“Your future is determined by your daily routines” -was one of the statements I heard Dr. Mike Murdock make in the early days of my ministry.
Sometime in the year 2004, the Lord spoke to my heart, “Your spiritual life is the foundation of your ministry.” Over the years, that instruction has been etched on the canvas of my heart, and it’s one of my guiding principles in ministry today.
And then, being privileged to have a relationship with fathers in the Body of Christ, I have come to realize that many of them have maintained the fire of God 
in their lives for over 40 years, some for over 50 years, and some for more years, despite the paraphernalia of ministry at their beck and call.
A major lie that the devil can sponsor in the consciousness of a minister is to tell him that PHYSICAL COMFORTABILITY and SPIRITUAL FERVENCY are mutually exclusive in ministry. In other words, the idea is that it’s impossible for a minister who is PHYSICALLY COMFORTABLE in ministry to still have his SPIRITUAL FIRE intact. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If poverty is what increases people’s anointing, then ministers who are financially unstable should have more anointing than rich ministers. That’s not a Scriptural mindset. The truth is that there are many financially stable and financially unstable ministers (BOTH CATEGORIES) who don’t keep up with daily spiritual routines, hence reducing the impact of their ministry in a spiritual sense.
The most important thing therefore is DISCIPLINE — Self discipline — Personal discipline. Discipline and focus, knowing that many things are at stake if you do otherwise. Today, many of our fathers have ALL THE PHYSICAL, MATERIAL, and FINANCIAL COMFORTABILITY you can ever think of, yet their words still carry power and their cutting edge is still very sharp.
There’s a whole lot of lessons to learn from them. They still preach and teach the Word; cast out devils; minister healings; flow in the gifts of the Spirit; do personal evangelism, PLUS MUCH MORE — the fire
If your prayer life or commitment to Bible study or fasting enter into bankruptcy because you just got a new car, moved into a better accommodation, and became more financially stable plus other good things of life happening to you, then it’s a lack of SELF DISCIPLINE, not because the Lord BLESSED you in the physical, material and financial realms of life.
We need to be guided. Myth and fallacy will do no good to anyone. It’s not true that PHYSICAL COMFORTABILITY quenches the fire of God
is burning hotter and hotter in my heart every day.The minister praying on the mountain is not more committed to spiritual things than the minister praying in a room with an air conditioning system. We should get our theology right. There are many rich ministers still praying on the mountain today despite all the paraphernalia of ministry at their disposal. There’s really no ironclad rule or straight-jacketed procedure to these things.
Every minister should flow with what works better for them, and we shouldn’t rate ministers based on these indices. My relationship with God is personal, and yours is personal too. But dear minister, know early that as a minister, GOD WANTS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE COMFORTABLE — it impacts significantly on your ministerial productivity and it makes the work of the ministry easier for you.
However, it is your PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to see to it that you don’t get carried away by those physical, financial, and material blessings such that you start losing your fire. No. No. No. Make a commitment to God today that even if God blesses you with the whole world, you will still pray daily, study daily, fast regularly, and maintain His holy firein your heart.
When you do this, then nothing in the world moves you again; you’re only moved by the things that “move” God.
May the Lord give us understanding!
Author: Pastor Bimbo Animashaun
