Do you know you can meet with God as a child? Let’s hear the story of Sade, a 15-year old girl who meets with God everyday. The first thing Sade does every morning is to pray to God. She has set an alarm on her phone that goes off daily at a particular time.
Once her phone starts vibrating, 15-year old Sade gets up from her bed, switches on the light in her room, and begins to pray. After praying, she picks her bible and devotional and starts to read.
This is how she begins her day.
How often do you meet with God? Do you make out time to really meet with Him or spend more time with friends and in front of the TV set or your phone?
Having a special meeting time with God is very necessary as His child. Time spent with God is time that can never be a waste because, in His presence, you will discover more than you can ever imagine.
There are several ways to meet with God. One of them is by putting aside time to spend in his presence praying, reading the bible and, listening to and, for Him to speak with you.
This time must be guarded jealously by you – ensure that nothing or no one tampers with it so that you can maintain and increase your relationship with God.
When you give God an appointment, He is never late. Instead, He will be there waiting for you to show up. So, always show up at the meeting point with God. Do everything possible within your power to keep to that time, and meet with God.
Gen 3:8a, KJV And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:
Even in the event of things going out of your control, pray to God about it. He knows how to help you keep to the time. He can do all things. God will never allow anything or anybody rob Him of the opportunity to fellowship with you.
That’s how much He cherishes spending time with you. Learn to meet with God.
May the Lord bless you as you spend time with Him. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to have a regular praying time with you. And I need you to also help me keep to this time in Jesus name. Amen.
Action point: Make up your mind right now to have a regular praying time with God, to meet with God everyday.
Declaration: I will meet with God regularly. I will commune with my Father daily in prayers.
One of the traps the devil sets is making you hope and pray your parents or guardians won’t find out where you have been. Now there are warning signals wrong friends can exhibit.
Friends that corrupt, mostly advise you to give a false account of your whereabouts to parents or guardians. In other words, they tell you to lie.
For instance, they encourage you to buy a skimpy outfit which you know your parents won’t allow on you. This is part of the warning signals. They teach you how to hide it at home. Even when your parents find out and forbid you to wear it, they again, teach you how to sneak it out of the house for a party or an outing which you know will keep you late outside. Once more, they tell you what lie to tell to your parents.
Another way is you come home late from school and lie that you were at the library, studying for a test or exam. All the while you were playing football with friends or watching a PG movie at one of your friend’s house. They, of course, told you to say that. This is part of the warning signals.
You hope and pray your parents don’t find out or catch your lie.
You need to let go of such friends because they are gradually helping you to become a liar. Yes, and they have revealed themselves by showing those warning signals.
The bible tells us that the devil is the father of all liars. How can a child of God be friends with the children of the devil? You need to end your friendship with friends that teach you to lie. This is part of the warning signals.
John 8:44 (NKJV) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
One downside of this is that, once your parents find out the truth, they won’t trust you anymore. They won’t believe anything you say again. even when you are saying the truth.
So, check your friends again. Learn to look out for warning signals.
God bless you.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, help me with good friends. I don’t want friends that will teach me to lie, I want friends that will help me grow to know you more. Amen.
Action point: Stop being friends with anyone who encourages you to tell a lie, especially to your parents (it’s part of the warning signals).
Declaration (children): I am kept far away from wrong friends. I choose my friends wisely and I receive grace to cut off every wrong association.
Distractions will come at you as you plan to manage your time well. They come straight at you, heavy and unrelenting. You have to learn how to identify and stop them if you want to make good use of your time. You have to learn to remove distractions.
Distractions could be from friends, family and even you. There will be good distractions that look pleasing and reasonable but are not pushing you forward.
For instance, you want to study your bible for the evening and a friend visits and asks that you both study for a test tomorrow.
It’s a good thing – studying for a test, but is it in your plan? No. You have to learn to remove distractions. Rather than study or tell your friend you can’t study with him because of bible study, ask him to join you for bible study. After that, you can both study for the test.
Ensure you explain to him first what you are planning to do and if he agrees to wait or join you, fine. And if he refuses, well you can try to further explain to him. But you have to learn to remove distractions.
I’m sure he will agree. If he doesn’t, well, it’s not your fault, you just have to stick to your plan.
Remember, there’s a time for everything under the sun.
There is a powerful concept of time that you should know – time lost can never be recovered. It’s not a piece of paper that can be found or a missing person. It goes away and becomes history to you. So you have to learn to remove distractions.
Always put this thought before you as you do things. Ask yourself ‘What I am doing now, is it what I should be doing?’
May God grant you more insight about the concept of time. Amen.
Action plan: Lord, give me the strength and wisdom to handle any distraction that comes my way. Teach me how to remove distractions. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Action plan: Stay firm in how you manage your time.
Planning is a wonderful tool you should use to manage your time perfectly. Plan your day; it involves you writing out everything you are going to do in a day and when you are going to do them.
As a child, you have school for five days, assignments from school, church on weekdays and weekends, visitations and other stuff.
Plan around these activities. Give specific amount of hours or minutes to them.
Here is an example:
6 am – Personal prayers/bible reading/ daily devotional.
6:30 am – house chores.
7-7:30 am- Grooming/breakfast
7:30am – School
This is just to give you an idea of how to plan your day.
Learn to plan well. After school you could give some time to studying the day’s work (and more), and doing assignments, if any.
“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (AMP)
The major thing about using your time well is to do the important, necessary and urgent things first before the rest. School is important/necessary and urgent. Assignments also. The church is the same. Personal bible study, praying and devotionals are important, necessary, and urgent too.
Don’t do what you need to do later now. Plan well and do them now, so that you won’t fail.
“I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, behold, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles were covering its face, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I beheld and considered it well; I looked and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep– So shall your poverty come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.” Proverbs 24:30-34 (AMP)
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to make good use of my time daily. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Action plan: Draw a rough plan of how your day looks like. Perfect it to reflect the important things you need to do daily. Put the important things first.
What time is it? What’s the time now? When are we leaving? When should I take my drugs? When should I eat? When is the test starting? When is mummy coming back? When is the party starting?
These are just some questions people ask because they want to know when to do something or go somewhere. And knowing when to do or go somewhere is a deciding factor on how successful what they want to do or go will be.
In the bible, the book of Ecclesiastes speaks about this subject, saying that there is a particular time for everything. Yes, there is a time for everything in this world. God is the master at this; He knows when is right for any thing that is to be done. He knew when it was right for you to be born. He chose the date, country, and place for you.
Understanding how to manage your time well will help you a lot in life. Knowing when to speak, not speak, act, not act and more will help you get out of some situations.
There’s a time for you to study as there’s when it is okay for you to watch cartoons. There’s also when it is right for you to sleep, and also when it is right to wake up and prepare for school. There’s when to eat and when to fast. Understand all these facts and you will be very good in managing this precious gift.
Above all, God wants you to use your time well, especially for Him. May God teach you how to manage this gift well. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to use my time well. I don’t want to waste this gift in Jesus’ name, amen.
Action plan: Pick a jotter and pen and start to plan your day.
