"...Those things we pray for in Nigeria with fire coming out of our mouths are things taken for granted here. Here, government works. Utilities work though you pay for virtually everything. What we ask God to provide in Nigeria, government provides them in America. They therefore don't trouble God unnecessarily..."

I know so many people who have invested their entire life time, effort and money on getting America visa to emigrate. Some have gotten into all kinds of scrapes and scraps. So many have derailed, lost focus, lost vision, lost time, lost purpose. Many think of nothing everyday but how to get passport and visa. How I wish they know better that...

Well, after all said and done, you've got the visa, your bags packed and finally you are aboard your flight, give glory to God. Getting to America and you deplane with all exuberance and expectations, you are full of gratitude and expectations, but that's just the beginning.

Getting to America , you are confronted with a new life entirely. There are so many issues ahead of you. For me, I was luckier because I have a sister here and accommodation was no problem. In fact, the first six months of my stay, all I did was go out, eat, come back, sleep, have fun and … yeah, I added extra ten pounds which I'm now fighting hard to loose.

Others might not be so lucky. Their struggle starts immediately. The first step is to get your work permit, vis a vis your Green card. The challenges involved in this, a friend once told me has denied a lot of Christians the entrance to heaven. This leads me to my Christian life in America .

"...I attended The Mountain of Fire and Miracles for their deliverance program with dry fasting. I attended all sorts of crusades and programs. I was really on fire. I was not a baby Christian while in Nigeria . I was a church worker for a long time, choir leader, youth executive, etc. But here in America , wetin quenched the fire? "

The first reason why my prayer life declined was the absence of privacy. In Nigerian, I lived alone. So I could pray, dance, sing, and shout as loud as I like. In my sister's house in America , you dare not shout as we do in Nigeria . You have to pray real soft so as not to disturb the neighbourhood. For an average Nigerian like me, praying quietly, the gentleman prayer was an invitation to sleep, and so before I knew it, I have slept off.

Secondly, when I started working, it was fatigue. In America , you are paid by the hour, and every minute of that hour you must work. So by the time you work, standing on your feet for eight or twelve hours, you are exhausted. If you kneel down to pray, before you can say “Father I bless You,” you have dozed off.

Thirdly, I think that there is a demonic influence here. Due to the fact that there is a lot of moral decadence in the land, I believe that the powers of darkness have permeated the environment with the spirit of complacency that weakens a lot of Christians.

However, I am not too confident in saying this because things work very smoothly here. Those things we pray for in Nigeria with fire coming out of our mouths are things taken for granted here. Here, government works. Utilities work though you pay for virtually everything. What we ask God to provide in Nigeria, government provides them in America. They don't trouble God unnecessarily.

Nigerians here are therefore not too conscious of diabolic and fetish activities as we are back home. Immediately you get here, Nigerians get relaxed, which in itself is dangerous as one becomes self dependent. [2cor. 3:5] These are the reasons why I pray less in America .

Does that excuse me? The bible says that men ought to pray always, and that without ceasing. [Luke 1:18, 1Thess 5:17] When you understand that prayer is not just asking God a bunch of stuff, that prayer time is a time when you form an intimate relationship with your Father, have a tete a tete with your Maker and worship and adore Him, then you will understand the implication.

"...You have to pray real soft so as not to disturb the neighbourhood. For an average Nigerian like me, praying quietly, the gentleman prayer was an invitation to sleep, and so before I knew it, I have slept off..."

So what kind of a relationship can be conducted with a Father that you do not talk to, or at best, talk to once a week on Sunday? Remember He calls us sons and children [Heb1: 5] So when we cannot claim our sonship through prayer by crying ABBA FATHER, then our sonship is questionable.

When you don't communicate regularly with your father, the question is does he still recognize you as a son? For people like me, God is patiently waiting, saying “awake thou that sleepest, strengthen the feeble knees and seek my face.”

Practical suggestions to improve your prayer life in America .
* Pray whenever time is available. We erroneously hold to the belief that we can only pray in the morning or at night. No If your schedule gives you time in the afternoon, by all means, pray in the afternoon. If you live with a family that dislikes ‘noise', pray when you find yourself alone in the house.

* Pray when you are most alert. If you sleep off when you pray at bed time, then pray immediately you get back from work. If waking up early works for you, then do so, but stand up and work around when you pray.

* Make your prayer simple and short. Praying short periods in the beginning will help since it's like you are just starting over again. If you think about praying one hour at a stretch, the devil might use it to discourage you. Remember its better to pray ten minutes than not pray at all.

* Form the habit of praying all the time, even if its one minute in the rest room. Also do a lot of singing. Most songs are prayers ''musicfied'' and of course don't forget to read your bible. That's an integral part of praying.

On a final note, remember that by strength shall no man prevail. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, so depend on the Holy Ghost to help your infirmities.

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