RISE, SLAY, EAT!

June 29, 2026
By Praise Ogaziechi

Acts 10:9-14 “About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (NIV)

Presented before Peter was an unfamiliar slate, one that was also forbidden. The vision he had received translated into spreading the light of the gospel to the Gentiles who were not considered God’s chosen people. His response was what culture had taught him and what he had known all his life, and so even when God spoke, he protested.

As we read through this article, it is my earnest prayer that this encounter of Peter’s provides us with a clear mirror image of ourselves when we’re called to tread into unfamiliar spaces. Like Peter, we’ve probably received a vision directing us to unexplored spheres; visions that could lead us into what we had called ‘forbidden’ and lead us out of the destructive culture passed down to us. For some of us the challenge may not be discerning his voice (Peter wasn’t confused about who was speaking) but accepting the instruction that echoes.

The forbidden territory varies for each of us. For some, it might be bringing life to the business idea that no one has ever done before. For others, maybe branching out of your current career streak and starting all over on a new pathway. Another might say it’s being the first graduate in the family with no prior model to look up to. These and so many more could be the territories that the vision pulls us to.

From Peter’s encounter, we can draw that vision is not the problem, nor the ability to discern His voice, but the question is, are we willing to break free from the shackles of unhealthy culture and embrace the uncertainties of the journey ahead? The culture that social media has brought us, the culture that was birthed from our insecurities and negative experiences, and the culture passed down from generations before are now considered normal – so normal that we resist the deliverance God brings our way and that which He has chosen us to bring.

The vision often has nothing to do with you but has the destinies of several generations attached to it. Like Peter bringing the gospel to Cornelius and his household, your obedience might be bringing light to a dark space, salvation to the bound and healing to the fainthearted.

It is human to feel the anxiety that comes with stepping out of bounds, but it is divine to walk into the fullness of where this vision drives us to. Stride in the divine power at work in you. It is my prayer that as you yield to this pull, you remember that the one who gave you the vision has gone ahead of you like He did with Peter. He has gone ahead to till and water the ground, and all you have to do is show up in faith. Never you forget, before you were, he was.