“Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error…” (Ecclesiastes 5:6)

GOD HEARS
In the hands of God there is no accident. When God blesses, He does not bless by accident. In addition, when we speak to His hearing it is never going to be considered as an accident. Have you been very conscious of your communication? The book of Ecclesiastes warns us, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error…” (Ecclesiastes 5:6) Whatever progresses from our mouth under heaven, either in making a vow or praying or careless talk must be constantly positive. The God that we serve is the God who hears and responds to our spoken word. Psalm 94:9-10, “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct…” The God we serve is the living God who allows nothing to pass by Him either in communication or intents of the heart. Our God does have His ear to hear all of His creation.
COMMUNICATION
Are you engaging yourself in a positive or negative communication? It does not matter if you are communicating as a group or individual. Be careful and understand what your communication is about because there will be no excuse if it brings forth negative response. Through the pages of the Bible, different communication brought about different consequences. Once in the days after the flood, men gathered and stated, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4) A careless thought will bring forth a reckless communication. They communicated pride and what it will take to terminate pride when they claimed that they did not want to be scattered. God who planted ear and eye heard and saw the reckless motive of men and He responded, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.” (Genesis 11:7-8) Evidently, when God heard the communication and saw the move of the people, their agenda was terminated. As if this was not enough for men to learn from and understand to know and curb their mouths, the children of Israel also took to the route of termination by virtue of their communication.
NEGATIVE COMMUNICATION
The children of Israel, in spite of having witnessed a great act of God when coming out of bondage of over four hundred years, could not confess positive in their response to the negative report of the men who went to spy on their behalf. The children of Israel responded to the negative report with negative communication, “…If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:2-4) God, who yearns jealously for our faith in Him, responded to the negative that He heard from the mouth of the children of Israel, “…I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.” (Numbers 14:27-29) God hears you every time you communicate. What are you speaking to His hearing? The children of Israel spoke and pronounced death for themselves and death became their portion as they all died and did not get to the promised land; except for Joshua and Caleb. In a journey where the Red Sea could not terminate them, they allowed their negative communication to terminate them.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?
Communicate your request and do not terminate your existence by not calling on Him in prayer. Just as negative communication gets His attention so our positive communication (PRAYER) gets His attention. It is recorded in the Book of Luke that once during the time of John the Baptist, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22) Jesus demonstrated that prayer is the Heaven opener. Some might have been getting baptized with nothing happening, but when Jesus opened His mouth and prayed, God heard Him and the Holy Spirit showed up. God’s voice was heard and Jesus was identified by God. If the Bible can point out that we praise God with understanding (Psalm 47:7), let us also know to pray to Him with understanding. He hears and sees it all. 

Communicate your request and do not terminate your existence by not calling on Him in prayer.
In the hands of God there is no accident. When God blesses, He does not bless by accident.
Tunde

“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”(1Timothy 4:15)

THE WORD OF GOD
The Word of God is powerful, it is progressive, productive and it is perfect to perform.Just by looking around us, it is clear that the Word of God is living and powerful. God created the whole world by His Word and all were established for His glory. The Bible said, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20)The Word of God is meant to heal and to deliver in the lives of those who choose to believe and receive His Word. How are you making use of the living Word of God in your life, each and every moment of the day? God commanded in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
MEDITATE NOT JUST MEMORIZE
Meditating upon His Word is what God requires of us. It is not enough for us to just memorize the Word. It is possible to memorize The Word of God and quote the scriptures from our head, but it is not enough until you begin to mediate it and quote from the heart. Among the many reasons why God commands us to meditate on His Word is stated in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”In this world of wickedness and challenges, being strong and of good courage, and not being afraid or dismayed, is evidence that God is with us at all times wherever we go. As a believer that expects God to be with him everywhere he goes, such a believer will have to meditate on the Word of God day and night. The Word of God is God. Meditate on the Word of God and you will not be forsaken by God. Having success in life is different from having good success in life. It is important to know that whatever is good comes from God and good success is God success. Whatever is short of good is short of God. God meant what He said and doing what He said is the only way of having a prosperous life and of good success. God’s commands are to be taken seriously. Do you treasure the command of God? He requested for meditation to be a day and night engagement and not to be only at our own convenience.
TREASURE MEDITATION
Consider the Word of God as a treasure. Treasure is what to retain, regard or to treat as precious. It is what a person greatly values. When you understand and know to treasure the Word of God it becomes evident that you are set for great exploit. However, treasure has its price and the price of treasure is to meditate day and night just as commanded by God. Have you been responding to the Word of God at your convenience?
COMMIT TO MEDITATION
Meditation is a command that calls for commitment and not a command that is responded to at your convenience. Obeying The Word of God will always incur the blessings of God while disobeying The Word of God will also engender His curse. Why not take to the command in the Word of God, meditate on His Word and enjoy the blessings of obedience? The Word of God is true and as God said in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” It is proven throughout the Bible; from the Old Testament to the New Testament that obedience in meditating the word of God will produce only progressive and positive results. Paul the apostle, after having mentored Timothy with the Word of God, admonished him by stating, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”(1Timothy 4:15)Meditation is a command from God and it will always produce results. Do you consider yourself as a believer who constantly meditates on the Word as required by God? Are you getting results? Meditate on the Word day and night. Without giving your entirety to meditation there will never be evidence of progressive results. The Word of God is God and the Word of God is true to perform.

For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. (Psalm 75:1)
The work of God is His word and having the word of God inside you is having God. Tunde

“… those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” (Psalm 37:9)

The way into God’s rest is in waiting on Him and not to wait on Him is the way to go astray. Going astray is rooted in the heart. Manifestly, any heart that goes astray will miss His way. God is a good God and to end in a bad way is not of God. This is to say what is not good is not God. God is a God of time and process. His time is not like man’s time; likewise His process is not any man’s process. God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be. Waiting on God can be defined as: to remain unmoving, inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens; to look onward to expectation eagerly. Waiting on God is also putting off further activity until later. Waiting on God usually entails staying for a short or long time and for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected. Without absolute trust in waiting on God there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God. The Psalmist testifies, “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:2-3) Trusting in God is what energizes waiting on Him. Trusting in God does have blessings and not to trust in Him will also generate curses. God spoke in Jeremiah 17:5, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” As regard to blessing, the same word of God stated in Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord” How can you wait on whom you do not trust? Evidently, having trust in place will enable waiting on Him.
HOW DO YOU WAIT ON HIM?
Many scriptural passages state that, looking up to God is the way of waiting on Him. Psalm 25:1, “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.” Psalm 123:1, “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.” In looking up to Him, we render prayer, fasting, spending time in His Word and watching for the manifestation of expectation. God is a God of order and in different waiting there are specified ways of waiting on the Lord.
Waiting in Prayer: Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Who can instruct or teach waiting in prayer more ideally than Jesus? Praying like Jesus is what will make prayer worth its while. Without doubt, prayer is not in the multitude of our words, but prayer lies in our hearts because the Lord weighs in the heart and not in our outward demonstration.
Waiting in Fasting: Just as Jesus taught about waiting in prayer, He also taught about waiting in fasting. Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” To wait on God fasting will not end in wasting. To fully follow Jesus’ instruction and teaching will absolutely produce an enviable result.
Wait by spending time watching: Micah testifies to spending time and watching, “Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 2:7) In looking up to God and waiting to hear from Him you will see and receive. In your looking, spend time in His living word. He is a faithful God and He will speak His word that never fails.

There are so much to gain in waiting and nothing to lose from waiting on God’s timing.
God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be.
Tunde

“…Through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:9)

Indeed and in truth, as it is often quoted, knowledge is power and nothing delivers like having a knowing edge over a confronting situation. Different kinds of knowledge, however, inhabit different kinds of power. If the knowledge you posses are not of God but rather are of wickedness, the power you gain will be that of doing wickedness. However, if your knowledge is that of God, then the power that is inhabited will be the power of God. In this world, wickedness may seem to reign, but it will not last forever. By this virtue, it is always wise to search or seek for the knowledge that carries the power of God.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
The Word of God made us to realize in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Evidently, the combination of operating wisely and knowing that God is in absolute control of life is more than enough to overcome in this world of challenges. As an acclaimed believer whose righteousness is in Christ Jesus, the knowledge of God is what will deliver. The Word of God testifies to it: “…Through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:9)
DEMONSRATING THE FEAR OF GOD
Demonstrating the fear of God indeed and in truth will activate the deliverance of man. It is impossible to demonstrate the fear of God and not rise above captivity. Also, demonstrating the fear of God is to know what God cannot do. The only thing He cannot do is fail. The Book of Isaiah points out what it will take for an acclaimed believer to avoid captivity. Isaiah 5:12-13, “…But they did not regard the work of the Lord, nor considered the operation of His hands. Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…” The testimonies in the pages of Bible and all that we can see around us are enough to regard and consider on a regular basis the work of the Lord for our deliverance from captivity. It is knowledge to constantly regard (think highly, to relate) the work of the Lord. Also, it is knowledge to consistently consider (to view attentively, bear in mind) His work. With consistency in operating the knowledge of God, the power of God will not elude us from having a knowing edge over the challenges of life that bring forth captivity.
NOT DEMONSTRATING THE FEAR OF GOD  
A failure not to regard or consider is equal to not retaining Him in their knowledge. A failure to retain Him will generate no power of God. Romans 1:28-32, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Evidently, in a debased mindset there is no knowledge that operates the power of God. Moreover, no man who walks in any of the above mentioned debase mind activity will be able to operate the power of God.
CHALLENGE YOUR CHALLENGE WITH HIS WORD
What then can be a solution to your challenge? Is your challenge a self invented one or one that is outside of your control? Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Which of the two do you represent? Are you one who love God or one who is called according to His purpose? It is always worth it to search the Scripture and measure ourselves with men and women who have passed in the Word. Evidently, Daniel’s love of God was clear when he “…Purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with wine…” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel was a young man in captivity yet he did not renounce his God but rather served with love. Paul, the apostle, was called. He was in all his ways against the work of God in Christ Jesus. At the time of his calling by Jesus, he was on his way to do havoc in Damascus. The lives of Daniel and Paul were with insurmountable challenges that are beyond comprehension. Daniel loved the Lord and the Apostle Paul was called according to the purpose of God. At the end of it all, we know it through the Bible that all worked together for good for both Daniel and Paul. Search yourself: is your challenge outside of your control or self invented?With wisdom and understanding, have a knowing edge over your challenges. Know it and gain the understanding that, “…The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)

When you understand the fear of God, you will find the knowledge of God.
Be unafraid live in faith.
Tunde

“…We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint…” (Romans 5:3-4)

It is better to be lost and found than to be found and then lost. The children of Israel were lost and down in bondage for over four hundred years before God visited them with favor and salvation. They were lost and found; they were set for the Promise Land. He that found the children of Israel will find you. If you have been found by the grace of God from the depth of sin, He wants to take you to an expected end–a Promise Land that was purchased for us by the blood that was shed on Calvary. God that found and brought the children of Israel out of bondage did not mean for them not to get to the Promised Land. To be free from bondage is incomplete until your arrival at the final destination. Many ways lead to the promise land, but the only way that will enable you to get there is the way of the wilderness.
WAY OF WILDERNESS
It is not your choice; it is the choice of the one who called you. To get to the promise land, you will have to go through the wilderness. Any other way will take you back to Egypt. The way of the wilderness is a way of no return. Exodus 13:17, “Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, ‘Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’”
WHY WAY THE OF WILDERNESS?
The way of wilderness is for you not to return, but to keep you going. It is the way that God has put everything in place for you to travel within a reasonable amount of time. It is a way where you are going to be equipped on how you will live and enjoy where He is taking you to. Are you on the way to your promise land? On the way, you will bump heads with the enemy because the enemy does not want to see you prevail. However, if the way you have taken for yourself is smooth, with no ups and downs, no head-on collision with the enemy, it may become a way that seems right to you, but you may also be in the same direction as the enemy. You are no threat to the enemy because you are heading in the same place. The way of wilderness, is not a habitation, it is a passage.
CHALLENGES ON THE WAY OF WILDERNESS
The children of Israel, by virtue of disobedience, inability to wait on God, inability to let the past be in the past so the future could emerge in there life, and inability to focus on God for direction, lost track in the wilderness. The journey was to take them eleven days, but they journeyed for forty years. All that started the journey above the age of twenty did not get to the expected end except for Joshua and Caleb. The way of wilderness that we are in is not to kill us, it is to keep us and get us to where we are going. You may have been wondering why you have all these difficulties in your way. If you will only let God take control, then you will see all that you have considered as difficulties to be challenges that will make you grow. Nothing is accidental for us as a child of God. Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you will keep His commandments or not.” Do you really trust God as the only God that will always remembers with favor and always visits with salvation?
KEEP FOCUS
In the way of wilderness, when you lose focus, you will begin to complain, you will begin to remember all your past that can easily contaminate your present. You will rebel against the people whom God has put in place in your life as a shepherd. You will not be able to see help where God has positioned help for you. Do not look back like Lot’s wife. Let all your wants rest for now. Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Focus on where you are going. Where you are now is your building process. Believe that God is with you and He shall see you through if you are focused on Him.

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”(Numbers 23:19)