When my younger sister saw me praying some days ago, she said she stopped and stared at me in surprise. Why was she surprised? Because she hasn’t seen me pray in so long. I also haven’t been to church in years…when I say years, I mean years. This is not something I am proud to say…it’s just the truth.
My mum gave up after months of trying to get me to go to church…a few friends told me to be prayerful…I never listened to them. I always told myself that God sees my heart, knows what I need and will provide it without me having to go down on my knees and ask.
I felt my life was going well, so going to church wasn’t something I thought important. Also, I’ve been around people who played down the importance of going to church. I remember one person saying church is in your heart…you can praise and worship God by yourself at your own time.
When I really think of it, I have no excuse for not praying and going to church, it just wasn’t something I thought about. I was always more bothered about how I can better my life and make my business grow…forgetting that only God can do that.
In the last two years, all I do on Sundays is cook, watch TV and go on the internet while every member of my family were in church...but then something happened to me...
Late last month as I was walking down to my office from home, an elderly mad man threw stones in my direction...I tried to dodge it but some of it touched me. Through out that day I couldn't get the incident out of my head. I asked everyone I came across if it meant anything. Everyone said it meant nothing.
I'm not a superstitious person, but for some reason I became uncomfortable with myself in the days that followed that incident. Then one night, four days after the incident, for some reason I still can not comprehend, I went down on my knees and prayed...I was going to pray only about the incident, but then I figured since I was on my knees...I might as well pray about other things in my life...which I did...and I've been doing so every morning and night since then.
Last week Friday, I called my banker to find out my account balance...I knew I was broke, I just needed to know how broke I was...but then my banker calls back and tells me I have so so and so amount in my account. I told him it was not possible because I know how much I've withdrawn...what he told me was five times more money than I expected...I had to go to the bank the following day to confirm what he told me. I found money in my account...don't ask me how it got there...I didn't put it there...just found it there...at a time when I needed cash to get my show on the road. For days I was puzzled...will I make a deposit and forget about it? Who put the money there? Who has my account number? Was it God? Has he already started answering my prayers? Still can't figure it out.
Then this monday, I had too many calls to make...I had to get across to designers, models, musicians, comedians etc and I needed a lot of credit on both my landline and mobile phone. Normally I never buy more than N750 recharge card on my GSM and never more than N500 on my landline, but because of all the people I needed to reach, I got N1, 500 credit on my mobile and N1, 000 on my landline. The following day after making so many calls, I checked my phones for balance and guess what? I found N5, 000 extra on my mobile and N800 extra on my landline. An hour later my service provider told me I was one of the lucky winners in a promotion they were doing, so they credited my account with 5 grand...this was at a point when I needed credit to make my show successful...
Then yesterday, I called the brand manager of one of the companies I've been trying to get to sponsor my event. I'd been trying to see him since last week but he had been too busy to see me...but yesterday he asked me to come over...this was around to six in the evening. I quickly went home, changed into my corporate outfit and headed to the place...there was traffic on the way so I got there a bit a late...about 6:30. The guy I was going to see had already left his office and was at the company lounge, when I called him he asked me to come to the lounge...
Two minutes into talking to this guy, the company's marketing director came to join us. Now this company is one of the biggest companies in Nigeria, if not the biggest and I'd been trying for years to know people at the top to no avail...then all of a sudden I'm sitting, drinking and chatting with the brand manager and marketing director that people hardly see. I told him about my event and asked for any kind of support they can render...the guy smiled and said no problem...right there and then he instructed the brand manager to give my company twice what I was aking for...TWICE I say.
As I was still jubilating inside...guess who joined us? The managing director. It was surreal, here I was, surrounded by the top three executives of one of Nigeria's biggest companies...the MD even bought me goat meat and shared drinks with me...I couldn't believe I was in that kind of situation...but then I remembered my friend Tunji always telling me that 'Your talent will place you before kings' and God will make those kings wine and dine with you. I went home an hour later with more than I'd hoped for. I got sponsorship for Style Night from them...today their promise was fulfilled...
To celebrate yesterday, I went to an eatery to get myself some ice cream...I do that often whenever I'm happy...then at the eatery I ran into a beauty queen whose number I've been looking for for months now...I got it...I needed her for something...she didn't hesitate.
So here I was feeling really good with myself and just when I thought it couldn't get better than this...as I was walking out of the eatery...I ran into someone I haven't seen in four years...then I remembered my prayer that morning...and I smiled.
I won't tell you to go to church, I wasnt a church-goer myself...but I've made up my mind to start going to church...but I'll tell you to PRAY. No matter what it is you're going through today, no matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how disappointed you are in life...please pray, because prayer works. God is a prayer-answering God. If you go down on your knees and talk to him, he will bless in more ways than you can ever imagine.
There are people who have given up on God. Maybe they pray and pray and nothing happens...so they stop. But let me tell you today, if you think God isn't answering your prayer, then think that maybe you are not praying with faith...or maybe he doesn't want to give you what you're asking for because he doesn't want it for you...or maybe he's just waiting for the right time to make all your dreams come true...
God answers prayers...he's answering mine, he'll answer yours...just talk to him.
I wish everyone out there the very best that life can give...
God bless you and yours
lindaikeji@gmail.com
