Man, oh Man!

Man, I hope this is brief and concise (lol).

(Images of oases in deserts because that’s what God is doing right now in regards to what we are about to talk about)

It’s 2022 and the world definitely looks and moves differently compared to how it was even 1 year ago.

The economic and socio-cultural landscape has been skewed left and then right after the COVID pandemic came into the picture. However, one bell that has been rung clearly over and over again (especially this year) is concerning MEN.

We are seeing an overflow of oppression concerning men in the areas of:

• Suicide

• Depression and other mental health issues

• Gender Based Violence (check the latest stats)

• Underemployment and unemployment

• Lethargy and passivity

• Moral and ethical decline (men who keep hurting and cannot seem to stop)

There are many men who are living life right now as products of their trauma and not victors of past undoings. The consequence is that they are reacting to life and not responding to it. The survival mode tab has been opened and many men are crying out bitter tears in hidden and dark spaces because of societal notions of “men are meant to be stronger. Men do not cry.” The hearts of many men have thus grown cold. In a world that preaches love and ‘good vibes’, many men are now bitter and distant.

No. They are not meant to just be stronger but to be vulnerable. Yes, they can cry. No, that does not mean they are weak.

Some men have given up on themselves. Some have given themselves into passivity and inaction. Letting lack of ambition and vision carry them along a dusty path of destruction. Whether or not they wilfully get themselves into this situation, it does not sit right.

I know for certain that there is nothing that occurs naturally that does not have a cause and effect in the spirit. In more ways than one, I have personally seen success in employing spiritual tactics (prayer, fasting and the Word of God) especially in matters concerning the men in my life.

If you have read this, take it upon yourself to whisper a prayer to God concerning men. He has good plans for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm them. To give them hope and a future.

Pray over their minds. Pray over their character. Pray that we will not sit down and watch a broken generation of men raise the next generation of fallen sons just because they did not receive the warmth of acceptance and healing. Pray over their destinies and God-ordained purposes.

The word of God tells us that we can boldly go to God and not get tired of knocking on His doors with our requests. (James 5:16; Isaiah 62:6-8; Heb 4:16)

Even your prayer matters.

Healthy men matter.

“When God wants to change the face of a generation, He will raise up men and women of prayer”- Ugo Ezeji