Thursday, 22nd May, 2025
Bible Reading: Proverbs 6:6-11, John 9:4
Memory Verse: If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything. Ecclesiastes 11:4 (GNT)
If you must live out the prophecy written concerning you, if you must reach the peak of your destiny, if you must not end your life as a mediocre, then shut the door to procrastination. Let’s continue from where we stopped yesterday.
4. PROCRASTINATION: Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute or past their deadline. It’s not just a time management problem. Research suggest that it’s a failure in self-regulation that leads us to act irrationally. A 2022 study in the journal, Nature Communications, suggests that a root of procrastination may lie in a cognitive bias — we believe that doing tasks will somehow be easier in the future. Procrastination is the thief of time.
Some signs of procrastination include: Difficulty starting work, craving diversion, ineffective working, last minute rushing, missed deadlines, nagging guilt, disappointment and self-reproach
Some reasons why people procrastinate include: stress, anxiety, low mood, feeling unmotivated, avoiding something you don’t want to do, lack of discipline, self-blame, disengaging from wellness advice, etc.
Ways to Overcome Procrastination:
A. Seek God’s Help.
B. Identify the Root Cause (Ask yourself: Am I afraid of failure? Do I feel overwhelmed by the task?)
C. Break tasks into smaller steps.
D. Set realistic goals and deadlines.
E. Create a plan and stick to It.
F. Reward yourself for progress.
G. Find an accountability partner: Find a trusted friend or mentor who can hold you accountable for your goals and help you stay on track.
H. Remember God’s Purpose: You are working for God’s glory, not your own. This can give you a greater sense of purpose and motivation to overcome procrastination.
Quote:
1. Whatever you think you need to do, do it fast. People are only rewarded and honoured for what they do and not what they think. Procrastination doesn’t only steal time, it steals vision – Apostle Femi Lazarus
2. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing – Walt Disney.
3. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow – Mark Twain.
4. The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
5. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step – Martin Luther King Jr.
Prophetic Decree: Today, may the Holy Ghost alter your genetic chromosomes, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus:
1. Altar of procrastination within me, catch fire, in Jesus name.
2. I cast out every spirit of procrastination, in Jesus name.
3. Holy Spirit, please keep my spirit bubbling and ever motivated with your joy daily, in Jesus name.
4. I receive the needed discipline and divine grace to do what I have to do, when I have to do it, and even when I don’t feel like doing it, in Jesus name.
5. I receive grace to value time to the glory of God, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 95, 97-99
