have to pay attention to the lesson.

So the period of waiting may be more about paying attention to what God is teaching you.

Maybe there's an area of your character that needs to be adjusted.

Maybe there's a bad habit that currently you're engaged in -

that ‘soon’ will come when
you deal with that habit.

But it's all about recognising, when it comes to the things of God,

we cannot bypass His process.

And as I said, God is more interested in our character than our gift.

So if God sees you are not yet ready for what He's prepared to release to you,

He will rather wait until you are ready spiritually and your character is equipped.

So your focus should be on that, rather than saying, ‘Well, if it's not yet there, let's jump ahead.’

That's why I said we shouldn’t
jump ahead of God.

Vision waits for God's time.

Ambition does not wait for God's time. Vision waits for God's time.

That is why we have to make sure that in our period of waiting, we are not mismanaging.

We are not being idle. We are not just expecting it to fall from Heaven

into our plates without playing our part.

So thank you very much, sister.
I hope you understand.

Thank you.