WHO HAS YOUR FOCUS?

Who has your Focus?

So many Christians have lost focus in their lives. So much like Peter when Jesus went to them walking on the water (Mat14:28). One moment he was looking at Jesus, as his focus, and he was actually floating on water like Jesus. The next moment he shifted the focus from Jesus to the waves forgetting that the waves were there even the instance he slid his foot from the boat. As it turned out, with his focus on the danger rather than the saviour, Peter began perishing until he remembered where his focus ought to have been.

We think we are worshiping God while our focus is not on Him but on His nemesis; the devil. Attending corporate prayers over a period of not less than 7 years has helped me get a glimpse at how people pray. God already knows what we need even before we ask Him and thus prayer must not be reduced to petitioning God only. Petitions are only a small fraction of prayer (Philp 4:6). An illustration would suffice here. If you go visiting a friend with the motive of seeking something from them, you should be at least courteous enough to know how they have been. You don’t just knock on somebody’s door and ask, “Can I have a soft loan of twenty thousand?” You want to at least engage them in a chat to find out about their welfare. But so many of us knock on God’s door and jump straight away to our requests. Don’t forget that God is foremost pleased to see you. He is more interested in you than anything else. Spend time with Him.

Taking it deeper, I have realised that some Christians spend more time in their prayer talking more about the devil than God. Yes dear, you heard me right. A prayer time of 10 minutes( which is too much for average believers) is divided into 6 minutes asking for things, 3 minutes hitting on the devil and about a minute or less adoring God. I should like to mention that some will read this and ask, “What does adoring God entail?”

These are times when the devil is credited for more action and less talk and God is lowered, in the subconscious minds of His children, to more talk and less action. People see the devil at work more than they see God. They ask questions like, “where was God when the devil…?” We see the evil in the world and out rightly see the devil at work. When referring to the devil we say, “The devil has done A B C D.” however, when we are talking about the Almighty we say, “God says in His Word…” that way the devil is credited for action and God for speech.

Surprisingly, even the messages we preach on the altar of God are 70% or thereabout talking about what the devil has done and 30% about what God can do, mark you, it is ‘can do’ We know God can do but we hardly say that He has done it. We have very elaborate messages where we insist, “God can turn your tests into testimonies, He can turn your mourning into laughter, He can do so much and so forth...” But we read a different script for the fallen angel, “he is roaming about like a roaring lion, he has blinded…” Enough of this ignorance! God has done so much yet He is credited for so little.

We need to come to a time and place where we look unto Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (Heb 12:2). It is only when we fix our eyes on God that we shall see Him at work. You can’t be staring at the darkness the entire time and hope to see what is happening in the light. I long for a time that we can spend hours in prayer not because we have so many needs but because we can’t get enough of our basic need: the holy trinity. The Bible says that we should “make our petitions known.”  This allows us to free our prayer time for important things like intimacy with God. Sometimes I spend hours just fellowshipping with the Spirit, the Son and the Father and only a few minutes asking for my needs and making intercession. Those are the prayers that I receive answer for with speed.

One of the weapons the devil will use against you is attention. The devil would have you focus entirely on him and forget about God. We, being ignorant of this, give him all the attention. We spend more time thinking of how he has afflicted us, talking about his doings and praying against him. When he sees this he smiles (am not sure if he can afford such a tender expression) or grins at his accomplishment; he has us where he wants us, thinking, talking and praying about him. Even as I write this article I feel like I am giving him more attention than befits him but I can’t watch him cage unsuspecting Christians anymore.

As I conclude, let me give this illustration. Whenever you face temptation, it always comes in stages. Stage one is when the devil knocks on your door: this is the best stage to overcome temptation. He either draws your eye, ear, or mind to a tempting thing.

Stage 2 is where you answer the door. You look, listen or allow your thoughts to be captured.

Stage 3 is when you start entertaining your visitor. You let your mind wander off and be captivated by what you saw, heard or the thought that entered your mind.

Stage 4 is when the ‘visitor’ starts destroying what is in your ‘house’ and you let him. He will destroy your self-control, your patience, and all your values before you wake up from the trance.

Stage 5 is guilt for having let him in.

You don’t fall into temptation because of what you saw or heard or the thought that crossed your mind, you fall because of paying attention. It is natural for people to knock on your door but it is foolishness to entertain destructive guests. You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head but you can certainly stop it from building a nest there. You better stop paying attention to the devil. The first thing the devil will do in order to trap a Christian is to have the Christian believe that he (the devil) can trap him. The devil can’t hurt those who don’t pay attention to him. Stop giving the devil so much credit.

So am I saying that you start pretending that the devil doesn’t exist? Certainly not! You must be aware of his tricks and you must resist them. Keep your focus on the saviour and not on the threat. The devil hates to be ignored and he loves to be entertained.

If you missed any of the previous blog posts, click any of the links below.

Prayer that yields negative results
Am I robbing God or is the Church robbing me?
I will never get married!
Maasai greetings
The missing link
Build the weight of your faith
Your future is bright
Make your past disappear
Why you should not look back
The stir