Real with Rue

I’ve been taking part in the infamous Hallelujah Challenge, and now that it’s sadly come to an end, I feel both grateful and heartbroken. For those who don’t quite understand what it is, the Challenge is based on Acts 16:25–26, where Paul and Silas prayed and praised God at midnight while in prison. For me, and many others, it has been a powerful opportunity to return to spiritual discipline for 21 days to fast, pray, and realign our goals with the Word of God.

Here are some things I’ve learnt from the Hallelujah Challenge:

If you aren’t relying on Jesus, you are relying on yourself or the world and that is a problem. You cannot complain that God isn’t working when you refuse to fast, pray, and praise. Faith takes action. Pursue everything God has for you in every righteous way possible.

There is something so beautiful about the community of Christ. Many people, myself included, were sceptical at first. Yet after doing my own little praise dance before my law Training Contract interviews, I realised how powerful it is to be surrounded by a community that believes what you believe.

I’ve never dated a non-Christian, but I’m learning that even the depth of a person’s faith matters. Some Christians would think this entire challenge is strange. Yet this is what applying faith looks like. How do you explain to someone that you dance and wear a wedding dress in expectation of the man God will send you and not sound like you’re about to be sectioned?

People will always criticise the things of God simply because God is at the centre. Manifestations and mood boards are essentially acts of belief without dependence on God—borrowing from Christian faith while ignoring its source. The Bible says faith without works is dead. Acting in faith, believing that God will do what He promised, is at the core of the Hallelujah Challenge.

Praise changes things. It shifts your mindset from doubt to truth. It cultivates gratitude when you thank God in advance. It realigns your heart posture too.

One big takeaway is that I need to pray more. I watched Pastor Jerry and his wife, Eno Jerry, pray for an hour straight eyes closed, quoting Scripture, and I was in awe.

Gratitude is so underrated. In Luke 17:11–19, when Jesus heals ten lepers and only one returns to give thanks, He highlights that only one recognised the fullness of what he received. Gratitude opens your heart to see how much God has already done.

Expectancy creates expectation. If your heart and hands are open, why wouldn’t God fill them? Hallelujah challenge shifted my mindset in what I am believing for, and therefore preparing for it. If you want a baby, you start preparing your body for it right?

Hearing other people’s testimonies is incredibly important, and sharing your own keeps others encouraged and believing.

Sacrifice matters. You cannot expect everything from God while giving Him nothing in return. God is not a genie. What you ask for must align with His will and His kingdom.

It’s been real,

Rue