Angelina K. Morrison: Will God Answer NPP's Prayers?
Is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) fasting and praying so they could unite, rally, marshal, and seek power to perpetuate our national decadence; or, are they driven by a consummate desire, indomitable determination, and exquisite responsibility to change the lot of the average Ghanaian? God knows!
You may call me a legalist or some other name; however, as though engraved in univocal clarity: hypocrisy is the greatest bane of African Christianity. It is a Sisyphean obstacle we have not mastered. Yes, most of us are unabashed hypocrites, and that is why the faith is not working for us.
Like the classic question posed on Mount Carmel, we are disconsolately halting between two opinions.
Our twisted contours and grotesque lineaments are best displayed by the unfailing mechanism of reflection communicated to us by a clean and clear mirror: Truth.
And if we continue to stagger through dry, dreary, and dingy doldrums of lies and indulgence, we will never see who we truly are, and our intended or required destination will prove synonymous to chasing a moonbeam.
Since NPP has resorted to the Bible, like Paul appealed to Caesar, and Festus riposted, "Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go" (Acts 25:12 KJV) [1]; I shall also turn to the Bible to make my case.
'Doubtful and dubious policy'
As one famous person argued, it all depends on leadership. True and excellent leadership is the one priceless chasm that we have been unable to breach. And our lasting inability till date is all too telling and all the more worrying.
Perhaps, right here in Ghana, and even for some of our kith and kiln in the diaspora, one stark issue confronts us daily: we are blessed with talkers, not doers and leaders.
It is such an expansive indictment that stanches the flow of ink from my restless pen (sorry, the digital output of my laptop which holds a vault of several unpublished articles).
A transparent and relevant enquiry is apropos: If a leader cannot handle his own party; is he really ready to lead a chattering country like ours out of our interminable morass, for which President Mahama's powers seem to have been overly taxed, and his outer protective shell of composure challenged. Yes, as I have said it for the umpteenth time, Mr. Mahama could be more than a good friend to me, but to nominate him as a Homeric figure exuding sublime and terrific leadership skills will be a doubtful and dubious policy on my part.
'Neither trusted nor respected'
The only potent alternative, Mr. Akufo-Addo at times makes me oscillate between delight and despair. On this occasion, I keep wondering: Will Nana Akufo-Addo be in a position to manage Ghana? If his own followers can't abide by his calls for order, could it be a betrayal of a noisome truth that he is neither trusted nor respected even in his own party? Must Ghanaians take him seriously?
NPP, like a star is unfortunately crumbling under its devouring lust for power. In fact, it is its own manifest demons. Its flaws are consuming it from the centre. Right here, Jeremiah's charge rings true: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).
What is playing out before our incredulous eyes are only snippets of truth confirming the weaknesses of flawed hearts leading this party to writhe and squirm in a cesspool of confusion.
'Sweet but crooked bents'
I love to think, but I also believe in the supernatural. Life is too much of a phantom and phenomenon to discard the existence and influence of another realm. Nonetheless, on this occasion, I will stick my head up and postulate that, what is being perceived as 'demons of confusion' are but palpable flawed hearts following their own sweet but crooked bents.
Unlike others who will laugh at NPP's call for prayer and fasting, I am very much in favour of anything that seeks divine intervention. My life has benefited greatly from such course of action. It is a practical testimony etched on my very being.
Now, while it is true that there are forces behind the scenes responsible for stirring chaos in lives, families, organisations etc; I will reiterate my reasoned view and considered judgement above, that in this instance, I firmly believe that such exogenous forces and their supposed preponderant influence do not feature as much as the endogenous issues that maintain a hegemonic sway.
'True problem'
The true test of fasting and prayer is outlined in Isaiah 58, and any good student of the Word will turn over and assimilate such truth.
In any case, if this fasting and prayer is meant to shift the blame on the devil like we classically love to, then I beg to differ. What NPP needs is for its members to look within. It is where their true problem springs from.
In one scenario, God categorically told the people: "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood" (Isaiah 1:15). In fact, Jeremiah 14:12 is even more striking: "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."
God promises not to hear His people because their hearts are flawed (see James 4:2-3). Moreover, the psalmist adopted an endorsing position, saying, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).
NPP must use this prayer and fasting to undertake a requisite assessment leading to true repentance—a firm commitment to changing its mind and behaviour.
After all, many in the party do not have correct motives; if they did, the party will not be caught in this swirl and welter of chaos and confusion of catastrophic dimensions and cataclysmic proportions. Prayer and fasting that receives answers must be founded upon right motives. "All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord" (Proverbs 16:2 NIV).
'Thirst of entitlement'
The critics of fasting and prayer will argue their case till the cows come home. Yet, I remain of the view that if it helps the party to really touch the points of broad introspection and vital catharsis, and members truly change their ways, then this could prove a worthwhile act, and not a wanton dissipation of essential strength and resources.
And while they are at it, perhaps they should equally add a prayer topic for God to give them an overarching passion to genuinely seek the cause and welfare of the ordinary Ghanaian. Furthermore, an apposite prayer could be for God to quash and quench their perdurable thirst of entitlement which occasionally shows in their rank and file.
Ghana needs a strong and united opposition to keep watchful eyes on this current administration, and not to be distracted by petty squabbles snowballing to become internecine wars inflicting cataracts of destruction. Indeed, a sound and effective opposition will benefit Ghanaians of every political persuasion.
In the final analysis, the shiny truth in what feels like suffocating darkness has to be that when a person lives in a neighbourhood with thieves, after impetrating the Almighty for protection, such a person—guided by practical sagacity—must not leave their door ajar at night.
So let NPP pray fervently to God who answers prayer (Psalm 65:2; 5); but let them also work on their refractory dispositions and gargantuan egos, and allow God to change their flawed hearts, just the very type that still makes most Ghanaians quite sceptical and suspicious about their desire to annex power. After this fasting and prayer, let its members learn to, "Keep [their] heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
In view of God's mysterious ways, it could well be that His answer to this call for prayer and fasting may be enveloped in King Solomon's arresting wisdom and peremptory injunction: "Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease" (Proverbs 22:10). Will NPP be prepared and willing to accept and follow such an answer to their prayers?
I shall return with my talking drums.
[1] All Scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise advised.
Angelina K. Morrison is interested in national development, true religion, and self-improvement. She enjoys thinking, and writes stories only when the muse grips her. Her first short story, Gravellatina is a breathtaking five-part gripping series available now at Amazon. You can email her at angelinakm75@gmail.com, or find her at www.angelinakmorrison.wordpress.com or Facebook page.
