 FEATURE ARTICLE |
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Uchenna Odogwo USA Sunday, September 30, 2001  |
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Nigeria Lives by the Grace of God: So, what about more prayers? |
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To understand the concept of the love of God, let us consider the individual family unit. Our father is our father and mother is mother. No human being asked to be born of any particular parents. No human being voted to have brothers and sisters, no matter how many they are in the family. We are where we are and who we are because God made that choice for us, through divine intervention and the natural selection process. If we extend this concept and realizing that we are from a common ancestry, then the linkage is made from one family to another and eventually to the first parents, the creation and the beginning of God's love. We never earned that right to be born of any parent because it was given. The choice was made as God saw it fit to do. That is why citizenship is conferred but not place of birth. One might be an American citizen or British citizen and yet be born in Nigeria. And so when it comes to the choice of being the children of God, it has since been decided upon and is not subject to further negotiation for conditions or terms of belonging. Nigerians are children of God and have therefore been bestowed with the love of God without any further questions. God therefore would not abandon His own and he never does. Nigerians on the other hand cannot equally abandon God because they do not have the power to break God's bond. The problem therefore is not about God's love it is about relationship. When someone has a friend, there is the tendency to maintain contact with your friend, call him or her to check on the condition of life. We rejoice with our friends when good things happen and grieve with them for bad. We wish our friends well and help them feel good about themselves whenever there is need to provide comfort. We stay close to our friends. That is the unwritten law of friendship. We work very hard to earn the confidence and trust of our friends. We can vouch for them because we can predict their abilities and capabilities. We do not necessarily get in touch only when we are in trouble. We work very hard to convince them that we are there for them. That is what friendship is all about. Our relationship with God should not be any different. God's love has nothing to do with friendship with God. Yes He is our father and surely His love is not in question or in doubt. However, the question could be asked: Is God our friend, do we trust Him and do we believe in Him? It is no different than in real life family situation. I love my parents very dearly but my mother was my best friend, not my brother and not my sister. I could share a lot more personal matters with my mother, knowing that she would look me in the eye and tell me the truth. She would blame or chastise me where applicable or encourage me to move on. Regardless of the outcome, one thing remained unchanged. Mom's love was unflinching but it never stopped her from giving me a piece of her mind if she had to do so to make her point. It was important to maintain that friendship by keeping close and checking after my Mom in every possible moment. This picture clarifies the concept of establishing a deep friendship with God to take advantage of the abounding love already in place. What type and kind of communication should we have with God? Contact with God should be direct and one on one. In many instances, we may be afraid to go to our father to ask for favor. The fear is not necessarily about our father but the fear of rejection. It is like a student returning to the secondary school boarding house. The school prospectus would specify the fees and all other ancillary rates. The student would like to collect more money in excess of the out-of-pocket expenses, realizing that dad might question the rationale and demand further explanation. In many instances, the dad is encouraged to oblige if the student has been doing very well in class and has been behaving well. As a reward, the father meets all expectations and the student returns to school with excitement and happiness. In fact my own father used to make a joke out of a similar scenario when my brother would receive more "pocket money" than the rest who did not ask. Dad would say: "Sometimes you miss what you would have received by not asking". Just as dad would reward his ward for good behavior and excellence in school, there is therefore a premium to be paid to qualify for this special attention. God himself provided guidance for us to take advantage of every situation no matter the circumstances. He thought us how to pray, how to communicate with Him and to Him. He did so in the Lord's Prayer, the greatest prayer ever. "Our father which at in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil----" The Lord's Prayer invites us to our father, to go to Him and ask for favor, any favor especially the daily needs of life. God is even prepared to rain in the quality of life in Heaven, making the same available on earth. He knew right from the beginning that our relationship with fellow human beings would not be easy and smooth. He warned us in time. He surely knew we would offend our fellow human beings, our family, but we must pay a premium to qualify to embrace the quality of His Kingdom in Heaven. That premium is forgiveness. We must forgive those who "trespass against us" for us to earn the reward, promised in God's friendship. To the extent we are willing to forgive ourselves for offences we commit, then God has promised us forgiveness. When we do so, there will be no more room for temptation and certainly deliverance from the devil would be assured. And so what is the state of our minds when we get ready to talk to God? We are afraid, shy and uncomfortable to ask because we have not paid our dues to remain in good standing. The reason is that in many instances, our relationship with fellow human beings is not real. We lack sincerity and we lack the truth. At any moment what we are thinking about, what we are saying and what we are doing do not add up. The triple bond of the Holy Trinity in us all is broken, if not it is weak. Miracles do not happen until and unless the state of Trinity is sustained to satisfy a condition, an atmosphere of absolute sincerity. Even when mistakes are made, they would be accommodated as honest mistakes and the truth clears the cloud of doubt sooner or later. The concept of Trinity restores the phone lines to God to deliver what we need not necessarily what we want. And so at that time, God's will becomes evident, just as it is in Heaven and we then rejoice and begin to praise God and thank Him for His Mercies. When our state of mind is different, our communication line is already interfered with. The traffic is heavy and obviously, there are other calls passing through. The less clogged the lines are the better opportunity we have to reach our father. And so September 30, 2001 is no different from September 30 of any other year in terms of our relationship with God. The reason is simple. There are churches and churches everywhere in Nigeria, especially the South. Every hamlet in the North equally has one mosque or more with Imams of every head wrap or another. The Christians live home every Sunday and many never return until late in the day. They are singing and dancing in praise of God. Gospel Ministry is second only to politics as the choice career in Nigeria. The Muslims travel every year to the Holy Land in Mecca and Medina in fulfillment of their faith obligations. Obviously, they fast and pray and ask Allah for whatever they need. These religious and theological rituals have become part of the people's culture and have been going on for many years. More and more churches and mosques are being built; Nigeria keeps producing more and more Pastors and Islamic Clerics as the spiritual growth of the people they lead remain stunted. And who said Nigerians have not been praying? They have and surely, something is wrong. It is not enough to wish Nigeria well, and we all should. There must be concerted effort made towards eliminating and reducing avenues of temptation. We do so by creating opportunities and empowering Nigerians to take care of themselves and their families. A situation whereby 90% of Nigerians are potentially beggars is unacceptable. The rich have become so exuberant and arrogant that the poor masses begin to doubt their self-worth and existence. All the poor gets is a bag of empty promises, each one forgotten with the passing government in power. The few in government control the resources belonging to the many who have to beg to get the crumb. The Nigerian "Big Man" has one car with a driver, another for his wife with a driver, the third car for driving the kids to school. The fourth car belongs to a "shadow sweetheart" somewhere close to place of business. There is any number of "hangers-on" from kitchen staff to gatekeepers. The rest of his villagers line up each time the man comes home for a handout and morning tea. He takes the opportunity to inform his people about those "imaginary enemies" planning to contest the next election and challenge his right to be in government. The atmosphere is heating up and the seed of temptation is planted and in time grows into full bloom to consume the land. Those championing these causes are often the same clerics preaching in Sunday Schools and Friday Prayer Grounds. The average Nigerian is confused because the preachers and the politicians have hijacked religion, converting it into an instrument of mind control. The politician quotes the Bible or the Koran at every rally, donates to the building fund for the neighborhood church or mosque. He continues business as usual, oblivious to the plight of the many Nigerians. A corrupt government seeks to bolster its relevance by patronizing "religious revivalism", a diversionary survival strategy in Nigerian politics. And so the Pastor and the Chief Imam troop in out of government house and absolutions are granted, sins are forgiven. It is all about "commercialized" prayer, more prayer but nothing changes because the line of communication to the Lord is blocked by deceit, greed, selfishness, hunger, poverty and disease. The national day of prayer would be more meaningful if on that day Gowon, Buhari, Babangida, Abubakar, and Shonekan show up at the Oputa Commission to give account of their stewardship, give Nigeria back the key to a new life, rekindle the national spirit through atonement, forgiveness and collective healing and allow the country to move forward. For the moment the devil in politics has been invited into the mosque and the church. Sincerity will surely chase him out, provide self-cleansing to make the people whole again. However, to do so, Nigerians must tell themselves the truth sooner or later and if more prayers will help do that, then let them begin on September 30, 2001.  |
ight from the start, God blessed the country Nigeria, its land and sea resources, rich territory of diverse vegetation, nooks, valleys and mountains that range high and low with beauty and splendor. Nigeria has been provided for in more ways than abundant, a special place and the envy of its neighbors. The country is richly endowed and has continued to be sustained by the Grace of God. It is therefore not right and not correct to say "Nigeria has deserted God" because God is everywhere and therefore Nigeria is not capable of deserting Him. God is in us all and we in Him, just as our genes stay with us and in the family even beyond the end of life. God on the other hand could desert Nigeria if that is His choice but He never forsakes His children. A loving father does not abandon his children regardless of their transgressions. And so the issue is not about Nigeria, the country but the people of Nigeria. God's love and affection are unconditionally provided and available. Nigerians do not have to earn the right to be God's children because they are and have been ever since the beginning of time. But there is something we owe to ourselves Nigerians and all. We must decide what kind and type of relationship we wish to have with God. That relationship determines the level of friendship or lack thereof with God. The character of this relationship is specifically defined by prayer, and in prayer. And so what is prayer? It is a direct line, communication with and through God. And that is the issue to be addressed here and now, especially this time when there is an open clarion call for Nigerians to turn to prayers. How do Nigerians prayer and how should they pray, perhaps why should they pray?