Yoruba people have a popular saying that “adura iya lo n gba lori omo” (mothers’ prayers are valid in the lives of their children). This saying is problematic because many people do not believe that their fathers’ prayers are valid over their lives. They just have their mother’s prayers to rely on. This is applied to everyday discussions when a child achieves accomplishment or is rescued from a dangerous situation, the common saying is “adura iya mi lo n je lori mi” (my mother’s prayers are being answered over my life). In truth, this saying does not stop there; it also places a great deal of responsibility on women in our culture. Aside from her nurturing function, there is also the expectation that she will be the family’s prayer warrior.
So, when men think of prospective wives, it is often in their subconscious mind to marry a devout lady, and one wonders why they cannot be prayerful individuals themselves. I cant understand various claims made by some to explain their position that father’s prayers aren’t as essential as mother’s prayers. This was rather very unbecoming. It is even worrisome that some women believe this, and they keep gatekeeping this line of thought.
But in the Bible, there are lots of instructions for people to pray. By people, I mean men and women. An example here is “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6 (KJV). You can see that’s nothing gender-specific in the above instruction. It just asks everyone to pray and make their requests known to God. If women’s prayers were more potent, the Bible would have asked women to pray more and these instructions wouldn’t have been generalized.
In addition, we read about men praying too. Men like Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Jesus, and Paul. Their prayers were potent too. Abraham’s prayers healed Abimelech. Job’s prayers restored all he had lost. Moses’ prayers saved Israel. David’s prayers healed Jerusalem. Jesus’s prayers raised the dead, not once, not twice. Paul’s prayers opened the prison doors. If women’s prayers were more potent, these men’s prayers wouldn’t have been answered.
I believe that one reason why many people think this is because a woman is expected to pass down morals, and values to her children. One of such values is religiosity. Therefore, children grow with the thinking their mother’s prayers are more potent. Children also tend to build a very special bond with their mothers. This, automatically, translates to a higher level of precedence when it comes to the potency of her prayers to most people in their hearts. But the bond or love children share does not translate to anything special when it comes to religion because God is not partial. So, a father’s prayers are as valid as a mother’s prayers. In conclusion, I hope this parlance changes from “adura iya lo n gba lori omo” (mothers’ prayers are valid in the lives of their kids) to ‘‘adura obi lo n gba lori omo’’ (parents’ prayers are valid in the lives of their kids). There is no proven point on this assertion and such a misleading impression should be addressed and rectified.
For fathers too, the role of prayer should not be let alone for mothers alone. I belive with this, this exaggerated notion that mothers’ prayers are more potent will not be.
A quick x-ray of this article reveals three key components: Culture, Nurture and Sentiment. Religion is a subset of culture. Understanding these components is vital in adequately analysing this bias and pushing for a better narrative. For instance; a father’s blessing and curse were heavily regarded in the Old Testament.
This article is quite profound.
For decades, the concept of “a mother’s prayer” has appealed to the vast majority of individuals in our culture. The idea suggests that a mother’s prayer has a greater impact than that of the father’s. The comparison matrix is set up such that a mother’s prayer is valued significantly higher than a father’s; the margin being so wide as to depict a father’s prayer as being less significant and sometimes even unnecessary. Considering the unequal and unbalanced duties of spiritual obligation it thrusts upon the female gender, this truth-parading fallacy is particularly dangerous.
Many women have been groomed to adopt a strict religious lifestyle, not so much for their personal spiritual edification but rather to serve as bait for unspiritual men seeking “godly women” as wives. This false belief system is then passed down to their offspring, who have only ever seen their mothers pray over them. It is a vicious loop that needs to be stopped.
Ironically, the Bible which is often cited in support of this misconception, provides no basis for this claim.
Scriptures repeatedly state that all believers are called to priesthood, regardless of gender. It even emphasizes that husbands and Fathers alike, ought to lead the way when it comes to spiritual matters because they are the heads of the home.
Scripturally, it is the name through which prayer is made that determines whether it will be answered, not the gender of the person who makes the prayer. According to John 14:14, the Bible says “If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it”. Believers are assured that God is attentive to their prayers because of the accomplished work of Christ. Instead of focusing on which gender offers the prayer, James 5:16b states that the focus is on the righteousness we have received from Him and the sincerity of our hearts. (The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much)
Therefore. It goes without saying that this idea is absurd, just like the myth that “God answers the prayers of virgins faster.” Both claims rest on weak foundations of cultural sentiments informed by erroneous interpretations of the Bible—a terrible example of eisegesis rather than exegesis.
Thankfully, this vicious cycle will come to an end. Every day, more people are learning the truth regarding God’s viewpoint on this matter. The voice of truth is amplified by wonderful articles like this.
Falsehood will pass away on its own. And it is our fervent wish that our children witness praying parents as much as praying mothers as they grow up.
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER
This article is quite profound.
For decades, the concept of “a mother’s prayer” has appealed to the vast majority of individuals in our culture. The idea suggests that a mother’s prayer has a greater impact than that of the father’s. The comparison matrix is set up such that a mother’s prayer is valued significantly higher than a father’s; the margin being so wide as to depict a father’s prayer as being less significant and sometimes even unnecessary. Considering the unequal and unbalanced duties of spiritual obligation it thrusts upon the female gender, this truth-parading fallacy is particularly dangerous.
Many women have been groomed to adopt a strict religious lifestyle, not so much for their personal spiritual edification but rather to serve as bait for unspiritual men seeking “godly women” as wives. This false belief system is then passed down to their offspring, who have only ever seen their mothers pray over them. It is a vicious loop that needs to be stopped.
Ironically, the Bible which is often cited in support of this misconception, provides no basis for this claim.
Scriptures repeatedly state that all believers are called to priesthood, regardless of gender. It even emphasizes that husbands and Fathers alike, ought to lead the way when it comes to spiritual matters because they are the heads of the home.
Scripturally, it is the name through which prayer is made that determines whether it will be answered, not the gender of the person who makes the prayer. According to John 14:14, the Bible says “If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it”. Believers are assured that God is attentive to their prayers because of the accomplished work of Christ. Instead of focusing on which gender offers the prayer, James 5:16b states that the focus is on the righteousness we have received from Him and the sincerity of our hearts. (The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much)
Therefore. It goes without saying that this idea is absurd, just like the myth that “God answers the prayers of virgins faster.” Both claims rest on weak foundations of cultural sentiments informed by erroneous interpretations of the Bible—a terrible example of eisegesis rather than exegesis.
Thankfully, this vicious cycle will come to an end. Every day, more people are learning the truth regarding God’s viewpoint on this matter. The voice of truth is amplified by wonderful articles like this.
Falsehood will pass away on its own. And it is our fervent wish that our children witness praying parents as much as praying mothers as they grow up.
#RoseBlogat4
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER
Over the years the believe system with the concept That Gave more superiority to the prayer of the mother Compared to that of the father was birthed out of ignorance, which as eaten deep into our Culture causing The men to loose guard of their Spiritual responsibility to their family.
This believe system has left us with a doctrine base on falsehood,
Which is against the scriptures principles and directive on Prayer ..
“ The effectual dfervent eprayer of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16b
This barbaric doctrine and school of thought should be stopped , so as to open the eye of father to see the need to take total responsibility beyond the financial Obligation…. knowing that the prayer of Parent works wonder in the life of a kid …
The concept of prayer is not gender Bias , But a Universal instruction giving to both gender to perpetuate their course on this earth..
#RoseBlogat4
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER
Over the years the believe system with this False concept that Gave more superiority to the prayer of the mother Compared to that of the father was birthed out of ignorance, which as eaten deep into our Culture causing The men to loose guard of their Spiritual responsibility to their family. This believe system has left us with a doctrine base on falsehood, Which is against the scriptures principles and directive on Prayer .. “ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16b This barbaric doctrine and school of thought should be stopped , so as to open the eye of father to see the need to take total responsibility beyond the financial Obligation…. knowing that the prayer of Parent works wonder in the life of a kid … The concept of prayer is not gender Bias , But a Universal instruction giving to both gender to perpetuate their course on this earth..
#RoseBlogat4
Just like the article I read, many people believe that only the prayers of a mother are answered making men look for wives who are prayer warriors. I believe men who believe in this and actually do are not Spiritual because the bible is not gender specific. The bible does not say I will only answer the prayers of women. The bible says, Yahweh has taken hold of my prayers and answered them all. This was a verse in psalm written by King David, and if memory serves me right, He was a man while he lived. Men can also pray, the prayers of men are also acceptable. This myth should die with our generation.
#RoseBlogat4
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER.
This article really resonates with my thoughts on how Religion, Culture and Society has influenced our mindset on this subject matter hence the need to give my opinion as regards to it. I’ll be siting some instances & scenarios and you will realise that the root cause of this subject matter is not far fetched.
You will be shocked to know that when discussing with most men, 80% of them will say “I want to marry a prayerful woman so that she can be praying for the family” and I wonder if there is a certain beef they have with God.
It’s so glaring that so much burden has been placed on the female folk to be “Religious” so as not to be termed Wayward.
It will surprise you to know that in a typical church, the ratio of females to male is 3:1. The females most of the times are of greater numbers than the male.
Culture and Society on the other hand are not exempted as so much emphasis is placed on training the female folk to be morally upright and societally acceptable as opposed to men hence encouraging laxity in this area.
Funny how an unmarried lady of 28 years irrespective of her status, due to pressure from family, friends and even society as a whole is forced to start singing “Baba carry me dey go my husband house”.
Remember when you just got admission into the University and your parents sit you down and begins to advise you on the need to always go to church /fellowship to avoid been spotted by bad boys in school and as well as remain chaste(virgin) as it is “the best gift a lady can give to her husband”, so they say.
Even after getting married, there are still a million reasons why a woman will tend to be prayerful. The scripture says “a wise woman buildeth her home but the foolish woman teareth it down with her own hands(Proverbs 14:1)”, hence people hold on to this scriptures and It is believed that the success of the marriage and the outcome of her husband & offsprings is her responsibility which keeps her on her toes to be prayerful.
This and more are the reasons why I feel Religion, Culture and Society have contributed to this Gendered mindset on Prayer and this shouldn’t be the case.
In Summary, I do not encourage that women should not be prayerful as “it is a lifestyle for me as a person not as a woman”. Nevertheless it is essential to reinforce that “Both male and female have the same privileges as regards to accessing God in the place of prayer”. Getting rid of these bias & myths and placing equal training and expectation on both gender will go a long in putting an end to GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER.
#RoseBlog@4
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER
This article resonates with the intimate parts of me and reminds me of this statement that I’ve heard numerous times.
As much as I love arts and culture, I’ve come to realize that various negative thoughts have been passed down from generation to generation and are simply seen as “normal” because they’ve been practiced before this present generation.
This is not to nullify the sacrifices, teachings, and instructions of our fathers but to help us do better by changing this particular school of thought. When the Bible says “sons”, this doesn’t refer to the male gender alone but to everyone who believes in Christ, although, there are some instances where it refers to the male children alone.
Hence, it is clearly explained that everyone’s prayer is potent. One gender’s prayer isn’t more potent than the other. The amazing part is that the majority of our pastors in the church are of the male gender and we don’t see their prayers as inferior or view our pastors that are of the female gender as superior prayer warriors to others, we simply see them as spiritual authorities over our lives and work with them with an open heart. This pattern of thinking should be extended to our homes and everyone around us.
It isn’t only the mother that prays for her children, the father prays too and it is the combined efforts of both parents that yield good fruits in the lives of the children. The way to being better and teaching the next generation to do better is learning how to pray effectively as Christians without thinking of depending on another person for effectiveness in our prayer lives individually.
Simply put, men should abandon the thoughts of marrying prayer warriors as wives thinking that it is an opportunity to relax and expect to train God-loving children. And ladies too should stop looking out for men who will pray and be the prayer warriors for the family. Both parties in a marriage should have a sense of responsibility.
The husband will pray and the wife will pray too, this is what builds and grooms children in the way of the Lord. A Yoruba proverb says “àgbájọ ọwó la fi ń sọ̀yà, àjèjé owó kan kò gbérù d’órí”. Marriage is between two people, one person alone cannot perfectly execute two people’s responsibilities.
Finally, appreciation comes from the heart, it goes beyond words. Children should learn to appreciate the presence and prayers of their parents over their lives. The mother isn’t the only one that’s working and praying, your father does too.
GENDERED MINDSET ON PRAYER
This article resonates with the intimate parts of me and reminds me of this statement that I’ve heard numerous times.
As much as I love arts and culture, I’ve come to realize that various negative thoughts have been passed down from generation to generation and are simply seen as “normal” because they’ve been practiced before this present generation.
This is not to nullify the sacrifices, teachings, and instructions of our fathers but to help us do better by changing this particular school of thought. When the Bible says “sons”, this doesn’t refer to the male gender alone but to everyone who believes in Christ, although, there are some instances where it refers to the male children alone.
Hence, it is clearly explained that everyone’s prayer is potent. One gender’s prayer isn’t more potent than the other. The amazing part is that the majority of our pastors in the church are of the male gender and we don’t see their prayers as inferior or view our pastors that are of the female gender as superior prayer warriors to others, we simply see them as spiritual authorities over our lives and work with them with an open heart. This pattern of thinking should be extended to our homes and everyone around us.
It isn’t only the mother that prays for her children, the father prays too and it is the combined efforts of both parents that yield good fruits in the lives of the children. The way to being better and teaching the next generation to do better is learning how to pray effectively as Christians without thinking of depending on another person for effectiveness in our prayer lives individually.
Simply put, men should abandon the thoughts of marrying prayer warriors as wives thinking that it is an opportunity to relax and expect to train God-loving children. And ladies too should stop looking out for men who will pray and be the prayer warriors for the family. Both parties in a marriage should have a sense of responsibility.
The husband will pray and the wife will pray too, this is what builds and grooms children in the way of the Lord. A Yoruba proverb says “àgbájọ ọwó la fi ń sọ̀yà, àjèjé owó kan kò gbérù d’órí”. Marriage is between two people, one person alone cannot perfectly execute two people’s responsibilities.
Finally, appreciation comes from the heart, it goes beyond words. Children should learn to appreciate the presence and prayers of their parents over their lives. The mother isn’t the only one that’s working and praying, your father does too.
#Roseblog@4