“Pastor, please can you recommend Christian books that I can read to develop my spiritual life?”

Ofcourse I can, there are loads of books I can recommend that would help you grow spiritually. However, just because I recommended them doesn’t mean they’d impact your life.

When it comes to learning, it’s our duty to find out who we easily learn from. Just because a person is a professor in Engineering doesn’t mean you can learn Engineering from him. He may be a great communicator to some others, but his teachings just wouldn’t appeal to your mind. He may be teaching deep wisdom, but your heart would not just accept him. Struggle to listen or read from the person as much as you can, it just won’t flow.

Personally, I’ve recommended preachers and teachers I’ve listened to and approved, but I’m usually amazed when some people tell me that they don’t flow with their teachings. How do you not flow with their teachings?🙄. I used to think that it was a demonic attack until I realized that it was happening in my own life too. There are books of fathers of faith I find it difficult to read, not because the content of their books are incomprehensible, but I just don’t flow. If I try to force it, my spirit man will start developing impatience.

I remember when I joined Winners Chapel in Canaanland, I used to have series of dreams seeing God’s servant Bishop David Oyedepo and Bishop David Abioye. I had one that really shook me for a while; in the dream, I entered a class where Bishop David Oyedepo was lecturing, and as soon as he saw me, he angrily sent me out saying “I’m not supposed to be in his class”. At that very moment, Bishop David Abioye came into the same class and picked me up. Just look at that; I live in Lagos, I was already attending Winners Chapel Canaanland where Bishop David Oyedepo preaches every Sunday. In fact, it was God that even took me to Winners Chapel. So how is it that the sent man of the church wouldn’t accept me?

I had another dream where I was in a large field with people and all of a sudden I sighted Bishop David Oyedepo and Bishop David Abioye in a cafeteria. The look from Bishop David Oyedepo made me feel unwanted again, but all of a sudden, I saw Bishop David Abioye with me, he held my hands, laid them on the green grass where I was standing, and began to pray for me.

I still wasn’t sure what all those encounters meant as I continued to attend service at Faith Tabernacle Canaanland. I even received many testimonies under the ministration of Bishop David Oyedepo. My dreams became clear the day Bishop David Abioye came to Canaanland and preached on Sunday. As soon as he climbed the altar and spoke a word, I heard the voice of God saying, “That is your pastor”. As at that time, Bishop David Abioye was the presiding pastor at Winners Chapel Goshen Abuja, so I wondered how my pastor would be in Abuja and I in Lagos. But for the first time, I couldn’t but notice that I received the word of God differently. The words from his mouth went straight into my heart, there was no contention at all. Till date, even if he’s teaching something I already know, I still listen as though I’m a novice in that area.

After that encounter, I had to ask God who Bishop David Oyedepo is to me, and God clearly told me that he’s my prophet, and that he’d bring prophetic covering to me. Now that I think about it, I’ve truly enjoyed prophetic covering in Winners Chapel. There are things I didn’t expect to achieve because nobody achieved them in my family, but I achieved them without having to struggle for them. Clearly, the principalities and powers in my family are too small to contend with the prophetic covering on my life.

Speaking of prophetic covering, every believer should have a strong prophetic covering, especially those that are not spiritually sound. Even with all my spiritual intelligence, there are levels I’ve entered that I knew I didn’t enter by my spiritual authority, it had to be the grace of someone I submit to.

How did I even get here? 🤔🙄

Okay, I was talking about reading books to develop your spiritual life. I had to explain all that so that you’d understand that just because you’re not able to flow with a fine preacher doesn’t mean you are under a demonic attack. I read comments from people who read my articles, and out of honesty, some of them would think that a person who doesn’t like my writings is under attack. That’s not true, there are people who really do not flow with my writing.

Sometimes I feel it’s God’s wisdom at work. The same way God sent Elijah to that widow, He sends every one of us preachers and pastors. He gives us pastors after His heart, pastors who would feed us with wisdom and understanding so we can grow in Him. Let me show you that scripture:

Jeremiah 3:
15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

I tried to meditate on what it means for God to give pastors according to his own heart and I found two things;

1. It means that God will give you a pastor who loves God or who is pursuing God’s heart. So if a pastor doesn’t love God, God will not give him to you as your pastor. One of the ways you’d know that the pastor you’re listening to was given to you or has been given to you by God is that you’d be at peace or at rest listening to him or reading his books. The moment you notice unrest while listening or reading from that pastor, it means that God has not given him to you.

2. It means that God can give you pastors according to His purpose and desire for you. If God wants you to be a teacher of the gospel, it’s very unlikely that you’d be comfortable listening to a prophet as a routine. So He’d give you teaching pastors, not just preachers.

Just in case you find it difficult to listen to a pastor, it may not be because that pastor doesn’t love God, it may just be because God has a purpose for you and that pastor’s ministry would not help you fulfill that purpose.

So, think of all those preachers or pastors you easily flow with, buy their books, download their messages, follow them online. As you do, you’d enjoy a good pace in your spiritual growth.

Finally, I know you’re probably thinking about how you’d know when a person is your prophet and not your pastor. Well, for that, I currently don’t know, so you’d have to ask the Lord to reveal it to you😂.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem
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