As Christians we must learn to knock on the door of life and ask for whatever we need. Whatever we ask for, we can receive if we believe. If we believe that we have received what we seek, then we can really have it. The answer to every question we can ever ask or anything we can ever desire is hidden within our environment. God is not far from us! Every day, He wants to show up for us in some new way.
Within our immediate environment are answers and solutions! God put it there. We can find whatever He wants us to be involved in around us. He however wants us to seek them out and recognise them. He leads us on through occurrences in our vicinity. He is waiting for us to recognize and understand purpose. This can be triggered by things as simple and little as a conversation with a friend. It may even happen when you overhear someone’s conversation with another or when you observe your surroundings. It would pay us to be mindful of what God is showing or telling us through the events in our environment.
When our senses of sight and hearing are alert to events in our environment, we will begin to hear what God is saying. Basically, we receive data with the aforementioned organs. When we receive data, our minds process it until perception is developed. Our actions, all the time are governed by the perception we have of situations that confronts us. Many of us may pick up the same data with our eyes and/or ears, yet process or interpret it differently. Every individual has a different view of the events of life.
The Reticular Activating System (R.A.S) is a programme found in the human brain. It has been proven that the R.A.S makes us aware of things that are important to us-those things we place value on. It makes us conscious or aware of things we have been reaching out for. With the R.A.S, we can also easily spot what we seek in our environment. When you pray, you receive in faith, but then, you seek out those things you have called forth in prayers by being a little more attentive. The answers you seek are always lurking in your environment. If you will listen and watch, the R.A.S will help you become aware of them. When this happens, it is your call to make the best of them.
The act of receiving that which you have asked of God is very important. You must understand how your mind works. It helps you to recognise the things you seek. The mind always makes use of events in your past .i.e. stored information and past experiences. It is a routine. Your mind stores up all your experiences as they occur. It also plays a flashback of past experiences and results we have had when we encounter new challenges. When a new event occurs or a new challenge emerges that matches your past experience(s), your R.A.S simply triggers in you the confidence that you can accomplish what you seek. This process leads to growth, which is simply moving from where you are to the next level of your life.
Growth can only be achieved by the renewal your mind. We all need new information that makes the change or answer we seek possible. Once you form the habit of renewing your mind, you begin to process data differently. Then take note of the information around you and use it. This habit will move you to a higher level.
For instance, three men will always have three different life experiences and outlook (perception). They will attend to business differently. Their survival instinct or capacity will also differ one from the other. One may even build a business from scratch to a hundred million naira while the next may have tried building businesses and failed. The third man may be a mogul who has grown a billion dollar industry. But if we strip them of all they have got and put them all together in a place, they will differ in their ability to survive. The man who failed in business may still find it hard to survive because his R.A.S will bring foreward his dominant experiences-his failed attempts. As a result, he may just be incapacitated and unable to boldly take up the present challenge. The other two men are more likely to survive because they have been able to make something out of nothing in the past. It will be easier for them to recognise opportunities in their new environment no matter how ugly it seems.
To receive our desires, we must take the renewal of the mind seriously. Once there is a change in the state of your mind, you will receive that which you have asked of God. To receive in prayer means to have a change in the state of your mind. When you receive something from God, it means that on your inside, you already have the substance of what you are looking for. The next process for the physical manifestation of your desire is that the substance within you begins a search for its match within your environment. It begins to show you opportunities for the fulfilment of your desires. And if you will dare to go with those opportunities, you will have the physical or tangible experience.
When you find that match and you take up that opportunity, do not think it will become very convenient for you on the outside. The truth is that more challenges will come and the manner in which you deal with the challenges that come will determine the level of your overall success. Stay with the opportunity God has created. Stay there and keep knocking until that massive door opens up for you!
“Poju Oyemade”