Dear God, empower us to solve our little problems

It was at an all-night prayer session, the atmosphere was charged and the presence of the Holy Spirit was evident. 

The man of God invited people to choose prayer themes so that we pray about them.

A middle- aged man next to me raised his hand and declared his prayer point which has become the subject of this write- up. He requested that God should help us to solve our little problems.

After the service, I approached him and asked why the little problems and not the big ones? “It is the little problems that if left unsolved grow to become big ones”, he replied.

His reply was food for thought; almost all sectors of the country are inundated with problems some which require a little effort to address, yet we look on helplessly.

From the agriculture sector which has not been able to feed us as a nation, leaving us no option but to import even plantain and snails, to our health sector where due to lack of  beds and equipment, our compatriots die needlessly .

The education sector is not different. There is a general lack of direction and inadequate infrastructure necessary for meaningful learning.  

Then comes the worrying phenomenon where we cannot settle on which curriculum to adopt for the holistic education of our children.  

  With sports, we have relegated some to the background and christened them lesser sports.

Yet, The William sisters and Tiger Woods have jointly raked in millions of dollars through these so-called lesser known sports of tennis and golf.

We are unable to organise ourselves properly for any tournament even when it comes to  football and scandals now dine with us.

The energy sector is no better and there are always talks about alternative energy sources, including solar energy.

The talks become pronounced during power crisis but are shelved when we get a little relief only for the same kind of talk to begin in earnest anytime we slip back into crisis.

We look on helplessly as our youth of school age flood our streets selling all manner of Chinese-made wares.

In reality, we are only breeding armed robbers!

We seem to have become very comfortable with the fact that buildings are constructed on water courses with the consequent perennial flooding and the resultant destruction to life and property.

Well, if we even consider the above as big problems that need more resources to solve, then how about the little problems we have been living with almost forever?
 
For instance , the gaping potholes on our roads which have been left unattended to for so long? Strangely anytime one causes an accident , it is filled within hours!

Some areas have lived with roads riddled with potholes for over 10 years as we look on helplessly.

The effect has been constant visits to the mechanic and other consequences such as a drain on the individual’s pocket.  

While some areas have remained without pipe borne water, some too have burst pipes which remain so for months, leaving clean water  to go waste while we look on.

How difficult is it to solve this?

We are unable to connect water to areas on high grounds but elsewhere, people live on sky scrapers yet water flows.

The median of our roads are always overgrown with weeds and serve as havens for rodents and reptiles and dumping grounds for rubbish.

Elsewhere they offer an opportunity to beautify cities with plants and flowers.

What I find so difficult to understand is why we continue to construct roads with designs which provide for these medians.

Constantly, our streets are not lit leaving the population vulnerable to criminal activities and the lack of proper visibility making driving difficult at night and resulting in avoidable accidents. Most traffic lights do not function, sometimes for months and the new trend is to rather position tow trucks nearby in case the expected happens.

How about the filth which is engulfing us by the day causing continuous periods where cholera visits us? As humans, we are bound to create waste, so should the establishment of a proper waste management system continue to elude us?

Watching such things on a daily basis leaves not much choice than to agree with the  old man who made the prayer request that  God should help us to  solve our little problems!  

 So in concurrence with his prayer, I invite you to join me as we pray saying: Dear God, empower us to solve the little problems which continue to grow to become bigger ones leaving us in a state of under development. And the children of God would say, Amen!


Writer’s e-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]