Table: God’s Anointed & Blessed Church Int’l (GABCI)
FOOD: HINDERANCES TO SEEKING GOD EARLY
By: Pastor Toye Ebijomore
(Founder & General Overseer, GABCI)
Text: Hebrews 12:1 – “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
For some weekends now, our food had been seeking God early. In a weekend, we saw that “those that seek me early shall find me” Proverbs 8:17.
In another weekend, we learned that disobedience can make “seeking me early… too late” Proverbs 1:28.
Last weekend, we discovered The Reward of Seeking God Early—direction, power, secrets, favour Jeremiah 29:13.
This weekend we address a painful truth: Many believers want to seek God early, but something is blocking them.
You can have the desire, but if you don’t remove the hindrances, you will keep missing God.
MAJOR HINDRANCES TO SEEKING GOD EARLY
- The Weight of Sleep and Laziness
Proverbs 6:9-10 – “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber…”
The bed is the greatest enemy of the altar. When your body loves sleep more than God, your spirit will remain weak. Jesus rose “a great while before day” Mark 1:35. If He could deny sleep to meet the Father, we can too. Laziness is not rest—it is robbery. It robs you of encounter. - The Weight of the World, Phone, and Entertainment
1 John 2:15 – “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”
Many believers scroll TikTok, Instagram, and chats until 2am, then say “I couldn’t wake up for prayer.” Your phone is not evil, but when it becomes your first love in the morning, it becomes a hindrance. What you touch first in the morning shows what owns you. The world, Netflix, games, and gossip drain spiritual energy before sunrise. - The Weight of Sin and Unbroken Heart
Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
Secret sin, bitterness, unforgiveness, and pride are spiritual chains. You can wake up early, but if your heart is dirty, heaven is closed. Isaiah 59:2 – “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” A guilty conscience makes prayer dry and heaven silent. - The Weight of Busyness Without Priority
Luke 10:40-41 – “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful.”
Work, business, school, and family are good, but when they push God to “later,” they become idols. Busyness without God leads to burnout. You can be busy for God but empty of God. Early seeking forces you to put the “one thing needful” first. The worst of it is being busy for nothing especially in His presence. When you come before God, but occupies yourself with phone, plays, talks, and anxieties. It means you are not seeking Him. - The Weight of Discouragement and Dryness
Many stop seeking early because “I don’t feel anything again.” That’s a trap. Feelings are not faith. Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower.” Even when you feel dry, keep your post. Dry seasons are tests, not stop signs.
HOW TO BREAK THESE HINDRANCES
- Lay aside every weight Hebrews 12:1. Identify what’s tying you down—sleep, phone, sin—and deal with it deliberately.
- Set boundaries – Keep your phone away when you come before Him, and keep it far from your bed when you sleep. Set alarm and prayer location before you sleep.
- Repent and be broken – Psalm 51:17. A broken heart gets God’s attention faster than a busy mouth.
- Create a simple plan – Don’t pray 3 hours if you can’t do 15 minutes faithfully. Consistency beats intensity.
- Ask for grace – Zechariah 12:10. “I will pour upon the house of David… the spirit of grace and supplications.” Grace makes early rising easy.
The bitter truth is that hindrances don’t leave by wishing. They leave by decision, discipline, and grace. Until you lay them aside, you will keep running in circles.
Eat the scroll this weekend and declare:
- I break the power of sleep and laziness over my altar, in Jesus’ name.
- I lay aside every weight—phone addiction, worldliness, sin—that is besetting me, in Jesus’ name.
- Lord, pour on me the spirit of grace and supplication to seek You early daily, in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER
- Lord, break every chain of laziness and distraction hindering me from seeking You early, in Jesus’ name.
- Father, purge my heart of every iniquity and make me clean for early encounter, in Jesus’ name.
- Lord, teach my hands to war and my fingers to fight, so I can run this race to the end, in Jesus’ name. Amen
