Whispers

Whispers

Riding on the wings of a dove are
conversations whispered in earnest
words presented to the father
in form of a prayer

Single notes etched on pieces of paper
ferried on the bus of expectation
delivering a treasured note
all wrapped up in the essence of prayer

Soul anticipating
reciting a vision of hope
all laid out bare

on a bed of prayer

Riding on the winds of a dove
whispers sent forth to the heavens above
words, carefully wrapped up in love
presented to God in form of a prayer
Remi Banjo ©January 2008

Today, on sensing the breakthrough of a new dawn, my eyes fluttered opened to the beauty of a new morn. From my lips came the words "Good morning Lord, Good morning Holy spirit, I thank you for the gift of a brand new day".

Still drowsy with sleep, it was barely a whisper, I could hardly hear myself, but to God, it was so loud and clear, I instantly felt at peace. As I lay there, I thought, there is power in the simple, soft, yet childlike act of whispering, that itself is the reality, nature and the beauty of prayer.

When most people whisper, it's usually ferried on by the voice of intimacy. Imagine a couple in a romantic setting, having a meal for example, whispering sweet things into each other's ear. They share thoughts, dreams, ideas and much more, that are not meant for anyone else's ears!
Likewise, when we whisper into God's ear, we are sharing with Him thoughts that are meant for His ears only. We are exercising confidence in Him, trusting Him with our secrets.

Prayer is a major element in a believer's life. Every single aspect of our day should be wrapped up in the essence of whispered prayers. Why? Because prayer brings the power of God into our work, which means we will not toil effortlessly as described in James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much".

Part b of this verse reads "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" The dictionary describes avail as thus "to be of use or value to; profit; advantage: "

From that description, it's safe to say that, if we want God to be of value in our daily lives, or if we want to profit from His divine intervention or to take advantage of being a child of God, we should embrace and incorporate the reality of prayer every step of the way.

Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of". Imagine that!

Behind the power of prayer, lies the intimate whispers we deliver, constantly, in the Father's ears.

Whisper in every season, with every reason, He always listens.

Have a wonderful time whispering the contents of your heart to the ears of the our God, one who truly matters, the one that can make a difference; whilst making Him famous as you live out the realities of your today.

Much Love
Remi Banjo ©January 2008

***picture by anheartachehead***

The protocols of Friendship

Acts 10:34 reads: "Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality."

I understand this to mean that "God is no respecter of persons". But saying that, I do believe God has His favourites! What? I hear you say? Well, I term favourites here to mean those who go the EXTRA mile to really get to know who God really is. Those that take the extra but essential steps have a deep and meaningful relationship with Him. These are people who go through what I call 'The protocols of Friendship'.

Protocols of friendship includes (and more):

• Being a good friend to others. God invites us all to be his friend, are we willing to be His?
• Being a good listener. When our friends come to us, do we brush them away saying we have no time, or do we make the time to simply listen? Do we open our hearts to listen to the quiet voice of God within us?
• Not putting each other down or hurting people's feeling. Striving not to grief the Holy Spirit, to embed ourselves daily, in God's will.
• Understand the need, feelings and moods of those we call our friends or potential friends. Understanding the mood of God; understanding the need of quiet time, and the pleasure he derives from our worship.
• Help each other solve problems when we can
• Always being open, not waiting for the other person to start the build of friendship. Be willing to freely know God, not waiting for something to happen that propels us in His direction.
• Being respectful to others
• Trustworthy. Trusting God that He has our best interest at heart, showing to God that he can indeed trust us. Trust is earned.
• Care about each other

To develop meaningful friendship with our fellow man and with God, it requires the investment of time, resource, sacrifice and commitment! Friendship can be likend to a living thing, an organism. It needs food, nutrients - sustainance to grow and remain healthy. We have to invest; time, money, emotions and much more into the realms of friendship for it to become anything meaningful. The question is: "Are you willing to sacrifice and invest in current and potential friendships"?

To explain further, imagine you are part of a group, a team or a club, maybe about once every so often, you all meet up and catch up on what everyone has been up to. You eat and have a good hang out session for a few hours. You say your goodbyes, never to meet or speak again until the next appointed meeting date.

Now it is safe to say that if you never see these individuals again, until the next appointed date, this friendship will not be a strong, intimate or even trusting one.
It is also safe to say that, for those within the same group or team that take the time out, put in the extra effort to reach out these same individuals, in between the next meeting date - maybe just a phone call here, a cinema trip there, an email here or an invitation to lunch or dinner there, will most definitely have a much stronger bond and a much deeper meaningful relationship with those they have reached out to.

So why is that I hear you ask? This is simply because they have gone the extra mile; they have left their comfort zone of being 'familiar' to actually getting to these individuals personally! They have invested time, money, emotions and much more into the relationship, of which a meaningful friendship is the result. It is safe to say that, they will experience the sort of relationship that most do not have.

"Influence flows from intimacy and access comes from relationships" – Tommy Tenny

This takes me back to my earlier statement, "God is no respecter of persons, but I do believe He does have favourites". From the example above, from afar, it might seem that the people, who went the extra mile, have some individuals within the group as favourites! But this is not the case; I believe they do have a special friendship, simply because they made a deposit, they made an investment.

As with our relationship with God, I believe He has a special place in His heart for all those who have become His children through our Elder brother Jesus Christ; but even amongst these children, there are those who will do whatever it takes, to take the foundation of their relationship with God to a higher level. They make it their goal to know the intricacies of who He is. They will invest their time, money and emotions to build a much deeper and stronger relationship with Him. They will take their time to progress further along the corridor of grace into the very realms of His presence. They will take time to read their Bibles more, pray more (for themselves and others), give more, listen more and strive to live life according to His will, striving to obey the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. I say "try" and "strive", for it is all by God's grace that we are able and worthy; but try they will all the same.

In the Bible, David is an example of man who strived to build much a deeper and stronger relationship with God, and God acknowledged this in Acts 13:22 "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will."

Meaningful friendship allows intimate access to one another, to God and collectively as a family, joint heirs with Jesus Christ as described in Romans 8:17 "and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

We will only be able to have meaningful, close intimate relationships with one nother and ultimately God, if we are willing to embrace the protocols of friendship, to invest what is required, and if we are simply willing to "go that extra mile"

Have a wonderful time shaping out the nature and increasing the richness of your friendships with those around you, and with the Almighty God, whilst making Him famous along the way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo ©January 2008

The Vision or the Vision Giver

Thank God for a brand new day.

Following on from the last post, I believe making plans helps us to do the following (and more):

• Keep the vision God has given us close to our hearts and
• Keeping the vision our constant reality
• Establishing or further increasing our desire to know the one who gave us the vision

Let your mind wander for a few minutes. Imagine you are a Project Manager, and you have just been assigned a Business change solution to implement. Your boss tells you go and write up a Project Plan for this solution. The plan should include tasks and actions that you understand is required to assist this project.

It is fair to say that once you have written the plan, you take it back to your boss for him to review and then approve. Once he has approved the plan, from henceforth, you continue to work closely with him. You have regular meetings with him, giving him regular updates, and along the way seeking advice and guidance about the implementation. Making sure that he is happy with the way each task has been actioned and it's output. But, more importantly, you meet up with him to make sure that your implementation plan does not take the project off course, which is to Implement this Business Change solution!

Now, I can safely say that we can liken some elements of this relationship with our boss, to what we should be having with God about our Vision and plans for this year. Yes, He has given us the vision, the reason for the season. He has given us the wisdom to put the plan together, but we need to be close to Him to make sure that our vision and plan does not wander off from the realms and reality of His will.

By reviewing the vision with God daily, constantly, I believe it should fuel our hunger and desire to know the intricacies of who He is, and by doing so, I believe it will help us make conscious efforts to know more about what He wants from us, what He wants to do for us and through us.

But... having constant review meetings with God, should not only be about what we can get from Him; in the scenario, the output of our implementation plan which could include, a successful project, a work award, a pay rise even. Mapping this to our relationship with God, the results usually means blessings, for we know that the plans God has given and has for us are good.

We should aim get close to God simply because we want to know Him.

Lets put on our imagination hat once again; look around you, at work or to people you have studied from afar, or those you might know personally. Have you seen people whose daily aim or ambition is to be around certain type of people - people of power and authority, people of influence. (which in itself is not a bad thing). The problem is they seem to hang around not because they want to get to know them, but simply because of what they could potentially get from being around them - prestige, entrance to the best restaurants, the best bars, the best hotels, or simply to say "I am with him, or her". In today's society, people as such are sometimes called 'Hanger Ons'.

We can relate this to the experience of Jesus in bible, even Jesus had plenty of 'Hanger ons' ' as we see in John6:26-29. This is the story of when Jesus fed the five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. The crowd that Jesus fed, followed Him ALL the way from Capernaum to the far side of the Sea of Galilee. I mean imagine that!!! I live in England and I envisage this to be people following Jesus from Scotland to central London... on foot!

But then Jesus told them in verse 26 - 27 of the John 6 " 26Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. "

And guess what? After Jesus said this, a whole bunch of 'hanger ons' turned back and stopped following Him! This made it evident that they were following the master simply for what could potentially get from Him. They were not following Him because they wanted to know Him in a personal way.

So, here is me encouraging us all, as we try our best through God's grace to stay in the realms of His will, as we keep going back constantly, daily to seek His presence, to seek His help, favour and much more, lets make a conscious decisions that our time in His presence, or our time having conversations with Him is not wrapped in the question or notion of "what can you do for me God"?. Let our encounters with God be from a sincere heart, raised in Hunger to really know the intricacies of our wonderful King.

Have a wonderful time getting to know the Almighty God, the same one that gave you that very vision, and plans you hold in the palm of your hands, that you have hidden in the corners of your heart. Pssst... don't forget to make Him famous as you live out the reality of your day.

Much Love
Remi Banjo ©January 2008

First Impressions

The dictionary describes impression as : a strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, conscience, etc.

Imagine walking into a room full of people you don't know. The first impression they will have of you as you walk through the door, is usually a lasting effect. The impression they will have of you could be wrapped in questions such as: were you dressed appropriately, was your hair in place, did you look pleasant to the eyes. When you eventually opened your mouth to speak, was your voice pleasant, tone soft and were your words polite, were you calm and composed. Was your mannerism inviting or quite simply appalling!?

Wherever we go, or in whatever situations we find ourselves, whether we like it or not, we leave some sort of impression behind. Therefore, it is safe to say that, "usually, we only have one chance to make a good first impression", don't you think?

Which leaves me asking this question: "What impression does the year 2008 have of you so far? "

Have you waltzed into 2008, with the same blue prints and expressions of 2007, hoping that 2008 will be impressed with what you have to offer? Or has it been impressed by your aura, your ambiance and your preparation to take on the challenge it has to offer?

This leads me to this word PREPARATION....


The dictionary describes preparation as thus: "to put in proper condition or readiness; To make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion".

When we have an exam, a first date or even an interview, we take the time to prepare ourselves as much as we can. We write plans, we read up on information, we take time grooming ourselves, and a whole lot more!.

How have we prepared for 2008? Did we waltz into 2008, hoping to "wing it", hoping that whatever this year brings for us, will all eventually come together, somehow, someway, that it will all just magically fit into place? Or have we approached it prepared, with a plan, dressed up and ready for all the appointments and divine instances that is sure going to be within the reality of this year?

Looking through the story of Esther in the bible, Esther prepared herself intensely for a whole year before her potential encounter with the king. She knew the importance of preparation. she knew that her failure to prepare will cut short her chances of being chosen amongst all the other girls in the harem. She knew that she had to prepare, to be ready for any eventuality with her encounter with the king. She did not underestimate that potential meeting with the king.

Just as Esther, we should not underestimate our potential encounter with divine appointment and destiny this year. We should prepare ourselves like Esther and be ready for any and every opportunity that will come our way this year. We must remember that God has already seen the end of 2008, and we simply have to walk in it's reality. And as our God is a good God, and the plans he has for us are good, according to Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" thus, I believe that all along the way in 2008, dotted around, are divine appointments, divine instances, where all that is required of us is to simply be ready.

We must be ready to make first and lasting impressions, that put us right there in the centre of God's will for our lives this year. We must be prepared because we simply do not know the results, the outcome or impacts these divine appointments will have on our lives, or on someone else's life for that matter, for impartation works both ways.

This year, I would like to encourage us all to not underestimate the importance of preparation, the importance of first impressions, the importance of simply being prepared for all God has in store for us in 2008. God will and has done his part, it's simply down to us to be ready to walk in the reality of what he has in store for us this year!

We must not forget to write down the visions that God has given us down as taught in Habakkuk 2:2 "And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it."


Not only must we write down the vision, we must plan around the vision! Proverbs 21:5, notes the importance of good planning, it reads "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty." We must plan for all the divine appointments we will surely be blessed with this year. Imagine not being ready for that one appointment that could change the course of your life forever?!

Also, when planning, we must not forget that we plan according to God's vision, his will for our lives, so that his purpose will prevail as explained in Proverbs 19:21 "21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail."

So here is me wishing you a great start to 2008, planning and preparing your first 'WOW' impressions on 2008, getting ready for all divine appointments and instances that God has schedule for you; not forgetting to make our Lord, more famous along the way.

Much Love
Remi Banjo
©January 2008

IT'S A NEW BEGINING!!!

We made it!!! Thank you Jesus

Welcome people of God into a New Year!!!

It's a New Day, A new Season, it is a brand NEW BEGINING!!!

It's A New Day

A brand New day, a Blessing

embrace the beauty it entails

Arms wide open

welcome it's presence

embrace it with joy and gladness

A brand New Beginning

Make of it What you may

but never regret or rue

the reality of each day

Understand it's stillness

it's un-experienced mysteries

wrap yourselves in it's richness

for it's a privilege to witness

a blessing to experience

©Remi Banjo, January 2008

Welcome once again to a Brand New beginning. I pray that your 2008 is all you want it to be and more. I pray that God gives you all your hearts desire and then more!

I invite you to make this year all about the King, all about the majestic one, our soon coming King.

I encourage and challenge you to START STRONG, so you can FINISH WELL!. To start strong, by aligning your will, with that of the Lord's! Embrace the teachings of the spirit, embrace the nature of His ways! Remember you are not running anyone's race, but that which God has designed, specifically for you!

Have an awesome year, living out the intricacies and the reality of the presence of God your lives this year; living a day at a time, embedded in the beauty of His Will.

On that note.. I leave you with the prayers, blessings and promises of Isaiah 60.

Isaiah 60

1 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.

2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.

3 All nations will come to your light;mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

4 “Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home.

5 Your eyes will shine, and your heart will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands.

6 Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the Lord.

7 The flocks of Kedar will be given to you, and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars. I will accept their offerings, and I will make my Temple glorious.

8 “And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests?

9 They are ships from the ends of the earth, from lands that trust in me, led by the great ships of Tarshish. They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away, carrying their silver and gold. They will honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,for he has filled you with splendor.

10 “Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns, and their kings will serve you. For though I have destroyed you in my anger, I will now have mercy on you through my grace.

11 Your gates will stay open around the clock to receive the wealth of many lands. The kings of the world will be led as captives in a victory procession.

12 For the nations that refuse to serve you will be destroyed.

13 “The glory of Lebanon will be yours—the forests of cypress, fir, and pine— to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious!

14 The descendants of your tormentors will come and bow before you. Those who despised you will kiss your feet. They will call you the City of the Lord, and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Though you were once despised and hated, with no one traveling through you, I will make you beautiful forever, a joy to all generations.

16 Powerful kings and mighty nations will satisfy your every need, as though you were a child nursing at the breast of a queen. You will know at last that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.

17 I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. I will make peace your leader and righteousness your ruler.

18 Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

19 “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

20 Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end.

21 All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring myself glory.

22 The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I the Lord will make it happen"

And the People say..... AMEN!!!

Much Love

Remi Banjo

January 2008!