The Prayerful Purpose-driven Planner

Shile is an honest business man who has everything it takes to be called a wealthy man. He drives the best, wears what he likes and lives in a house that was built to his taste. He is barely forty-two and his net worth already amounts to 105 million naira. Besides, being the dependable husband of one wife and a responsible father of three kids, Shile has several properties and stocks and he sits on the board of 7blue chip companies. He is where he is today because he discovered his path to destiny early and started out based on divine instruction. He has made the right decisions in the major areas of his life and so far, it’s been a good ride. There have been challenges but with God on his side, he has always triumphed.
Faga is a dubious young man who has accumulated the cash equivalence of Shile’s wealth in just two years. By age twenty-six, Faga has defrauded many of his customers and associates to amass riches. He is known to be an unreliable and dangerous individual and many members of his extended family have renounced him. He leads a rough life and thinks that by attending a church every Sunday, God will pardon his continuous act of wickedness. He started out as an internet fraudster during his days at the university and diversified into fraudulent business deals upon graduation. What Faga does not know yet is that; his days are numbered and he will soon run out of God’s grace.
The difference between the two extremes as seen in Shile and Faga’s story is plainly a communion with God. A life lived with a sense of purpose, value for prayer and recognition of the need to plan ahead of the future will yield Shile’s kind of result (if not better). But the seemingly fast track which Faga has chosen has no other end but destruction. It will not just be a false life but also a short-lived one. However, the significance of the breathe we have each day is that we may make good choices towards achieving a particular task and eventually fulfill a purpose. Shile has chosen wisely by combining prayer and purpose with workable plans and God has honoured his labour and blessed the work of his hands. Therefore, we will look into those three values Shile esteemed in his life.
The first key to securing fulfillment in life is the discovery and attainment of one’s purpose. Purpose gives you the awareness of what to do with commitment and what to do with convenience. Whatever you are committed to defines your purpose. When purpose is clearly defined, you know the right direction and the steps to take in getting there. You don’t just gamble; you follow truthful practicable procedures. Not knowing your purpose and living life as it comes is equivalent to a life of experiment. It is like running very fast in a direction that is opposite to the path that leads to destiny. Yet, it is surprising that many still resolve to the school of thought that life is lived for what it is worth! They live each day by chance and make every decision experimentally. You ask them about their purpose and the look on their face says it all, “purpose?” To discover your purpose, you need to consult God. Consult His manual. Once you know where you are going, early arrival is guaranteed. Grey hair represents age not success. Learn from other people’s mistakes! Erase confusion by knowing what you do not want and avoid it. Talk less and act more; God rewards the acts not the intentions. Countless skulls in the cemetery are still rotting out with good intentions. Believe what God has told you, trust Him for its fulfillment and work hard at it. It might be tough, but recognise that the reward of a purposeful life is genuine fulfillment.
The second key is prayer which is simply a means of communicating with God. Man makes his request known unto Him and in response, He gives an answer. For every purpose in existence, there is a point of fulfillment; a specific time during which it must be fulfilled. This timing can only be known if we approach God, the giver and helper of purpose. “Purpose is established by counsel”, The Holy Bible (KJV), Proverbs 15:22. In other words, to fulfill purpose, men must be involved. Men must be at work. These are men who will invest one resource or the other into the purpose. The resource invested could be time, encouragement, ideas, advice, experience or money. But these people must be selected by virtue of God’s direction in the place of prayer. Prayer is inseparable from the process of purpose attainment. Men of purpose are men of prayer. In the discovery, pursuit and fulfillment of purpose, prayer must be involved; for by it, all things pertaining to purpose will be settled.
The final key as found in Shile’s life is planning. Planning is creating a detailed map of the building blocks of every good and successful thing. It is a set of things you must do to meet a target at a set time; a demonstration of possessed wisdom. That is why it applies to you. Once you have a purpose, planning becomes essential. In the Holy Bible, It was recorded that a man named Joseph saved the whole world from severe famine in his own time. We understand that he gave Pharaoh of Egypt strategic means of planning for the future and within seven years, pharaoh became the richest man in the world. Even ants understand the importance of planning. They gather their food during summer so that in the winter, they have plenty of food (The Holy Bible, MSG Proverbs 6:6-10). To every good thing in life, planning is the building block. By working out our plans, we are simply arranging the blocks that form the future we desire to see. Your plans are the greatest power you have; coupled with prayer and a sense of purpose, you can attain the greatest height and realize your true potentials in life.