the musings of this nigerian gal

I can’t really remember what I was doing but I was busy. I think I was either washing plates or clothes, or I was cooking. Something that required me stepping out of the room.

I had just come in to grab something quickly when I heard the tiktok video my roommate was watching.

In the video, the man was talking about how our Nigerian uncles like to promise us something — you know those kind of promises.

He was like imagine if your uncle promised to get you something and you start thanking him, and you know start talking to others about how wonderful your uncle is to promise such a thing, your uncle would be compelled to fulfil the promise. According to him, even though it was a political promise — Nigerian politicians sha 😹; them don turn figure of speech — your praises and gratitude would convince him to give you the promise.

Then he said that it is the same thing with God.

When I heard that, two thoughts sprung up.

Has God ever given a “political” promise? Didn’t he say that he is not a man that he should lie or repent?

And secondly, can our praises really “change” God’s mind? Can we really psych God to change his mind? Is that what praises is for?

I’ll start with the second question: can we psych God — with praises or something else?

My answer is no.

God only answers to faith, not psyching. If you don’t know that it is God’s will for you to prosper — if you don’t know and believe without any doubt — no amount of psyching can cause God to pluck you up and dump you into prosperity.

John says something. He said, “this is the confidence that we have that if we ask anything according to his will, then we know we have it.

There can be no faith without the accurate and precise knowledge of God’s will.

And please, praising is not for psyching God.

There’s this saying that you can pray amiss, but you can not praise amiss. Some people think this means that if your prayer is not moving God, turn to praise, because you know, when you get his head to swell, he gats move.

Well, I am here to tell you that is not the meaning of that saying.

There’s something about praising God and what it does to you. Praising God is more for your sake than his. I mean, he said that if there’s no more person to praise him, he will raise up stones. God does not call us to praise and worship him because he lacks for it.

No, God calls us to praise because he knows that praise gets us into faith. And where there is faith, he can move.

Imagine you are worried about something huge, maybe your house rent. And you’re praying, but even as you’re praying, mad anxiety has crippled your heart. You can’t even hear God because, omo, the weight heavy gan. And then you break into songs, and start praising God.

What immediately happens is that your perspective shift.

God becomes magnified in your heart, and the influence of that problem over your heart diminishes.

Bill Johnson puts it this way: “faith does not deny the existence of a problem, it just denies the problem a place of influence.”

You could pray with unbelief, but praises? You might start with unbelief, but I believe that if it is genuine, praise will carry you into faith. Because then you will see.

You will see the might of your God.

You will see his sovereignty.

You will remember his faithfulness.

So, no. You can’t psych God. But you can find out what he says concerning your problem and lay hold on it in faith. Faith is what works.

I’ll end with this. Jesus gave one of two parables that is similar to what that man said. The parable of the widow and the wicked judge. The part where he asked if there was any parent who would give his child stone instead of bread.

However, unlike the man that did a direct comparison — saying that God is like our Nigerian uncles — Jesus said that compared to God’s goodness and love for us, parents’ compassion is paltry.

Jesus said, “if you who are wicked can give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give to those who ask?”

God is not our political uncles.

God is not our imperfect but loving parents.

God is good. And his thoughts towards you are better than anything you can ever think up. All he calls you to do is to believe and it will be yours.