News
Food for Living: The Relationship Between Prayer and Work
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you.” – Saint Augustine
As we are gradually approach the end of the year, it is pertinent to examine how we have fared thereby ascertain where we got it right and wrong, and take take steps to make an improvement. A good way to know if you have fared well is by checking the results of all your actions and activities. This, in other words, means to consciously take stock of our products, services and life in general. Taking stock applies to all aspects of lives cutting across business, academic, family, government, personal and professional development. Regardless of any sector or industry you find yourself in, what people want to know is what you achieved while working there; that’s one way to access your value.
This informs the reason most people go all out to prove themselves during their probation periods. However, before you can produce results, you must understand what is needed wherever you are. You must also understand the power dynamics and how office politics is played. This will enable you to work smart.
There is a relationship between praying and working. Prayer has its role and so does work. It is important to note that you cannot succeed without praying for success, and you cannot also succeed without working. Both work hand in glove. According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished ghost writer, “While prayer releases God’s favour, work unleashes the force of man. When God’s favour collides with your force, the extraordinary in you manifest”.
Therefore, you must work for everything you pray for, and pray for everything you work for. This means that for you to see the fruit which you have been promised, you must till they soil.
When you pray and work, you attract opportunities. Opportunities don’t literally come to you; you have to attract it. The mistake some people make is praying or asking people to do for them what they can do for themselves. It is important to note that nobody will assist you if you are not willing to assist yourself.
Did you know that work is a form of prayer? Yes, because when you work you are praying for a cause to take effect. According to Late M.K.O Abiola, “prayer is a work in action”.
For you to succeed in any establishment, you need an element of spiritual and physical blessings. Spiritual blessings can be prayers from your creator, parents, mentors, or even superiors, who have accomplished and distinguished themselves in the field. You cannot overrule this part. You might argue some wealthy men succeeded without the spiritual factor, well, what you fail to understand is that spiritual blessings come in various kinds. It can be positive or negative. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on the positive aspect.
Sometimes what we must understand is that when you see people who have truly succeeded in life, you don’t know the kind of seeds they have sowed in life. Maybe they have sponsored many people in schools, paid bills for men and women in hospitals, built infrastructural facilities etc. All these philanthropic acts may have generated a lot of goodwill prayers without the person knowing. That’s why sometimes, we don’t know the prayers that will be answered. Again, that is why it is always good to be good.
In conclusion, you have to be intentional with the kind of prayer you pray, and the kind of work you do.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Three Nigerian secondary schools are in the ring for the grand prize of N5m in the ongoing Glo Innov8 National STEM competition for girls in Senior Secondary Schools across the country.
The three top finalists were selected for their originality and innovation in the different entries for the competition. A total of 20 secondary schools were picked from over 200 schools which registered for the competition. After a series of considerations, 10 of them made it to the semifinal from which three; Ephraim High School, Isolo Campus, Lagos; Regina Pacis International School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Peakfield Academy, Jos, Plateau State eventually coasted home to the finals.
Schools from Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Anambra, FCT, Delta, Kaduna and Adamawa states had signified intentions to participate following a call for entries by Glo Foundation, Globacom’s corporate social responsibility arm as part of its celebration of the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child.
Glo Innov8, a STEM-driven challenge, has scheduled prizes worth N5 million to the three schools in the finals. The competition “is geared at inspiring young girls to Compete, Innovate and Win, while also strengthening their confidence and expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects”, Glo Foundation explained.
The eventual overall winning school will go home with a cash prize of N2,000,000 while the 2 students representing the school will each get a laptop. The Teacher/Mentor/STEM Coordinator also gets N200,000.
The schools that come second and third places and their Teachers/Mentors/STEM Coordinators will also receive mouth-watering consolation prizes.
The three female judges of the virtual phase of selection of the top 20 schools said they were excited by the quality of presentations by the competing schools. One of them, Tosin Olabode said: “I was particularly impressed by the prototype presentations from some schools. They demonstrated that they had done their homework”.
In the same vein, Amina Gabriel disclosed that she was thrilled by the variety of ideas that the schools came up with. “The schools presented innovative solutions tackling issues in agriculture, security, waste management, and firefighting. The top 10 schools showcased outstanding prototypes, from apps to robots, making the judging process truly competitive. I’m grateful to Glo Foundation for the opportunity to serve and support young girls in STEM”, she said.
According to Sharon Ibejih, the third judge, “This competition has showcased a highly competitive next generation of women leaders in STEM. This was an excellent exercise and a means to encourage more students in STEM to develop problem-solving and innovative thinking skills”.
The overall winning school will emerge at an event set to hold later this year at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française), Ikoyi, Lagos.
The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a motion to stop the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in his trial for alleged terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho, on November 7, fixed November 20 for judgment on the case.
The judge fixed the date after Kanu’s defence was foreclosed following his insistence that he would not enter his defence under a repealed law.
However, in the motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, he personally filed, the IPoB leader sought seven reliefs.
In the application dated November 10 and filed same date, Kanu sought an order arresting the delivery of judgment in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.
The document was made public on Tuesday.
In it, he alleged that the proceedings were conducted under a repealed and non-existent statute and in disobedience to the Supreme Court’s directive contrary to Section 287(1) CFRN 1999.”
He sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 287(1) CFRN, the trial court was constitutionally bound to give effect to the Supreme Court’s finding that count 15 (now count 7) “does not exist in law,” and its failure rendered all subsequent proceedings null and void.
He also sought a declaration that the court’s failure to take judicial notice of the repeal of the 2013 Terrorism Act, contrary to Section 122 Evidence Act 2011, vitiates all steps taken thereunder.
The IPOB leader equally sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try him in the absence of proof that the alleged conduct constituted an offence under Kenyan law or of any Kenyan judicial validation or extradition order.
Besides, Kanu sought “a declaration that the plea purportedly taken on March 29, under a repealed and non-existent statute and in violation of Section 220 ACJA 2015 is void and incapable of conferring jurisdiction.
President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.
The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.
The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.
Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.
The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.
The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.
In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.
This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.
In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.
