CONSERVING YOUR ENCOUNTERS

THE BUD FAMILY AFRICA

MONTHLY PRAYER AND FASTING BULLETIN FOR AUGUST, 2025

THEME: CONSERVING YOUR  ENCOUNTERS

TEXT:  JOEL 2: 23

BIBLE STUDY: LUKE 15

 

Hello dear wonderful sisters. I trust that we are still basking in and glowing from the Joyful Juicy July we just had. I also believe that we all got encounters in one way or the other as we spent and enjoyed time in God’s presence in July. 

This is our first general fasting and prayer meeting in the house after Juicy July, and of a truth, with all the testimonies we have during and after Juicy July, this year’s edition was just a different one to the Glory of God.

Many daughters have been raised.

The relationships of many with Abba Father have been fixed.

Spiritual understanding has been enlightened.

Hearts have been revived, burdens lifted, prayers answered, and visions received. Hallelujah! 

So, today, we are basically going to be looking at how to conserve these encounters. Because if they are not conserved, before we know it, the fire begins to go down, the excitement fades away, and what God has deposited in us begins to leak out.

Now, what does it mean to conserve something?

It means:

• To preserve it from loss, decay, or waste.
• To guard it jealously.
• To maintain it in its original form and keep it alive.
• To make intentional efforts so that it remains useful and profitable.

In other words, conserving your encounter means not allowing what God did in you to be wasted, stolen, forgotten, or buried.

 

Our text Joel 2:23 KJV says “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month”.

 

Let’s take this song before we delve into our study today. 

 

Let it rain – Bishop Paul S. Morton 

 

It’s so important, people of God

To get into the very presence of God

Nothing else matters now

In fact, I want you to find yourself. right in the Holy of Holies

I see his presence, I’m in his presence

And while I’m there thanking him, I know I have a right

Whatever I need, he will supply

I believe tonight, somebody wants him to just open up the windows of Heaven for you

Let it rain, send down your blessings Lord

I just need you to move in this place tonight

I just need you to move in this place tonight

He’s doing it right now

Hallelu-

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

Help me, somebody, say it tonight

 

[Vamp]

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain (6X)

[Chorus]

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

 

[Bridge]

I don’t know about you tonight

But I feel like the rain

I feel the rain

I feel the rain

I feel the rain

Anybody feel the rain?

(I feel the rain)

Anybody in this place do you feel the rain?

(I feel the rain)

Is there anybody in here, you feel the rain?

(I feel the rain)

I feel the rain

(I feel the rain)

Maybe you need to look at someone and tell them, “It’s raining”

It’s raining (11X)

Can I just thank you for the rain, Lord

(It’s raining)

Can I just thank you for the rain

Can I just thank you for the rain

(It’s raining)

Come on, sing it, open

[Chorus]

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

Open the flood gates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain

 

SEEK TO TARRY

For you, dear sister, who finished the Juicy July program feeling “perhaps…”, I assure you that the Lord sees you. Even if you don’t yet see it, He is building you, and He surely has a plan greater than whatever you are desiring of Him right now. Your part is to keep seeking His face.

 

Matthew 6:33 (GNT): “Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things.”

 

Luke 24:49 – “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

 

Tarrying is not passive idleness. It is not just “waiting around.” In scripture, tarrying is the posture of a heart that refuses to rush away from divine presence until heaven finishes what it started.

Jesus told His disciples that although they had walked with Him, seen miracles, and even preached in His name, they were not to scatter into ministry yet. They had to tarry in Jerusalem, to stay in the atmosphere of promise, until the fullness of God’s Spirit clothed them.

Likewise, after Juicy July, with all the encounters, breakthroughs, tears, revelations, and testimonies, the danger is to rush away too quickly into “life as usual.”

But conservation of encounter demands tarrying. It means creating a deliberate pause, carving out special spaces in our daily schedules where we return to the upper room of intimacy and allow God to deepen the seeds He planted.

Tarrying means refusing to leave the presence of God until what He whispered becomes a tangible reality!!! 

Many heard God speak in July, about marriages, about ministries, about breaking addictions, about carrying pregnancies, about financial restoration. Amazing! Thank God.

But visions are like pregnancies, they must incubate. Tarrying is that spiritual incubation. Without it, the words may evaporate like morning dew. With it, they mature into unshakable realities!

Moses for instance, after every mountain-top encounter, did not run down immediately. He stayed until the glory soaked into his very skin (Exodus 34:29-30). That’s conservation of encounter.

When you tarry, what you received as a flashlight in July becomes a torch that can burn through the months ahead.

When you tarry, fleeting emotions transform into permanent convictions.

When you tarry, you move from “I felt God” to “I carry God.”

So to conserve the Juicy July encounters, you must choose to be a daughter who tarries. Tarrying in prayer. Tarrying in the Word. Tarrying in worship. Tarrying in obedience.

The promise of July was not “a moment,” but “a mantle.” And mantles don’t stick to distracted souls. They rest on those who will sit, who will wait, who will linger until the fire burns its way into their bones.

Dear sis, the Lord has not promised us just a one-month experience, breakthrough, or empowerment. His promise is continuous as long as we hunger!!!

 

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

 

Don’t Lose Sight of the Prize

Paul said:

2 Timothy 4:6–8 (MSG): “This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, He’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for His coming.”

 

Dear sis, after an encounter, the enemy will tempt you to forget why you started. The flesh will whisper, “Was that enough?” or “This fire is too hard to maintain.”

But as we just read above, the Christian life is a race, not a sprint. Juicy July gave you a taste of heaven’s power, a vision of what your life can look like when you fully yield to God. That taste is precious, but it is only the starting line, not the finish line. To conserve your encounter, you must fix your eyes on the eternal prize. The prize of having God’s glory fully realized in your life.

Paul ran to the finish because he remembered why he was running. It was not for comfort, not for applause from men, but for God’s approval. Your encounter is meant to ignite a lifelong pursuit of Christ, not just give a seasonal, Juicy July, Dynamite December thrill.

Waiting and keeping your eyes on the prize means:

• fighting daily distractions,
• resisting shortcuts, and
• guarding your focus on God’s promises.

 

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

 

Sister, the prize is not just the blessing or the testimony; the prize is the full transformation, the strengthened spirit, and the power to live fully in God’s presence.

So refuse to grow weary. Refuse to look at the months ahead and say, “I cannot sustain this.” The fire you received in July can either become a memory or a permanent reality. The difference lies in whether you continue to run with focus. Do not stop running. Do not lower your gaze. Do not grow faint. The prize is worth every ounce of patience, perseverance, and passion.

 

KEEP THE FIRE BURNING

Leviticus 6:9 (GNT) – “A burnt offering is to be left on the altar all night long, and the fire is to be kept burning.”

 

Another very good point, dear sis, your Juicy July fire is like a flame God lit on the altar of your spirit. That fire is not meant to flare up for a few weeks and die out. Scripture teaches us that the fire of God must be kept burning.

The altar is a special, holy place where heaven meets earth, and the fire is the tangible evidence of God’s presence.

Also pray with: Altar versus Altar

 

Just as Aaron’s sons were commanded to maintain the fire continually, your spiritual altar must remain alive, day and night, in prayer, in worship, and in obedience. Conservation of encounters demands that you feed the fire, guard it, and refuse to let it go out.

Many lose the glory of a divine encounter because they treat the experience like a souvenir. Or something to admire once and shelve. But God never intended for your encounters to be souvenirs, sis. They were meant to be sacrificial fuel for a lifetime of power!!!

The moment you stop praying, stop fasting, stop giving, or neglect daily fellowship with Him, the fire begins to die. The same encounter that set your spirit ablaze can be reduced to mere memory if it is not sustained.

Keeping the fire burning requires personal commitment and costly sacrifice. As 2 Samuel 24:24 reminds us, God is not satisfied with leftovers. He will not take the parts of your life that are convenient, easy, or cheap. The fire of July will only remain if you continue to offer yourself, your time, your passion, your devotion, as a living, holy sacrifice. This is what makes encounters permanent: a heart that chooses God over comfort, discipline over laziness, and obedience over ease.

Finally, keeping the fire burning means daily vigilance against the flesh. Galatians 5:17 says that the desires of the flesh war against the Spirit.

The fire you experienced in July will never be maintained by human effort alone. It must be fueled by the Spirit through prayer, Word, worship, and fasting. The moment you allow the flesh to dominate, the flames dim. But when you daily submit to the Spirit, your altar remains ablaze, your encounters deepen, and the fire multiplies, brightening every corner of your life.

THE WHOLE ARMOUR

Sister, as we prepare to pray, please note that our Father has given us not only encouragement, but full spiritual armor to defend and conserve every divine encounter we have received. Ephesians 6:10-18 says:

 

Ephesians 6:10-18 GNT: 

“Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. 

For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. 

So put on God’s armour now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.

So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. 

At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. 

And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you.  

Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. 

 

Also check: Kitting up for Battle

 

Sister, these verses are not only for  spiritual warfare against principalities. They are directly for the battle against the flesh, that well-known thief that seeks to choke, dilute, or extinguish the fire God poured into you.

The flesh is not a casual enemy of ours, sis; it is our fiercest opponent in conserving the encounters we experienced in Juicy July!!!

Every laziness, every compromise, every distraction is its weapon. But the armor of God equips you to stand firm.

Let’s us see to it that the belt of truth is wrapped around your waist: declare God’s Word and His promises daily. Let righteousness cover your heart like a breastplate, protecting the core of your spirit from temptation.

Let your feet always carry readiness to declare the Gospel, walking in obedience.

Faith becomes your shield, extinguishing every fiery dart of discouragement, doubt, and delay.

Salvation crowns your mind with hope, and the Spirit’s sword pierces lies, unbelief, and every whisper of the enemy.

Sister, fight the flesh with the same intensity and authority as you would bind and cast out demons in church. Do not allow it to dictate your time, your fire, your prayers, or your hunger for God. This daily battle is not optional but essential. Conserving encounters is a fight, and every victory strengthens your altar, fortifies your spirit, and secures your mantle.

As we prepare to pray, I encourage you to turn your heart fully to God. Ask Him to strengthen your spirit man, to help you obey, to purify your thoughts, and to keep your altar burning all year round. This is the power of tarrying, waiting, fighting, and keeping the fire alive. He will come, He will save, and He will set you free, fully, completely, eternally. Amen!

Before we lift our prayers in full force, let us bow our hearts and sing from the depth of our souls, turning our eyes fully upon Jesus:

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus 

1. O soul, are you weary and troubled?
   No light in the darkness you see?
   There’s light for a look at the Savior,
   And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

2. 
   Thro’ death into life everlasting,
   He passed, and we follow Him there;
   O’er us sin no more hath dominion–
   For more than conqu’rors we are!
3. 
   His Word shall not fail you–He promised;
   Believe Him, and all will be well:
   Then go to a world that is dying,
   His perfect salvation to tell!

 

Let’s Pray!

• Thank the Lord for His multiplied mercies in our lives as a family over the last couple years and past months
• Thank the Lord for His greater dimensions He’s been ushering us into month after month
• Open up your heart to exalt and magnify the Lord for the Juicy July that was just concluded. Bless His name for the many testimonies, experience, conversions, restorations, glorifications, infillings and for every single thing He did in the Juicy July
• Bless the Lord for Mrs. Yaks for His vision and great grace upon her life, for His preservation and mercies and for drawing her deeper into Him year after year. Thank Him for the deeper revelations He’s given her.
• Bless the Lord for all the various unit coordinators of the BUD family. Thank Him for the grace He’s given them to support the family, using them in the capacities He’s given them.
• Can we ask the Lord to search our hearts and see if anything that he detests is present. Ask the Lord to wash you clean and purge your heart. Ask him for the grace to live above the dictates of the flesh daily.
• Ask the Lord to give us the latter rain. Ask Him for your portion of the anointing, to fill you with desire and capacity to grow and seek Him deeper in the coming days, weeks, months, years.
• Ask the Lord to help your gaze to continually be fixed upon Him and not on the things that moth and rust can destroy, the things of this earth.
• Ask the Lord to illuminate your heart with His Word. Ask Him to shine His light in your heart. Plead with the Lord to warm up your hearts with His Word and love for Him always in the coming months. 
• Ask for the grace never to have a cold heart that cannot be touched with His word. 
• Father, write Your Words upon my heart, daily, that I may tremble in honour of You and live in daily obedience to You.
• Holy Spirit, by Your power, please quicken my mortal body to daily pursue intimacy with you. Let not my spirit, soul, and body become weary of tarrying in Your presence.
• Create in me an insatiable hunger for Your presence, for prayers that I may dwell before You always, no matter where I am and what I do.
• Help me come to You daily, Father, for the Strength that I need to deny my flesh, crucify it, kill it, every blessed day that it may have no rule over me any more.
• Let there be a daily brewing of hatred in my heart for sin, unrighteousness, and anything that is not pleasing to You. Enable me to walk in the light of Your Truth and righteousness, daily.
• Holy fire/3x fall upon my altar. Let me be daily burnt on this altar for my God, as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable unto Him as my first and reasonable worship. 
• Jesus, please hold my hands to tarry in the Father’s will without being impatient. Help me trust the process, Your dealings in my life.
• Father, open the flood gates of heaven upon me and my family. Let there be an outpouring from Your throne, Your Presence to meet our needs. You are the only source of Help, release the floodgates of heaven upon me O God!
• Bring the BUD family Africa to the place of growth in the Spirit, in Christ, that You desire for us as a Family. Everyone struggling in their work with You, Holy Spirit, quicken their walk, quicken their mortal bodies. Let it rain power and fire on their altars!
• For my Sisters in the Family on the verge of giving up, Father, renew their vigour to wait on You for Your appointed timing of manifestation!
• For every member of the BUD family Africa, the least to the greatest, Father, deal with our lives in ways that we cannot deny Your hand and power. Let there be evidence that we are truly walking with Jesus.
• For every secret cry in the family, among my sisters, Father, please comfort them by Your Spirit and wipe off every tear. 
• You know the greatest need of every sister, Father, by mercy, today, let it be met.

 

• Thank the Lord for answered prayers.

 

In Jesus’ mighty and unfailing name we have prayed.

 

 Amen!!!

 

Thank God for today’s study. Let’s remember we’ll meet at 9pm for our Bible study on Google Meet. 

God bless you richly dear sisters and may His love abide with us continually, Amen!