News and Events
News and Events are reports of current happenings within the Apostolic Faith Church family.
Desiring God's Will Proved a Lifelong Blessing
By Ruth Oni
Blessing and Cyril met each other in April 25, 2008 in Lagos, Nigeria during the annual national camp-meeting choir rehearsal. This was the first time they had physically met, aside from the fact that their parents have been in the gospel since the 1970’s
Expectedly, both of them had been praying to God for His divine will for their lives regarding a life partner. In addition, they were both mature for marriage – spiritually, physically, financially and otherwise. Coincidentally, they both alluded to the fact that their initial attraction to each other stemmed from the admiration of the other person’s zeal towards the Lord’s work.
Cyril, in telling how he was convinced that Blessing was his chosen one, emphasized that he continued praying even after he received positive conviction in his spirit about her. He consulted with his Pastor who admonished him to keep praying until the spirit of God confirmed it in his heart. This happened very soon afterward. Following the Nigerian custom for marriage proposals to the letter, he went to inform his district overseer with a letter of intent to marry Sister Blessing from his Pastor.
With a blessing from his overseer he made the 12-hour trip to meet the Africa Overseer (Rev. Paul Akazue) in Lagos, where Blessing was worshipping. He was directed to the marriage counselor for counseling. After hours of intense admonition, the marriage counselor gave him the go-ahead to approach this lovely lady with his intentions.
After she asked for some time to pray about it, God affirmed that it was His divine will for them to get married. The next step was to inform their respective families which they did. According to Cyril, the confirmation he expected from his family was exactly what they gave to him: he was asked if she had a concrete Christian background to which he responded in the affirmative.
Blessing also received confirmation about Cyril in a way that only God could have orchestrated. She had always asked God that three things would be in absolute agreement when she meets her life partner. These three, her conviction, her family, and the church were in harmony with Cyril. After all the other necessary steps were taken, the beautiful wedding ceremony eventually took place in their hometown in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, in November 27, 2008. Thus began their journey of love which in itself was facilitated by God’s love.
Giving a brief insight into the fundamental considerations young people need before getting married, Bro Cyril elucidated on the fact that Christ’ love in one’s heart is a non-negotiable requirement for getting into a life-long relationship with another individual. He used the analogy of a cart and a horse to illustrate a valid point: it is impossible to have real love for another individual without first of all having God’s love in one’s heart. It is illogical to put the cart before the horse because the cart is going to need some force to get it moving! Cyril emphasized the fact that young people need to put first things first; they need to have a solid foundation and relationship with Christ before they can proceed to have a solid relationship with their spouses. “Marriage is not a place to seek one’s basic Christian experiences, but a place to build on that basic foundation, grow together and live exemplary godly lives before each other.”
Getting a little personal, Cyril admitted that aside from the spiritual beauty he saw in Blessing he was also attracted to her God-given physical beauty. “Of course, my wife is an attractive lady”, he said, trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face! Blessing also had something similar to say about her husband: “His beautiful and unique smile, and his voice were some of the attributes that swept me off my feet”, she confessed with a twinkle in her eyes.
By way of admonition to other youths who are looking forward to getting married someday, the couple had a few words of advice. 
They both admonished that it is best to use your singlehood to pray for your Christian experiences and build a strong relationship with God. Moreover, as long as your marriage is ordained by God, every other thing would fall into place - living together, discovering and loving each other would be uncomplicated. It is truly beautiful to see two young people who have purposed to serve God together and experience all the wonderful blessings God has designed for the institution of marriage. Holding hands and with a special glow on their faces, the couple concluded that as youths, there is no sweeter experience we can have than obeying God and receiving His ultimate fulfillment in our lives.