By Promise Adiele
Prayer represents the most potent procedure for the interaction of the physical realm with the supernatural realm. Both realms are distinctively unique, possessing the pristine virtues of complementarities. God is a supernatural Being, and many people pray to Him for different things. As a Christian, I believe in the inviolable, supreme power of God, which can be harnessed through prayer. In the Biblical book of Mathew 6: 5-13, the Master advises Christians how to pray, but unfortunately, many Christians have abandoned this simple advice while devising diverse methods of prayer to suit their scrabbled spiritual and religious impulses. The Bible encourages Christians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). However, it insists we must pray always according to the scriptures. Sometimes prayers are answered and miracles happen. Other times, the heavens remain silent and prayers are not answered. Situations even get worse. It is blamed on a lack of faith, and perseverance is advised in total disregard of the will of God. John 4:3 explains more.
Regrettably, most prayers are motivated by externally induced fantasies of materialism and inordinate craving for fame. Other kinds of prayers are directed towards difficult circumstances caused by real or perceived enemies. Remorse, penance, or worship receive no attention when many Christians pray. The Nigerian experience has shown that most people indulge in prayers to present a misleading façade and disarm the unsuspecting public who see them as spiritually upright, while behind the scenes, they perpetuate evil. They deceive ignorant people by their external demonstration of holiness. The most abused object in this spiritual engineering is the Bible, misinterpreted by pretenders of the faith to brainwash the naïve. The doctrine of prayer and its primal psychology have saturated the consciousness of many Nigerians who abuse the process by inundating heaven with misplaced requests. We suffocate heaven by reverting to prayers for every flimsy reason, even if it means combating the menace of mosquitoes in our homes. In addition to being the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria is also the spiritual headquarters of the world. Yet, in all our pretentious holiness and prayers, poverty, disease, insecurity, misery and death strut our corridors more than in advanced countries.
Disturbingly, many Christians demonstrate compound ignorance about the Godhead and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. These Christians completely lack the knowledge of what the death of Christ achieved on the Cross of Calvary. They think it is an ordinary murder, ignoring its symbolic undercurrents. Therefore, they pray with fear and magnify Satan, conferring on him powers that he does not possess. When many Christians close their eyes to pray, they immediately see Satan instead of seeing God. They forget that Jesus Christ, by dying on the cross of Calvary has translated God’s children from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s glory (Col. 1:13). Christians also forget that as Christians, we now operate from the kingdom of Gods glory and from that standpoint, God should be the center piece of our lives. Many Christians forget that through His death, Christ has removed every name that is contrary to us and nailed it on the cross of Calvary, triumphing over powers and principalities (Col. 2: 14-17). It therefore wearies the mind when Christians pray with so much fear, focusing on Satan, practically celebrating him, a defeated entity with little or no power.
It is sad to note that many Christians hardly worship God or appreciate Him when they pray. These Christians think every misfortune comes from Satan. But they fail to realize that certain misfortunes are designed by God to demonstrate His power among men. God can orchestrate sickness among His people to demonstrate His healing power. John 11: 4 reminds us that “This sickness is not unto death, but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby”. That difficult situation is not caused by Satan. It is for the glory of God to be manifested. When Daniel was thrown into the Den of Lions, he worshipped God and what happened? God shut the mouth of the Lions. When the three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fire, they worshipped God and what happened? God sent an angel among them. When Paul and Silas were thrown into jail, they praised and worshipped God and the prison doors were opened. Sadly, Christians see the devil in every bad situation instead of seeing God. Thus, they celebrate Satan every day.
God could cause a woman to be barren for thirty years after marriage to demonstrate His power. God could cause some people to lose their jobs for a higher promotion. Of course, many Christians are not aware of John 12: 24 which clearly states that “unless a grain of wheat dies, it abides alone”. Christians are scared of the decay process, which every seed must go through before it can germinate to bear more beautiful fruits. Many Christians want to become gold, but they are not ready to go through the furnace before they can become gold. When God throws them into a furnace to make them become gold, they fail to see the hand of God in their seeming misfortune, but immediately see Satan in it. Indeed, decay is a necessary prerequisite for renewal. Forces must collide before they can cohere, and the earth must be ravaged before it can be restored.
Many Christians adopt a very irresponsible behavior towards prayer. They think effective prayer is about speaking in tongues and calling multiple prayer points at a time. Many people who war and pray are incarnates of Satan with devilish mindsets and dispositions. They are in many churches and religious organizations. How can someone who calls himself or herself a child of God harbour hatred in the heart while praying, shouting and speaking in tongues? Many Christians do not understand the meaning of idol worship. They think it is only when someone bows to a carved image. Many have erected idols of hate, conspiracy, malice, and envy in their hearts, and daily, they nurse these negative mindsets, thereby worshipping them as idols. The Bible reminds us that “the prayer of a righteous person availeth much” (James 5:16). But how many righteous Christians do we have? Why is there so much poverty, decay and misery among Christians in Nigeria? It is because many Christians are not righteous, therefore their prayers are abominations unto God. I have always argued that the highest number of idol worshippers, desperately wicked people, can be found in churches and other Christian organizations.
If a sister is rude by nature, and cannot cook the simplest delicacy, if she is profligate with money and seeks a husband, let us pray that God will provide an unfortunate brother for marriage. If a young man is lazy, jobless and not skilled in any trade, we must pray for his breakthrough, to suddenly become a billionaire. If the brake pads and tires of our vehicles are all worn out and we want to embark on a long journey, please let us pray so that God, in His infinite mercy, will save us from impending disaster. If an engineer has used sub-standard materials to construct a bridge, we must pray that by the Grace of God, the bridge will not collapse. If students have not studied hard, let us pray and shout down the heavens, commanding their CGPA to rise miraculously. If our national team has not prepared well for a competition, we must pray that they succeed above teams from other countries that have put in tremendous effort in preparation. God and the host of heaven must act arbitrarily on our behalf because we are Nigerians. If politicians continue to mutilate our country’s economy, if public officers, through mindless acts of criminality, burglarize the exchequer, we must indeed fast and pray and ask God to endorse them. If Nigerians are butchered daily by bandits, terrorists, and herdsmen, we must bind and cast them away. We shouldn’t encourage the government to equip the army for serious combat.
It is obvious that Nigerians have consistently abused the sanctity of prayer and reduced it to a circus of redemption for every challenge. We burden the spiritual space through incessant prayers which end up in a void and therefore become ineffectual. By praying in this way, we violate the primordial laws of creation seeking to blackmail God to attend to our every whim and caprice. Most of our challenges require immediate response from us and not the daily subscription to heaven through prayer. Let us bestir ourselves from our apparent lethargy and take action. God is angry because we have refused to exercise the power which He has handed over to us. God is angry that we celebrate Satan every day without acknowledging His wondrous works around us. Our attitude to prayer must change.
Promise Adiele PhD
Mountain Top University
X: @drpee4