Category: The Overcoming Believer

Many believers struggle to truly occupy through prayer because prayer has become a view once photo for them. Laziness and slumber. Some pray only once in a while, treating prayer like an emergency tool , while others pray one long prayer on a Friday to compensate for silence from Monday to Thursday. Some cannot remember the last prayer they prayed beyond “God bless our food, Amen.” Others only pray within prayer groups and have no personal fellowship with God, using corporate prayer as a crutch to support an un-injured leg.

There are those who pray but their hearts are disconnected, so prayer becomes a religious routine. Others pray like the Pharisees, to be seen and heard by people for their deep groanings amd big words. Some pray without faith or expectation, speaking words they do not believe will produce results, and others pray amiss, driven by wrong motives and unyielded desires. Many have never truly prayed to God at all, they only pray against the enemy, turning prayer into constant warfare without intimacy. They wake up straight to “l binnnnnd!”

Some rely on their grandmother’s or mother’s prayers, believing they can be “bluetooothed” into a relationship with God, while others say one or two lines before sleep or cannot remember the last time they deliberately gave God time yet all of this reveals a generation that wants the fruit of prayer without the discipline, relationship, and devotion that prayer demands. My people, if you want to occupy through prayer, you must pray. There’s literally no other way. To be a lawyer you must study law right? Copy and paste.

I said I’d want us to look at the life of a man who occupied through prayer. I do not make men idols but they can be a great example to others , for us to see that a human being like each of us has truly occupied through prayer. Most of you know this man of God.

This is Pastor Jerry Eze, the convener of Nsppd prayers and the General Overseer of Streams of Joy international. What do you know him for? I bet your answer would be, prayer. What else? Answered and effective prayer. Like I said before, I don’t make any man or woman an idol or a better example than Jesus but we cannot deny the results that this man of God has occupied through prayer. It’s right before our eyes every morning, everyday. We cannot look away from the fact that, what many people think is impossible, “to pray daily” , others are doing it! Is it not Elijah that scripture tells us about?

“Elijah was a man with human frailties, just like all of us, but he prayed and received supernatural answers. He actually shut the heavens over the land so there would be no rain for three and a half years! Then he prayed again and the skies opened up over the land so that the rain came again and produced the harvest.”

‭‭James (Jacob)‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Elijah was not an angel, he was not a creature from another world, he was fully human. If he had the same nature as us, it means he felt sleepy, he got tired, he experienced weakness, and there were moments he probably didn’t feel like praying. He had flesh and blood just like you and me, yet this man prayed. In spite of his humanity, he chose prayer, and through prayer he occupied territory even the weather responded.

Elijah occupied weather seffff. What are you sayiiiiiing?! One man stood before God and altered the climate of a nation, seasons were suspended because a man prayed. There was no autumn, no rain, no cycle as usual because prayer gave one human being authority to shift national patterns. That is the power of prayer when an ordinary person decides to take God seriously. Take your prayer life seriously this year. I have another photo

These are people who came out to pray because a man occupied through prayer. A man took prayer seriously, look at how he has occupied nations. You may not be called to be a pastor , or start a church BUT this is to open your eyes to the endless possibilities if we prayed. Put your phone away and pray. The movie is not running away! Netflix company , I’m sooo sure has a plan to be there even next year. Koreans won’t disappear from the face of the earth. Reels will be there even after an hour. TikTok will not suddenly become inaccessible. Trust me all these companies have a plan to be here for loooong, you can catch up. This year if what will stop you from occupying is the number of hours you spend on your phone, you are an unserious person.

I wrote this on my threads yesterday, a prayer warrior is not a special title. It’s a name we call someone who decided to commit to their prayer life. We make it seem like it’s not achievable by just anyone. It’s not some throne. It is someone who just decided to be serious about prayer. If God opened our eyes to see just what we could’ve achieved if we prayed, some of us would throw a fit. The many “God why’s” are actually supposed to be answered by us. Why have you not prayed? Is your life fine the way it is?

People of God, we must pray. The territories are filled with spirits, they won’t listen to “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” They will listen to men and women who have build capacity. Those are the ones known in the spirit . That demon was not having it! It beat 7 men! 7! The number of perfection 😂! 1 against 7! Even John Cena has never. Maybe Jackie Chan in kungfu. 😂 let me be serious.

Commit to a prayer life exactly the way you commit to bathing your body (we all bath here right? Cos I don’t want to hear any stories) . The same way you shake when you haven’t eaten , shake when you haven’t prayed and go pray. The same way you want to look presentable in the flesh, look presentable in the spirit. There are spaces you will never occupy by just having a good CV. You won’t occupy by just having a degree, you can have twenty if you like! Wear that big hat to the meeting and put all the Fenty make up in the world. They won’t give you a second thought.

People out there pray to their gods and have occupied through dark means so nobody will shift for you because you speak good English and bought a new shoe for the interview. Please! Get up and pray. Let it be part of your daily life. Let it be part of you! Remember, it’s not impossible. We just have to be serious! Let’s continue tomorrow, I love you but get praying or you will lose where you are supposed to win.

If you read my blogs but have never met this  Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about,  you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email  on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you. 

This is one of my favourite topics listed for the YC this year, Occupying Through Prayer. Perhaps it’s because I lead a prayer group, or because of the real transformation prayer has brought into my life, but I truly love the topic of prayer. Happy new week, my people, let’s go!

By God’s grace, I was once on radio during the 21 days of prayer and fasting, and I remember saying to the people that while I was glad to be there, I hoped we were not only excited about prayer and fasting in January, only to lose our fire through compromise by Valentine’s Day. Then we pick it up again, and by August we are pleading the blood, only to jumpstart once more, and by December 30 we are excited about a new year so we can carry some fire again during another 21 days of prayer and fasting.

Honestly, this is the cycle for many believers, prayer and fasting becoming a January activity. No yielded person should ever live that way. If I KATCHHH  you?!!! No be small thing I will do to you o.

The subject of prayer is often spoken about, yet many times people are talking without actually doing. Prayer is not for discussion, it is for action. You don’t wish it, and you don’t say “I’m praying for you” without actually praying. The way to learn how to pray is to pray, the way to overcome laziness in prayer is to pray, the way to grow in prayer is to pray and pray some more, and the way to be consistent in prayer is to pray consistently. There is nothing mathematical or scientific about it, no formula of “do ABC,” will work if there’s no action married to it. Nobody can even lay hands on you and say, “Receive a prayer life,” because even if you “receive” it, without actually praying, nothing changes.

Many believers do not pray, they postpone it until the enemy strikes with trouble. Many pray only as a reaction to the devil, not a response to God or His word. Praying only when things become difficult, so their prayers are not even faith-filled but panic prayers. Many believers also dish out their prayer points to “intercessors” and I say that intentionally while they sleep and slumber in their homes, watching Netflix, eating caramel popcorn (my favourite), and laughing away, while an intercessor is carrying our prayer burden. If we truly understood the power of prayer, we would never want to stop.

“Commune with God at all times.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭12b ‭TPT‬‬

We have been given a strategy to occupy, a strategy to grow , a free strategy that no one will charge you for. You have it, so use it, use it and occupy. Tomorrow I want to give an example of someone who occupied through prayer, just to open our eyes to the endless possibilities. When people say, “I can’t pray, I’m always sleepy during prayer,” the solution is simple, fight the sleepiness. I wish there were a formula many are searching for Greek and Hebrew explanations but it does not exist. Pray yourself out of laziness to pray, it sounds paradoxical, but it is true. 

Jesus prayed, He would take all-nighters in prayer, then during the day He cast out devils, healed, and delivered as if it were nothing, until the disciples noticed the pattern and said, “Sir, teach us how to pray.” They could not ignore the results, they saw Him withdraw to isolated places to pray and realised that although they knew about prayer, His kind was different. They had seen John teach his disciples and said, “We also want to learn.” Do you think the disciples had never prayed before?

These disciples were Jews who already went to the temple, so they knew about prayer and had prayed before, but they did not have the results of Jesus’ prayer, prayer that makes you occupy, prayer that builds capacity, prayer that shifts things, prayer that can turn your 2026 into a testimony-after-testimony kind of year, prayer that can subdue kingdoms, the fervent prayer of a righteous man and the heartfelt prayer of a woman. “I don’t feel like praying” is itself an attack or lack of zeal for God because many people always feel like eating, feel like sleeping, or feel like doing all sorts of things so why is it that a spiritual activity that is most beneficial to your destiny is the one you never feel like doing? 

If we lived by feelings, do you know how wrecked our world would be? A president would feel like spending a nation’s money, a policeman would feel like shooting someone, and you would feel like quitting a job you actually need. We don’t live by feelings; we live by the Word. The Word says pray, the Word says keep praying, the Word says turn your life into a prayer. I’ve always said nobody is a prayer machine , what we call a “prayer warrior” is simply a normal person who decided to take prayer seriously. Why does it have to be someone else and not you? Twenty-four hours and you didn’t find time to speak to God , how then will you occupy?

Are you that person who will pray this year? Will you use this weapon to fight? Will you communicate with your God and find out how to occupy through prayer? What will you do?

As for me? I will pray.

If you read my blogs but have never met this  Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about,  you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email  on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you. 

It’s Reflection Friday my people!🎈

Another weekend, another month moving so fast. It’s like these Valentines people are rushing us this month. We just started February yesterday and now we are a week in? They want to show us their roses and long paragraphs of sweet talk. But don’t worry, next year is your turn. Make sure you make sure. Make sure the 1st of February becomes the 14th or make sure everyday of February is valentines. Make up for all valentines you have missed out on. Show us all the Pepe you have been storing 😂 make it redder than the colour RED!

Today is Reflection Friday, and I want us to pause and reflect on the romantic relationships we have found ourselves in at one point or another, and how they have affected us whether positively or negatively in our journey to occupy through marriage. First of all, I want to say this clearly: if you desire to marry, you desire a good thing, and if you desire to remain single, you also desire a good thing.

There are two types of people who enter marriage: those who have never been in a relationship prior to that particular one, and those who have had one or several before. The latter is usually the more common. By the time people marry, they have often tried with sister A or brother B. For most people, their first relationship does not lead to marriage, in a few cases it does, but more often it does not. This explains why that person you once liked and thought you would marry did not end up being the one. In many ways, this is because we discover ourselves over time; we must first come to know who we are soberly and honestly so that we can marry from a place of identity and purpose. Whether you fall into category A or B, you still qualify for marriage. No one is more qualified than the other. If God wills it, you will have it.

Growing up, I often heard statements like, “By 25 a woman must be married,” or “By 30 a man must have settled down.” The age was always a bit higher for men, and while I understand some of the thinking behind that, I want to say this: the marriageable age is when God presents your spouse. It is God who decides the timing; you simply align when He brings that person. Even at 49, you can still marry, my dear. With that in mind, I want us to soberly consider how we have handled romantic relationships was it all their fault, was it your fault or were there areas where responsibility was shared?

Being honest with yourself in this is the first step toward fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Were you too wishful in your thinking? Did you run ahead of God? Had God truly confirmed them to you, or was your heart so glued to them that the only voice that made sense was your own? Was the relationship an escape plan from a family house, pressure, or circumstances? Did anyone push you into it? Did you overlook the red flags God revealed after you prayed that dangerous prayer? Did you tolerate actions you knew were unacceptable simply because you wanted the relationship so badly? Did you give your body and exchange your birthright?

Knowing who you are now and what you know now, would you still have wanted to marry that person? We must remember that we are better off marrying from a place of identity and purpose.

Vanessa Moonkie

Reflect on these things. Take yourself on a self-mirror journey where you stop blaming everyone else even that person and honestly examine your own part. What was your role? It may not have been as bad as what they did to you (or perhaps you were the doer of all bad things), but maybe your part was staying when you should have left, being silent when you should have spoken up, continuing to respond when you should have cut off, blocked, and deleted, or listening to repeated “I’m sorry” with no change,  when you could have enjoyed singleness and waited on God.

I have often thought that we have gone through things we shouldn’t have simply because we didn’t ask from the very beginning. Was God part of it? Is God part of your decision making process in relationships, or is He only invited to bless a relationship He never ordained?

Vanessa Moonkie

If we truly want to occupy through marriage, should we not learn about marriage? Have you read any book on marriage, or do you plan to copy and paste what you did before? Are you relying on social media tips to teach you how to stay married? Have you listened to a marriage sermon? What does God actually say about marriage, and what are the roles of a husband and a wife? You would never assume the position of a doctor without medical knowledge so why assume the position of a spouse without understanding, when either you or the other person will suffer for lack of knowledge ?

For you to finally do things right, you must have the right knowledge, but it all begins with the person in the mirror, forgive yourself for past mistakes and commit to working on yourself to become the version of you that God wants married. Work on character, deal with all those random  moods you have, deal with that temper and get up and work on your life. I have a scripture for you as we head into the weekend, may your own find you, may you find your own before Valentine’s 😂 or before the end of the month, in Jesus’ name!

“It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough!”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

BUT

“Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.”
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I LOVE YOU👇🏾 See you on Monday🫰🏾

If you read my blogs but have never met this  Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about,  you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email  on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you. 

When Ruth left Moab, she was simply on her way to become a support system for her mother-in-law. We are never told that she thought, “I will meet a man there.” Her relocation was not motivated by a man or by marriage; it was motivated by loyalty and love for Naomi, to the extent that she denied her own gods to follow Naomi’s God.

Listen my people, anyone who can make you deny your God? Fear them. Anyone who says, “Let’s do ABC,” like Potiphar’s wife, is not a friend but a foe. Naomi, on the other hand, did not force Ruth into any compromise; Ruth chose that path herself. The best path EVER! She chose God, and once that choice was made, it was only a matter of time before God revealed what He does with those who choose Him. Occupying through marriage, part two. Welcome to the Yielded Center. It’s Worship Wednesday!

Probably many people who read this blog are either married or desire to be married. They say the most dangerous place to be is the place of a situationship where you are neither married nor truly single. Come out from among them. We function best in certainty. Why would God bring Eve to a man who seemed perfectly fine on his own? Adam had everything he needed; he even enjoyed companionship with God, so it was not about having someone to talk to.

The wisdom of God is far beyond our comprehension. God knew He would not be creating man from dust every time He wanted to add a new person to the earth imagine having to create from dust daily; wouldn’t that be a JOB! So God brought the woman to the man so that through their union they could occupy and fill the earth. People of God, a couple carries a mandate to occupy and fill the earth.

“Get married and have children; encourage your sons and daughters to get married and raise families. Flourish in your captivity, for you must increase and not decrease.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭6‬ ‭TPT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1849/jer.29.6.TPT

Part of God’s plan to occupy is marriage and childbearing. Someone in a position of influence today is someone’s child. Let’s look at Esther: she was an orphan and a Jew, yet she joined the women who were being prepared to marry the king. She went through the process, did what was required, and understood that what she was stepping into was a seat of occupation , it was marriage, it was becoming queen. Every day she was being prepared for that position.

In the same way, many people today are being prepared for marriage and don’t even realise it. Instead of showing up for the “treatments,” they waste time in strange  relationships. Some people are in a treatment season receiving the oils, the care, the preparation (not literally, of course) without realising it is all meant to occupy the position of being someone’s wife or husband. Maybe that is why some of us stay in certain seasons for too long, we did not recognise what was required of us in that season.

Do you have a plan to occupy in your marriage? That means you intentionally plan to raise your children in godly ways. It means you plan to build a good and godly home. It means you purpose to confront your character flaws and deal with anything that could threaten or break your marriage. It means you choose to do marriage God’s way. My yielded people, marriage is beyond kissing and cuddling, beyond finally leaving your parents’ house, it is the plan of God, a kingdom, full proof plan designed for occupation and impact.

So get married. Find a good woman and marry; marry a kingdom man. The one you feel you must “change” is not the one to occupy with. The one you have a long list for of things you will do to “make them Christians” is not the one to even consider occupying with; that is a soul to evangelise, not a spouse to marry. The one still living for wild parties and entangled in the ways of the world is not the one to occupy with. Do not be unequally yoked with anyone. This is not about goosebumps; it is about purpose. “I feel butterflies in my tummy” is beautiful, but it is not reason enough to choose a spouse.

Consider the future, consider the children you will raise, and consider how you will occupy the earth with this person. Let me say this to you, if you are married, you must occupy. If you are single, you must occupy. I pray that you will never find yourself bound to someone who is not God’s will for you. So the next person who says “hi,” pause and consider the full proof plan of God to occupy, and ask yourself, can I occupy with this person? Can we truly agree? For can two walk together unless they are agreed?

I have something for you below that my friend sent me the other day.

Why shiver when you can marry and occupy? Anyways, if you read my blogs but have never met this  Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about,  you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email  on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you. 

You may have run faster than Usain Bolt perhaps even faster than a cheetah to read this blog today. Well done! 😄 Just as learners used to suddenly become extra attentive when the topic of reproduction came up at school, believers tend to lean in a little more when the subject of marriage is mentioned and that’s perfectly okay 😂. Happy new week and happy new month, my Yielded People; I trust you are well and standing strong.

Throughout the whole month of January, we discussed different ways in which we can occupy and I hope you didn’t miss any of them. We will continue building and exploring these ways together. Today, we are speaking about occupying through marriage (pronounced Mahhh-rehhhj 😄). As a woman, I have intentionally studied the lives of women in Scripture Ruth, Esther, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, among others. In January alone, I read four books on marriage and relationships, listened to sermons, and attended seminars. With confidence, I can say this: marriage is a way of occupying.

• Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Scripture even tells us that one can chase a thousand, but two? Two can put ten thousand to flight. Imagine that, not just double the work, but multiplied impact. There are people who married well and, through that union, have been able not only to build a kingdom marriage but also to build systems together with their spouse. Ruth occupied through marriage, and so did Esther. Her queendom was not an inheritance she was a Jew yet marriage gave her rulership and gave her a voice. 

Many have accelerated in ministry, career, and business after getting married. Scripture shows us that the number you can chase increases when you pair up with the right person. You can reach more, you can occupy more, when you partner with someone. Ruth, you were better off owning the field as the wife of Boaz than remaining a grain harvester chasing behind the foreman. And Boaz, you were better off with Ruth than lying alone at the threshing floor.

I have seen couples in ministry who have truly occupied eh! All they did was discern the right person to marry, come into agreement, and marry. “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” For some of you, the journey to walk is there, the real issue is agreement. You don’t want to agree with nobody. Even when you see them, you are still searching for more. 

They say some days require a husband 😂and I agree. Some days also require a wife, for the men too. But if you marry the wrong person, what will occupy you will not be territory but pain and heartbreak. You will not occupy instead, you will be occupied by stress, conflict, and unnecessary battles.

People of God, through marriage we also occupy. God told them to marry, have children, and fill the land, “Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it’” (Genesis 1:28, NLT). Through marriage come children, and through children the land is filled with God’s people. Now, some people do not desire to marry, and that is perfectly okay. Apostle Paul left it as a matter of choice, he said if you want to marry, do so; if you do not, that is also acceptable. So, we all have a choice: to use this method to occupy, or to continue pushing alone. As for me and my household…

I am not teaching that marriage is a must that would be the wrong advice. I am simply presenting one of the ways in which we can occupy, and it has proven effective. A man and a woman can marry and build an organisation. A man and a woman can marry and build a family. A man and a woman can marry and partner in kingdom work, this is occupying. They can build a home together. They can build a company together. We have all seen examples of couples who have occupied and who are still occupying. Again, if you choose to be single and happy, God bless you. If you choose to marry and be happy, God bless you too. It is a matter of choice.

For some people, your next level will come through partnering with that woman or man. You have what they need, they have what you need, fall in love, invite us to your wedding, and then go occupy so everyone can see that kingdom marriages are thriving. Adam and Eve were in a kingdom partnership, occupying Eden, tending it, on assignment, doing exactly what God commanded! Don’t feel bad for your desire to marry, it’s perfectly fine. Pray the prayer point, it’s very scriptural to want to marry. And don’t let anyone shame you for it. Shall we continue tomorrow? I’d like us to talk about EZTA lol, Esther. But for now, yes, marry and occupy! I love you.

Now, if you read my blogs but have never met this  Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about,  you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email  on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you.