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- [00:00]
Heaven
Welcome to Brunch and Bible where we navigate womanhood through the Word. I'm your host, Heaven, and this is more than a podcast, it's a movement. At Brunch and Bible, women gather, grow spiritually, embrace the complexities of life through word driven discussions and find practical applications for their own journeys. In this powerful episode, we explore the many ways God speaks to us, how to tune our hearts to hear his voice, and what to do in seasons when it seems like heaven is silent. Together we tackle the questions that weigh on our faith. Is God still speaking? Are we truly listening? How can we get back in alignment with his will and strengthen our faith even in quiet seasons? This episode is an honest conversation to encourage and challenge you to press in and keep your ears tuned to the voice of the one who loves you most. Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of Brunch and Bible. And if you have been watching us so far, I just want to thank you for your support. Every, like every share, every comment, we see it all and we feel it all and we thank you for supporting us. Today I have another special guest I have with me, Temi. Temi is a sister in Christ. We attend the same fellowship, we attend the same church. She is on the worship team at our church, but not only that, she has a platform called Faith with Tempstar. Can you kind of talk to us about the platform that you have before we jump into what we want to talk to?
- [01:36]
Temi
Yeah, sure. Heaven, thank you so much for this opportunity. You're welcome to just have this conversation on this day. So Faith with T is just the platform, I would say it, it was inspired by one of my heart's responses to Matthew 6:33, seeking first the kingdom of God and every other thing will be added. Absolutely. So it's just a platform where I intend to share faith filled messages like encouragement and just have conversations with people, you know, to encourage people, especially like the Gen Z's and the millenniums, concerning pressing issues in this day and time.
- [02:17]
Heaven
Yeah, yeah, love that. And I've seen some of your content. It's really good. It's really good. And that's part of the reason why I was like, nah, I gotta grab this girl and bring her here because I know that she has so much to say. And today we're going to be talking about when God feels like he's silent. The name of the episode is called do you hear me up there? And I, I wanted to bring to light this topic because I feel as though in everybody's journey at some point it feels like, either God's not speaking, things aren't moving. Either he's not hearing me, or I'm not hearing them. And it feels like it's just this moment of silence. And I wish I was warned about that season before I entered into Christ, because it kind of took me by surprise, and then I had to navigate my way through. So here I just want us to help someone on the other side of the screen watching who feels like they may be going through a season where God is silent. So first things first. I want us to get into the ways that God speaks to us. Right. If we're talking about him not speaking in. In terms, then that means there was a point in time where he did speak. So how does he speak? You want to talk to us about a few ways that God speaks to us?
- [03:38]
Temi
Yeah, sure. So I. I'll just make reference to this particular scripture.
- [03:43]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [03:43]
Temi
Job, chapter 33, verse 14 to 15, says, For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the nights when deep sleep falls on people as they lay their heads to bed. I would say God speaks to us through numerous ways.
- [04:03]
Heaven
Yes.
- [04:04]
Temi
We have, like, through the stillness of his voice, like when we have, like, this certain kind of peace through his word.
- [04:11]
Heaven
Yes.
- [04:12]
Temi
And through, like, maybe confirmations from people. You know, we have, like, the ministry of, like, the prophets.
- [04:17]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [04:17]
Temi
And it might not necessarily be a prophet, but, like, God can just put a word in the mind of someone, someone. And anytime something like that happens, it just shows me how intentional God is and how mindful he is. For him to be able to, like, put whatever it is that I'm going through in the mind of someone that has no idea about what I'm currently going through. It just fascinates me so much, and it just reminds me and encourages me that God is such an intentional father. He's abba father, and he speaks to us through visions as well. And one way is also through dreams. Personally, I'm a dreamer. I've had, like, a couple of dreams. A lot. I can remember when someone in my family, a friend, was going for, like, the interview, like, their visa interview. And a week before that interview, I. I had a dream that when the person finished the interview, the person got like. So at the u. S. Embassy, they gave. They give them, like, this white or blue sleep. I think the white, I can't remember, but I think the whites. Let's just take, for instance, the whites is like, you succeeded in the interview and the blue. Yeah, yeah. But for some Reason I saw the person holding a white and the blue.
- [05:43]
Heaven
Paper at the same time.
- [05:44]
Temi
Yeah.
- [05:45]
Heaven
Okay.
- [05:46]
Temi
And I was like, oh, God, what does this mean? I was praying. I told the person. I was like, I'm not really sure about what. What this means, but this is what God was saying and all of that. And I just thought maybe it was just my mind, maybe I was overthinking this particular thing. But you know what? When the person went, the person, apparently they. They approved the person's visa, but it was upon. Upon a contingency that the person was going to fulfill because the person's something. A particular documents was like, you know, expired. And I was like, oh, my God, that dream was so accurate. So God speaks to us like true dreams. And this is just one of the numerous examples that I can, you know, remember. And another thing I mentioned earlier, like, through His Word. The Bible says that His Word is a lamp. Yes. Onto our feet and a light on our parts. Right. So we cannot, despite the fact that we have, like, people and the ministry of, like, prophecy.
- [06:46]
Heaven
Yes.
- [06:47]
Temi
We cannot ignore the Word. We have to stay in the Word. We have to stay in the world. That is why I feel like that is definitely one of the reasons that God gave that Word, the Bible, why it was inspired by the Holy Spirit to guide us. It literally has everything we need.
- [07:04]
Heaven
Yes.
- [07:04]
Temi
You know, so. So, yeah, I think those are, like, some of the ways.
- [07:08]
Heaven
Absolutely. And I want us to hone in on that particular one. The Word of God is the primary way that God speaks to us. When I got saved, that was in 2019. I mean, I've grown up in church and all these things, but when I actually took this walk very seriously was 2019. And I remember reading chapters upon chapters upon. I don't even know where this hunger was coming from to read the Word of God. Like, I was so fascinated. I would read and read and read. I remember reading the gospels, Matthew, and going through. And even to a point where I was reading it and getting excited. There was one point I filmed the video of myself just recapping the chapter, and I threw it in this random group chat, like, with a hundred people. And it just. Because I was just excited to read the Word, not knowing that God was building my capacity to hear Him. Right.
- [08:06]
Temi
Yeah.
- [08:07]
Heaven
And I think we neglect that a lot. We. We cannot be Christians who want to hear from God if we are not people who are in our Word.
- [08:16]
Temi
Yeah.
- [08:17]
Heaven
Because that's the primary way that he speaks. And like you said, that's the reason why he left his word with us so that we can be familiar with his voice. He says, my ship, they hear me.
- [08:26]
Temi
Yeah.
- [08:26]
Heaven
You know, my ship, they know me. They hear, hear me, they hear my voice. And so it's so important that the Word of God is our primary, I feel like, because, you know, if you use the voice of others, prophets, there's nothing wrong with those means, by the way, I want to just be clear. But when you use that as your primary inspiration, and you may find yourself not cultivating a real and authentic relationship with God because you're trying to seek him through, through others. Right. You're trying to get from him through someone else. And that's not how God works. When he wants to build a real relationship with you. That's the reason why Jesus came is because he wanted to reconcile the relationship with man. Right. And so I just think that the first thing is if you're not hearing from God. Okay, crack open the word.
- [09:21]
Temi
Yeah, just. I just remembered something. When you were speaking concerning, like getting prophecies and you know, something about the Word you, like you mentioned being it, like being primary, like the primary means by which we can hear from God. Whatever anyone tells you that does not align with the Word of come, what you have, it is a counterfeit absolutely no matter how, who the person is, no matter how valid, whatever it said in the past. But if that word that is said to you or concerning you or towards you does not align to what God has said, you know, concerning you in His Word, then you have to cancel it.
- [10:00]
Heaven
Exactly. And that's why a lot of people, they enter into error because they may have heard, you know, a word that was so inspiring, or God is going to do this, this, or he has said this and that, and they didn't use the Word of God to anchor it or to even check it. Because the Word of God is truth. It's infallible. Not only is it his voice, but it stands forever. His Word stands forever. His Word will never fade away. It's eternal. So you can always bank on it as truth.
- [10:29]
Temi
Yeah. It doesn't return unto him voice.
- [10:31]
Heaven
Thank you, ma' am. So when you, when you're able to weigh what someone has said by side by side with the Word of God and it aligns, then it's your, your, your trekking in, in good waters. But when you don't know the Word of God, then it opens you up to disappointment. Because what if that person was speaking from a soulish realm or from flesh and that thing that you were looking to happen doesn't happen. You know, I love how you mentioned that God speaks in other ways. I remember when I first got saved, I would hear God audibly in dreams. Like I would hear him speak to me. There was a dream I'll never forget. I was actually sitting on my couch and I just took a nap or I went to sleep or something. And God gave me a word and he spoke to me. A covenant. I don't want to reveal those details. It's between me and my father. Right. But even till today I stand on it. September 2019. I will never forget that dream. Right. Until today, whenever there's something, I'm like, lord, you said you spoke to me in September 2019. And you said this, this and that. And so yes, he speaks in many different ways. He speaks in dreams. I too, I dream, I'll dream and things come to pass. And so there's many different ways that God can speak to us. But again, we want to remember that primarily through His Word. And if you feel like you can't hear and you haven't been reading your word, the first thing that I would advise you to do is pick up the word.
- [12:10]
Temi
Yeah. It also count as fear. Yeah. In terms of like. Cuz I've heard a lot of people that will be like someone prophesied that the person was going to die. But when the Word of God has said, with long life shall I satisfy you? And so that is. That does not stand. You know, so that is another thing. It helps you like counter fear and, and anything that does not align with His Word.
- [12:33]
Heaven
Absolutely. I want us to get into ways that we can practice daily communication with God. Right. We're talking to a person who feels like they're either not hearing or God is not speaking. And so if we're in a relationship with God.
- [12:50]
Temi
Yeah.
- [12:50]
Heaven
With our relationships that we cherish. Right. We steward them. So how can we daily practice communication with God?
- [12:59]
Temi
I would say like every other relationship, intentionality is key.
- [13:05]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [13:07]
Temi
Intentionality is really important. You have to make up your mind that I want to seek God. I want to make God priority.
- [13:16]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [13:17]
Temi
Cuz in this world of chaos, like a lot of things will be calling and shouting for your attention. So that is why intentionality is really key when it comes to practicing communicating with God. And if you don't communicate with God, that relationship cannot thrive.
- [13:35]
Heaven
Exactly.
- [13:35]
Temi
Because you have to feed it. Even the Bible says that those that hunger and thirst for me, they will be filled. When God sees someone who is sincere, with a sincere heart, that diligently seeks him he would definitely reward you. It would definitely fill you up. So I think in practicing communicating with God, you have to be intentional. Yes, you have to be intentional. Or the way you are intentional about getting up in the morning, taking your bath, going to work, or how you have, like, your various schedules, have a time. I'm not saying, oh, you have to, like, maybe pray every 6am you can be flexible, like, as directed, as led by the Holy Spirit, but you have to, like, have a time that you, you know, set aside that, oh, this is what I want to do with God. You have to, like, study the Word. You have to pray also, like, heartfelt worship. These are ways that we can communicate with God. Currently, I've been hearing parts like this recent times, I've been hearing a lot about journaling. And I think it's something that I've started incorporating into my, you know, communication with God. It just shows me, like, how. I don't know, it's. The experience is just really nice. Like me just pouring out my heart, you know, just speaking to him, like, just writing, God, this is how I'm feeling. God, this is it. You know, apart from. It's just like, really, really cool. Sometimes I like, have those notes on my phone and. But now I even, like, you know, jotting down, like, taking my pen and writing it down. So you have to be intentional about worshiping God. Heartfelt worship, you know, just referencing his name. You have to be also intentional about praying. Praying, the different types of prayer. Yeah, I don't want to go into that. But like, yeah, like, just praying, like, just seeking it. Sometimes it can just be. And also something that I wanted to add.
- [15:25]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [15:26]
Temi
About communication. It's not a monologue kind of thing. It's a dialogue, like the way we're talking. Yeah. So I know most times we just, like, talk, talk, talk, and just, like, pour out our minds. But sometimes God wants to speak to you. Yes, you have to. Sometimes I initially, when I heard of, like, all this, I'll be like, oh, I know. It's like, not a monologue kind of conversation. It's a dialogue. I now started practicing it. I was intentional about it. So I would, after praying, I would just, like, take a moment of silence and God definitely speaks during those times. I can remember there was one time at night I was, like, praying and I slept off. But when, after the prayer, I heard a word in my spirit, but I slept off because I was praying on my bed. So I slept off during prayer, and it was like I was just getting a nudge Like, God was, like, calling me timmy, wake up. Because literally, when I woke up, the word was on my mind again. And he was like, oh. It was just prompting me to, like, write, sit down. So. And, like, what I've started doing, like, just putting, like, a journal, you know, a book by my bedside and all of that, just to, like, write it down. So it was very easy for me to, like, write it down. So it's something that you have to also incorporates that. Just have a moment of silence and just hear from him, because he talks.
- [16:40]
Heaven
Absolutely. I loved everything that you said. I think that I always say, lower laws fulfill higher loss. You'll hear me say that a lot. But when you even think about natural relationships. Right. You have to speak to the person in order to maintain that relationship. What's a relationship if you guys never.
- [17:01]
Temi
Talk to each other?
- [17:02]
Heaven
That's not a real relationship. Right. So. And you'll notice that the people that you speak the most to, you're the closest.
- [17:08]
Temi
Yeah. Right.
- [17:09]
Heaven
And so we. We don't treat God like he's real. That's. That's the. That's really the problem. We. We act like we're here and he's up there.
- [17:20]
Temi
Yeah.
- [17:21]
Heaven
And he's just watching us, and we're just here living life, and. Que sera serai. But no, God, actually, like you said, he. He requires of us intentionality. And I love that you mentioned that he wants to speak to us. Like, he actually wants to unveil himself to us. We have to get that in our minds because it can be a real mental block when you feel like nothing. Like, I don't feel anything. I don't hear him. I'm not. I. I don't know what's going on. Right. But he wants to speak to us, and so now we see you. You mentioned something so good about the journaling. Right. I actually was somebody who. I. I didn't like to take notes at first. The reason why is because it would remind me of school.
- [18:12]
Temi
Yeah.
- [18:12]
Heaven
And it would become. I felt like it became, like, really tasky, as opposed to me really just being in a relationship with God. I feel like now I'm in school, and I. You know, and it was very daunting. But recently, and I would say, in the past, like, year or two, I've had wise counsel come around me and say, yeah, journal. Like, it's actually really good. And I remember first, you know, journaling on my phone, and you, like, talk, like, just typing notes, what I feel like I want. I'll say, dear God, comma and then I'll just. Ryan, pour my all out to. And sometimes I would just write it and leave it. But then there would be other times where I would write something down and I would give him time and he would actually speak back like I would be writing, but it would be God speaking to me through my pen. And so that brings me to another point, that sometimes we don't give God enough time.
- [19:18]
Temi
Yeah, we just pour a lot on him.
- [19:21]
Heaven
It's. It's a dialogue, not a monologue. So when you're approaching prayer, even, there are times I used to just rattle to God, oh, my goodness. I could probably go for one hour just talking, Right?
- [19:33]
Temi
Yeah.
- [19:34]
Heaven
But then I'd realize that, no, that's not proper relationship.
- [19:38]
Temi
Right.
- [19:39]
Heaven
And through teachings and, and correction and all these things like that, I began to actually have moments of silence when I'm praying. I'll pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, and then you'll just hear me stop because I'm waiting to hear from my God what he has to say. I know that me just pouring out is not the end of it, but he actually wants to provide a solution to what I'm talking about. He's a God who cares. Like you said, he's Abba. He's a God who cares about us. He doesn't want to just watch us wallow or suffer or go. Go through all these things and not have anything to say about it. Yeah, Right. So we rush out of prayer times. Oh, my goodness. I used to be like, in Jesus name, amen. And be out and about doing my. My daily tasks until I would sometimes just incorporate the last 10 minutes of my quiet time or the last five minutes, I'll just sit in silence and I'll wait. And sometimes he says stuff, and other times it's not even a verbal thing, but it's him witnessing to your spirit. Man, he may not even say actual words.
- [20:51]
Temi
Yeah, you might just point your attention to something or just drop a word into your spirit. And something that I wanted to add again about communicating with God is consistency.
- [21:05]
Heaven
Yeah. Yeah.
- [21:06]
Temi
Because I'm not saying there are times that you might know, like, you might fall. When you fall, grace abounds, Pick yourself up from where you stopped and start again. But something about God, you have to be consistent. You have to be consistent. You cannot just, you know, say, this time, I've prayed. Today I've prayed. And the next time is like next month or like when you go to church the next. Like you open your Bible, like, only on Sundays, like, it doesn't work like that, right? Like you have to like be consistent because the way we are, the way we are being like transformed into him. Cuz the Bible says that we behold in a mirror and we have been transformed into like the same image that we behold. And like you cannot be transformed if you don't behold consistently. So you have to always like, you know, look at that mirror and just stay in his presence. And also another thing that I wanted to add about not just pouring out your hearts God, but also expecting being expectant God. God actually knows when you are expecting something. I've noticed this in my life. The times when I'm like God, I want to hear from you. It's not like oh God is like you do or die. But like when God sees like the genuineness like the times that God sees that oh this my daughter is like really seeking and she really wants to hear from me. He comes through, he speaks. And some. A story that just came to my mind was just you know, Abraham and Isaac. Yeah, you know, when he, God didn't speak until like he was about to like sacrifice Isaac. When he was. Yes, at the point where he placed Isaac, you know, on the, I don't know, like the firewood or whatever.
- [22:49]
Heaven
The altar.
- [22:50]
Temi
Yeah, the altar. And that was when God spoke like why didn't God speak like all along like on their way to like you know, where he was going to make the sacrifice. God didn't speak all, all that time. He waited till like he saw that he was ready, you know, to like give it all, to surrender and he was like expectant. That was like the point that got poke. So yeah, we have to be expectant in hearing like when we are also like communicating and also consistency is key. Like we cannot take our consistency. And consistency is not just like I, I think I came across like something like on social media about consistency is not like a straight line. Consistency can also mean like this, like, you know, like different curves. When you fall, just rise back up. But make sure you always like tribe by God's grace. And God's grace is always very much available to help us.
- [23:45]
Heaven
Absolutely. That's so good. You brought up a point that I want to come back to the point later but my, my question is, is God ever really silent? Is he. Is he ever just like. Because the question is what do we do when God is. Feels like he's silent but is he ever really silent? Did he stop speaking or did we. What happened basically? What, what are your thoughts on that? Is God silent?
- [24:17]
Temi
H. Can he be silent? God is never silent. God's silence, you know, doesn't mean he is absent.
- [24:28]
Heaven
Repeat that in the mic, please.
- [24:30]
Temi
God, Silence doesn't mean his absence.
- [24:33]
Heaven
Come on.
- [24:34]
Temi
He might be silent for so many reasons. This scenario just came to mind. Just imagine, like, a teacher invigilating, like, her students in the classroom. Like, she already gave them, like, this exam paper. You have to do this within this stipulated time.
- [24:49]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [24:50]
Temi
And the teacher doesn't talk most times unless, like, she sees something that, you know, is about to interrupt the entire class. But, like, she's usually satisfied silence because they are undergoing their test and she has already equipped them for whatever it is that they have to, like, carry out. So most times, or sometimes not most time, but sometimes God can just be silent because he has already equipped us with whatever it is that we need that will carry us through that particular season that we are in, you know, most times, like, the process, it's. I feel like the silent season in quotes. Like, it's that waiting period. And I know waiting can be very gentle, but, you know, very aggressive because it's like, God, I know you've said this concerning me. God, I know your word. You've sent a lot of confirmations. You've said this concerning me. Why am I not seeing this? Why am I not seeing this results? It can be very aggressive. But something about it, during that waiting period, it's a period whereby. It's a process. It's a period whereby God is, you know, evolving us. It's a period of. It's a season of the becoming where God is, you know, breaking you, molding you into, like, that next season that is taking you to. So God is never silent. It's just like. It's just like. I feel like that invisible voice is just like my daughter. Just calm down. I'm coming through. I'm here. I can hear you. You know, the song that just came to my mind was about. He knows my name. He knows my every thoughts. He sees each tear that drops. He hears me when I call. Yeah. So he knows our names. He knows everything. Every in. He knows. He. The Bible says that every of the strands on our. Of our head, like, out of the several billions of people you know in this world, like, he knows he's there. He's never silent. I don't want us to have this. I'm even speaking to myself because it's easier. It's not. I know it's easier said than done, but absolutely, he's not silent. He's there. And I. I think that Waiting season is just one whereby we don't just like stay and wait. Yeah, we begin to do things. Those things that God has said concern you. Begin to ask God this. The reason why I'm here. Like, just take for instance Joseph. God had given him those mini dreams. Like, you're going to be like all.
- [27:24]
Heaven
The middle of his life, you know.
- [27:25]
Temi
But like he trusted God. And something about God he doesn't really tell you, like the end results. Because if God should tell you, like, oh, you're going to go through this, you're going to go through that, sometimes you might even be like, oh my God, am I sure I really want to go through this? Yeah, but like, so that's why God does not like, you know, unfold the entire picture. He reveals everything to us bits by bits. And we just have to trust the how is not really our business. We just have to leave it to God. We should just trust in the Lord. Proverbs says, trust in the Lord with all our hearts and we should not lean on our own understanding. All our ways we should acknowledge him. So we should just trust that in this waiting season is guiding us, is directing our steps. And if it is God that has said it, then I am fine. My tomorrow is secured in him. Jeremiah said that before we were formed in our mother's womb, he knew us, he said. Jeremiah also says that the plan that he has towards us are plans that are good and out of evil to give us an expected hand. Like another translation says, if a hope and a future. So I know my future is like fine in, in him. I know my future is secured in Him. So there is, there is no need for me to fret, you know. And also during that silent seasons we can also. I don't know if I'm being too forward with the question, but what I wanted to add is during that waiting period, just keep on building up your feet, building up your feet, feeding yourself weights. You know, faith based sermons, like sermons concerning what it is that you are going through, you know, in the right time the Lord himself will make it happen and it causes everything to work together for our good. And we also like. The power of community is also really paramount in this case. Just having people like, you know, encourage you, like, oh, you can go through this season and with God all things are possible.
- [29:19]
Heaven
Hi Thames. Thames, Thames, you just laid it. That was so good. You said so many good things. I want to go back to one thing you said. That was such a powerful analogy. With the teacher in the classroom, with the exams out, they can't speak. Because at this point, they have equipped their student. They have spoken already.
- [29:41]
Temi
Yeah.
- [29:42]
Heaven
So it's not like they didn't speak. They have spoken already. And so now they're watching to see. See how the Word is now applying to what is in front of them.
- [29:51]
Temi
Yeah.
- [29:52]
Heaven
And I. I love that because I want us to debunk the fact that God is silent.
- [29:57]
Temi
Yeah.
- [29:58]
Heaven
He's not silent. He's actually never silent. And, you know, this is why it's so important that we said the word of God is our primary method of hearing him. Because if you know in the word of God that he says, I will be with you. If he. If you know in the word of God that he says his name is Emmanuel, which means God is with us.
- [30:18]
Temi
Yeah.
- [30:18]
Heaven
That's. That's him speaking.
- [30:20]
Temi
Yeah.
- [30:21]
Heaven
That's a word in and of itself for you. You don't need to know anything else. All you need to know is that God is with you.
- [30:27]
Temi
Yeah.
- [30:27]
Heaven
And, you know, you. You said, you said something about Abraham and Isaac and you mentioned how.
- [30:38]
Temi
God.
- [30:38]
Heaven
Didn'T verbally say anything until the very last moment where Abraham had the machete in his hand, was about to strike his own son. But you see that. That in between, period, from God giving the instruction to him intervening at the last second was Abraham's obedience.
- [31:02]
Temi
Yeah.
- [31:04]
Heaven
Sometimes God isn't saying. It's not that he's not speaking, he's just not saying anything new.
- [31:08]
Temi
Yeah.
- [31:10]
Heaven
Like he told you in the last season to launch the podcast. I knew you're sitting here in 2025 and you have not launched the podcast.
- [31:20]
Temi
Yeah.
- [31:21]
Heaven
What more do you want him to say? Like, that's one thing that I noticed about God. And like I said, I told you when I first got saved, it was very. God would reveal himself to me very supernaturally. And sometimes he does that. You see how God is? So I love God. He can be dramatic sometimes. Like, the first time he'll introduce himself to someone, you think about Moses at the burning bush. You think about so many different. You know, he'll have these captivating encounters so that you know that indeed God is real.
- [31:51]
Temi
Yeah.
- [31:52]
Heaven
Then after he takes you through the encounters and you know, he. He will take you to a place where it may not be as glitz and glamour and you hearing God. Thank you. The wilderness phase. It may not be all the times where God is speaking to you audibly. Energy. So what happens when he stops doing that? What happens if he ceases that for a season? Are you going to freak out because you Feel like God is not speaking. No. You know, but going back to the obedience thing, you know, it's. So it's paramount when it comes to hearing the voice of God because God doesn't talk cheaply. Yeah, he doesn't talk cheaply. He speaks all the time. Right. He speaks, but he doesn't just talk cheaply. Just anyhow. So if he has told you something.
- [32:41]
Temi
Yeah.
- [32:42]
Heaven
And you're sitting around, you're God. I can't hear you, babes. You're sitting in disobedience. Yeah.
- [32:50]
Temi
You know, when you were talking, I just remembered, like, seasons in my life where I was praying to God for clarity. I was like, God, I need you to tell me something concerning the situation that I'm in. And in hindsight, I realized that God had already spoken. I wasn't just, like, you know, acting on what he told me before.
- [33:13]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [33:13]
Temi
And that's something about God. Once, so far as he has spoken, he would wait for you to act, like, obey.
- [33:19]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [33:20]
Temi
And, you know, just trust him. Because sometimes, like, the things he gives to us is just maybe calling us into the deep, calling us into deeper level of trust.
- [33:29]
Heaven
Yeah. To see.
- [33:30]
Temi
Does this. Hope it's not like, just for sure. Like, oh, I trust you, God. I believe you can do this and all of that. He just wants to, like, prove us. Is this my.
- [33:41]
Heaven
Practically.
- [33:41]
Temi
Yeah, he wants to prove us. Like, is this my daughter really, like, meaning what she said, you know, and God, like you said, God, the Bible says that his ears are open to the prayers of the righteous and he never sleeps nor slumber. So having those words, like you said, he cannot be silent. He is not absent.
- [34:04]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [34:04]
Temi
It might just be like, you've not obeyed or you've not trusted the last thing that he told you. So you have to do that for him to, like, you know, reveal himself to you for the next season and for the next journey ahead.
- [34:16]
Heaven
You know, another thing too, is sometimes he may be silent because you're just not still. We are too up and down sometimes, especially after we encounter Christ and we come into him and we pick up, you know, we. We lay our lives down and we pick up his burdens. We pick up, pick up the cross or our cross. And now we're serving God and we're at the events, we're speaking, we're ministering, we're. We're worshiping, we're doing whatever God has called us to do, and we're too busy. Like, we, we don't take time to actually be still.
- [34:56]
Temi
Maria Martha.
- [34:59]
Heaven
Yes, exactly. Do you want to talk about that? That's scripture. Yeah.
- [35:04]
Temi
I think that Miriam Mata was when, you know, Jesus visited the house. And I think it was Martha that was going around like, trying to figure out, oh, I need to like, you know, do this. I think she was like a typical African lady. I need to like, cook everything and all of that. I need to, like, entertain my guests. But like, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus because she knew, like, this was such a rare privilege for, you know, for Jesus to be in my home at this time. And she maximized our opportunity to learn from him because she knew. I feel like this scenario also ties to our kairos moments. Sometimes if we are not watchful or mindful, we can miss our kairos moments. Like the time when God is there, like you said, just busy doing a lot of, you know, activities and all of that. But like, sometimes, like, like, like Mary did we have to say, sit at the feet of Jesus and just listen and learn from Him. And I think Jesus said that Mary has found the good thing and it should not be taken from her.
- [36:02]
Heaven
Absolutely.
- [36:03]
Temi
So that is something God prioritizes. In as much as it is good to serve, it is good to involve yourself in a lot of activities. But never forget the secret place. Never forget to always go back to the feet of Jesus. Because when you get disconnected, whatever it is it's that you're functioning in, whatever activities would really not make any sense.
- [36:24]
Heaven
Yeah, that's so good. How do we. How can we keep our hearts aligned in our ears, fine tuned to his voice? I think now that we know that God is always speaking, now that we know that he wants our attention, he wants our obedience, how do we make sure that our ears are always open in our hearts, are always open to his voice?
- [36:51]
Temi
I think by getting our hearts decluttered so good. Like I mentioned, this life is full of a lot of distractions, a lot of things calling for our attention. Very good. But in order for us to hear from him, in order for us to keep our ears and our hearts aligned, we have to declare slaughter. And this scenario just came to mind recently a friend of mine, like, got this car. I don't really know the name, but it's like a BMW. And for some reason I was like, oh, this is really, it's a really cool car and all of that. And you know that thing where because of that, what would I say? Because I saw the car and I even like went on a test drive with like my friend. Yeah, I started seeing that car everywhere.
- [37:41]
Heaven
Really.
- [37:42]
Temi
Even when I was coming. I saw that particular car. So it's just like where you focus your mind on.
- [37:46]
Heaven
Right.
- [37:47]
Temi
You have to, like, declutter and try to, like, sift anything that does not align with God's word for you. Because, like, I don't know, I. I don't think my mind was really focused on the car, but because I, like, recently had an encounter with my friend and that car. Right. I started, like, seeing it.
- [38:02]
Heaven
So.
- [38:02]
Temi
So whatever it is you put your mind to, whatever it is you focus on, that is what will always, like, fill you.
- [38:09]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [38:10]
Temi
I don't know if you've noticed sometimes where you. When you, like, just randomly, like, listen to certain songs or something. Like when you're not even listening to it, you start singing it, it comes back. Yeah. Even when you're not unaware. So I think for us to keep our ears and our hearts in sync, because he said, like you mentioned, my sheep knows my voice and they listen to it. So far as you know that you've been working with the shepherd and you can identify his voice. So you now have to work on the state of your mind. Are you, like, expecting to hear from God? But your mind is filled with so many things. Discouragement, doubts, fear, you know, iniquities. That is the only thing that would prevent us from hearing from God. You know, when we are feeling, feel like when sin clouds our minds, when sin, like, overwhelms us. And a lot of things when you, When. Oh, you. You've heard that God said that he's going to do this, but, like, your mind is just on how those. That particular thing would not happen.
- [39:10]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [39:10]
Temi
That is not alignment. So we always have to align our hearts with whatever it is we hear from God by decluttering it. Like, we have to. You have to take it. Take it to, like, take it to goodwill. Take it, give it out. You have to declutter. Yeah, that's so good.
- [39:28]
Heaven
I was going to talk about that. Honestly, sin, I think that we don't. We undermine sin. And what's unfortunate about sin is that we don't understand how big of a role it plays when it comes to this kind of things. Sin breaks our communication. It breaks our connection with God. Because one thing that I learned, especially just growing in wisdom, is that Satan's biggest battle cry is separate them from their Father.
- [40:00]
Temi
Yeah.
- [40:00]
Heaven
That's what Satan's whole goal is. If you look at all of his tactics, it's to remove us. You know what I mean? To separate us from the Father. And so now when you introduce sin it, it's not that God stops talking.
- [40:14]
Temi
Yeah.
- [40:15]
Heaven
It's that you come out of alignment from hearing. So it's like the two of us are talking here, sitting close to each other in fellowship right now.
- [40:23]
Temi
Yeah.
- [40:24]
Heaven
If something happens and I now move a mile away and you're still talking, I won't be able to hear you. It's not that you've stopped talking. It's just I'm out of a place of alignment and that's what sin does to us. So I'm so glad that you touched on that. It's very important that we stay away from it. And even when we do sin, that we ask God for forgiveness and we repent and we come back into alignment with him. Because the more and more that you wallow in your sin, you, you allow the enemy to introduce guilt and shame. And sometimes we do this weird thing where we feel like, I've done wrong, I need to stay away from the presence of God. Meanwhile, you've done wrong. You need to come in to the presence, that you need to actually cling to God rather than run away. That's what shame will tell us to do, is to run away.
- [41:11]
Temi
Yeah.
- [41:12]
Heaven
Right. And so if you fall down, get, get yourself up and go to the Father. That's what he wants us to do.
- [41:20]
Temi
Yeah.
- [41:20]
Heaven
If you, and, and you see that in the Bible, you see the people that he actually God was really close to, you see people like David and God calls him a man after my own heart. Meanwhile, this guy has done these so many things unimaginable when it comes to sin. Right. But one thing that I think God was interested in or appreciated was that David always ran back to God.
- [41:49]
Temi
He said, do not take your presence from me. He understood like the significance of the presence.
- [41:55]
Heaven
Yes.
- [41:55]
Temi
Yeah.
- [41:56]
Heaven
Because he knew that if I don't have the presence, I don't have anything. I won't be able to hear God, I won't be able to flip function in life. And so that, that's just such a good thought process. Make sure that we are being intentional about living righteously. Right.
- [42:10]
Temi
Yeah. Something that came to my mind too was about personal retreats.
- [42:16]
Heaven
Good.
- [42:17]
Temi
There are times where you can just, you just have to silence the world to hear from God.
- [42:21]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [42:22]
Temi
Just like take this particular time. Oh, I want to like refresh. You know, I think maybe that's why people take maybe year end retreats or like retreats during their bed days just to reflect and just to analyze their walk with God. And also fasting and prayer. Good. Like a season of fasting also helps, you know, to just rejuvenate whatever it is. Just bring like, this form of refreshment, this form of, like, blooming into, like a new season. So that's something that I also encourage.
- [42:52]
Heaven
That's so good that you bring up fasting, because fasting, fasting and fasting, you are killing your flesh. You're not eating, so you're not feeding the flesh.
- [42:59]
Temi
Right.
- [43:00]
Heaven
And God. God is a God who is spirit. God is spirit.
- [43:05]
Temi
Yeah.
- [43:06]
Heaven
And we too are spirit. And how he communicates to us is spirit to spirit. So if you have flesh in the way, come you.
- [43:13]
Temi
You will not be.
- [43:14]
Heaven
You know, and sometimes we do have to discipline ourselves and say, you know what? Today I'm not going to eat. Or for these next few times, I'm going to consecrate crate myself unto the Lord with prayer, with fasting, with whatever you have to in order for your spirit man to recalibrate, to really come back into. If you feel like you're in a place where you're stuck, try a retreat, try a. A fast, you know, by the leading of the Lord, obviously. But try something that will consecrate you unto God. Remove the flesh away. You're actually saying, lord, I step aside.
- [43:47]
Temi
Yeah.
- [43:48]
Heaven
You know, I want us to get into our last point. How do you deal with. Or how can we deal with the frustration behind prayers that are not answered? Or like, how do we keep our faith strong when we feel like God is not saying anything? We're during our time in the classroom of Examination Nation. What are, what are some things that we can do or like, practically so that we don't lose hope?
- [44:25]
Temi
Honestly, recently I've been. It's okay to cry, like, when you're waiting. Yeah, I've been crying like, I've been journaling. But I just want to read the scripture that just came to mind. Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 8 to 9. And it says, my thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. So what does this mean? It just encourages me that whatever God is cooking behind the scenes, and I know he has a track record of keeping his words, I know everything he has said concerning me. And my ways are far beyond anything I could ever. His ways are. His ways are far beyond anything I could ever imagine. So I just have to rest and trust the process.
- [45:30]
Heaven
Yeah. So good.
- [45:32]
Temi
I just have to rest I just have to keep, keep on, you know, declaring in that moment of, you know, silence, you know, instead of having to like, face the frustration, you know, when your prayers are not answered, those are the moments where you begin to speak and begin to call those things for as though they were, you begin to like speak them into, you know, reality till you see them materialize, you see them manifest. Another thing I would like to speak on concerning that point is the power of community. You cannot be, you know, praying to God and have people, naysayers around you and discouraging you. You have to align yourself, surround yourself with like, like minded people, faith filled people that would encourage you. Heaven, I trust that God is going to come through for you.
- [46:18]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [46:19]
Temi
Have you forgotten how we brought you out of what you were going through? Last year is still the same God yesterday, today and forever.
- [46:27]
Heaven
Amen.
- [46:28]
Temi
He has not changed. He will never change. He is Yahweh, he's the Lord. So you know it. I know nowadays it's easier to say, oh, it's very, very easy to blame the Israelites that when God brought them out of Egypt, by the time like they were in the wilderness, like they were complaining that God did you bring us here to die. You know, die when there were a lot of, you know, mories in Egypt and all of that. But like, you cannot blame them. They fall forgot. It's.
- [46:54]
Heaven
Sometimes you need a reminder.
- [46:56]
Temi
Yes. Sometimes we just forget because like at that moment, oh, we've gotten what we want. Like, you know, like little children by time, like they beg you, oh, mommy, I want this. By the time you give them, the next time when they come and you don't give them, then you are a bad parent. You get that's something you have to always remember that God has done this thing and he's going to bring it. He's going to do this one. I don't know why this one is taking forever, but I trust him to always bring like his word to pass. His word does not return unto him void. Absolutely. And another thing is just like you know, praising him. Just praising, just praying, just, just referencing him and I think. Thanks Thanksgiving.
- [47:34]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [47:34]
Temi
Gratitude, Gratitude is always like a key thing.
- [47:38]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [47:39]
Temi
You know that man in the Bible, that wicked king that would not even listen to anyone but because Alma was consistent and she kept on going and, and I'm sure that man definitely like praised the king. I was like, ah, like you're an udogu and all of that. Like he, he had no choice than to come through you. Like we are humans. Right. Just imagine I want something from you and every day I'm like checking up on you. I'm like, heaven, how far? Oh my God, you're so fine. Like I'm healing you. I'm like, oh, heaven, you know, one, my, one and only. And all of that, like definitely, it will definitely get to you. And at one point you definitely yield and come through for me. And that is just something that I would say. Let's just keep on praising God and let's just begin. Let's just always like have. Instead of replacing the frustration and the grumblings and the complaints because that is something God hates. He doesn't like our complaints. He does not like murmurings. So replacing those season, those, you know, acts of murmurings with Thanksgiving when instead of you to like dwell on, oh God, God has not done this, you can just say, God, I thank you because I know you've done it. God, I thank you because it has happened, you know, so it's just about the power of community, surrounding yourself with, you know, like minded people that would encourage you and not people that would even discourage you more like just trusting God, like praying. That does not mean if you are not waiting on God, you will not take your prayer life seriously. No, that is not what. But it's just like you have to like intensify it now.
- [49:06]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [49:07]
Temi
And you read the word like always hold on to stand on the promises of God. God, you've said this concerning me. I know that it's going to come to pass. And I've seen personally in my life, I've seen like this like happen over and over again. And he just shows me how beautiful God is and how he's always like in the business of doing good and how is the God that keeps to his word. And he has definitely has a track record, you know, of doing good and keeping to his word. So that's what I would say concerning that.
- [49:37]
Heaven
Amazing. I want to highlight two things before we wrap up and I'll have you pray for our viewers to finish the episode. But one thing that you started off with is that God can handle your emotions towards your season. And sometimes we try to mask how we feel.
- [49:54]
Temi
Yeah.
- [49:55]
Heaven
And he knows us already. He made us. The Bible says that he made us. So he knows us right. And so take your feelings to God. Lord, this is hard. I'm not gonna lie. This season that you have me in, it's a bit difficult. And I need your grace because if I don't have your grace, I don't know if I'M gonna make it to tomorrow.
- [50:15]
Temi
Yeah.
- [50:15]
Heaven
Sometimes we have to be that real and raw with God. But not only that, balancing your feelings with what God has said. It all boils down to what has he said.
- [50:25]
Temi
Yeah.
- [50:25]
Heaven
What has he said concerning your season? What has he said concerning your life? If God doesn't give you another word, What. What has he said in the Bible? Yeah, right. What has he said? I'm gonna leave you with that. I want you to think about what God has said concerning you and hold on to that. When you feel like he's, quote, unquote silent, I want you to hold on to what the Lord has said concerning you, whether it be in the word of God primarily, or what he spoke to you in your quiet time, or what he spoke through a man or woman of God, hold on to. His words are our anchor. You know, they hold us. When things get rocky, when things don't look like what he said, when it feels like there's nothing happening and there's no movement in your life, God is. Is still speaking. He's. He has his word for you. And hold on to that.
- [51:20]
Temi
That.
- [51:20]
Heaven
And so in that vein, I want you to just pray for the other person on the. On the other side of the screen and just pray over them how you feel led. Maybe there's somebody watching who feels like they haven't heard from God in years or they haven't heard for God for a particular season and they're banging their head against the wall trying to figure out what they did wrong or whatever the case may be. I just want to. To pray and speak over them as you feel led to close the episode.
- [51:49]
Temi
Yeah. Before I pray, I also want to add something about the power of the Holy Spirit.
- [51:54]
Heaven
Come on. Yeah.
- [51:56]
Temi
You know, in those moments when you feel overwhelmed, the Holy Spirit makes intercessions for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Yeah. So sometimes we can just, like, speak in the Spirit and just make him intercede for us beyond, like, what our words, you know, can.
- [52:12]
Heaven
Can convey.
- [52:13]
Temi
Can convey.
- [52:14]
Heaven
Yeah.
- [52:14]
Temi
Thank you so much. Heaven. This was really very inspiring and nice episode. So I just want to pray. I don't know whoever it is that is listening. I don't know whatever season that you're in, whether it is you're waiting for anything, but I just want to pray in the name of Jesus that God will give you the grace, you know, to find purpose in the pain.
- [52:37]
Heaven
Yes.
- [52:37]
Temi
To find the grace. To have the grace to become, to evolve into that person that God has destined this season to shape you into that you will not waste the season, that you will not waste this period, that you maximize it and you know, and in the end it will be all for his glory. In the name of Jesus that God will give you. I don't know if anyone that is listening in that it's been long that you've prayed or maybe like studied the word. I pray that you return to the feet of Jesus, that you go consistently to the secret space and you do not, you know, ignore it. In the name of Jesus, that there is a new fresh fire within you, that you begin to seek and you begin to hunger and thirst for God like never before. Because the Bible says that those that seek God, he is a rewarder of those that seek, seek God. Yes. So we have, we have no choice than to seek him. So I pray in the name of Jesus that we seek him like never before, that we, we always like, have this assurance that he is not silent, that he's there. And we always find purpose. We always find purpose. We are not concerned about the how, but we just trust him. And because we know that delayed obedience is also disobedience, we pray for the grace to be obedient, that we obey prompt promptly. In the name of Jesus. And we ask in the name of Jesus that in the right time, at the right time, the Lord, at the right time, the Lord's appointed time, that God will make it happen and it will all make sense. And when you reflect over everything that has been happening, that you will just be grateful that everything happened the way it did. In the name of Jesus, in Jesus name we pray, Prayed. Amen. Amen.
- [54:23]
Heaven
Thank you so much, Timmy, for blessing us with your presence. This was a very insightful episode even for me. I was, even as you're speaking, I'm taking things and I'm running with it.
- [54:34]
Temi
I know my notes is full as well as in.
- [54:37]
Heaven
I pray that as you're watching this right, that this blessed you. I pray that this was the answer to whatever you were going through where you felt like you weren't hearing God or God was not speaking. And if it did, bless you. What I want you to do is I want you to like, I want you to share, I want you to comment and I want you to subscribe so that you can receive more faith filled messages and inspirations from different women such as Temi, Tammy. We thank you for your presence.
- [55:06]
Temi
Thank you so much.
- [55:06]
Heaven
God bless you.
- [55:07]
Temi
God bless you.
- [55:08]
Heaven
And we will catch you on the next episode of brunch and Bible.
- [55:12]
Temi
Yeah. Bye everyone.
- [55:13]
Heaven
Bye.