It was a Saturday morning, and I had just gone down to the cafeteria to buy water for my lecturer. I saw my classmate Jibriel driving in and tried to catch his attention. Just then, I heard a voice call out.

I turned around, it was Ella, my mate from NAFTI. She had only one question for me, one she had been meaning to ask: "Why did you stop praying? Why did you stop joining Alpha Hour?"

This question caught me off guard, especially since a colleague of ours had just gotten married the week before. The simplest answer I could give her was that I get tired from work. But trust Ella to give it to you straight. According to her, I was the reason she joined Alpha Hour, an online prayer platform that starts at midnight.

Ella said something that got me thinking and feeling guilty since our interaction. “When you needed employment, you were constantly praying. But now that you have a job, you've abandoned the platform.”

I remembered how fervently I prayed when I needed employment. I would stay up till midnight when the prayers started and join in. Sometimes I would share the link, as we were encouraged to do, so others could also join and pray. I remember when a friend fought with me because I failed to wake her up to pray. For people like me who couldn’t pray for long or didn’t know how to pray, Alpha Hour provided an avenue to pour our hearts out to God.

I know there are many people like me who have ditched God after their prayers were answered. I used to tell a friend about how merciful God is, much like the father of the prodigal son, who embraces us when we return, no matter how far we've strayed. God is truly a merciful father – you can never do this with humans.

Imagine misusing or forgetting to do what you promised your human helper when they extended a hand of courtesy to you. That person would likely never want to help you again, but it is never like that with God. No matter how far we wander away from Him, when we retrace our steps, He openly accepts us. As 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

There is even a Christian song that talks about the endless nature of His love for us. This is a distinguishing factor between God and man and echoes the saying, “Man is man, and God is God.” Sometimes we don’t even realize we are gradually drifting away from God in the abundance of our provisions. We need people like Ella to draw us back onto the right path. People like Ella become our guiding sticks in the midst of our happiness when we forget there was once a time we were lacking and prayed for the better days we are enjoying now.

When we forget to continuously look up to the cross, our Ellas come in to guide us back to the right path. Today, if you haven't found your Ella yet to ask why you have stopped praying, let this write-up be that clarion call to get back to your source of strength. Don’t forget how it all began and how you got to where you are now. Yes, He is merciful, and His mercy endures forever, but how long you will remain here to keep renewing this mercy, you don't know. Get back to the source!