“Practical Christianity”: Revelation and the Power of Prayer

Abstract

If the sister who received this message in a Sunday service was an experienced spiritualist, she might well seek this direction through her own dreams and visions. But she might also make a personal appointment with a visioner, who would put the problem before God in prayer, and offer revelatory guidance. Public revelation and private consultation are two aspects of the same process: visioners encourage their clients to involve themselves in the collective life of the church, but also, when they reveal messages in public, they may see that a member needs the personal attention of an experienced visioner. Often, clients refer themselves or introduce friends in trouble to a visioner. In these sessions, the visioner—like the babalawo—will not only reveal what God has to say about their problems, but also recommend prayer and ritual action. It is this deployment of spiritual power in private divinatory practice that forms the subject of this chapter.

#1 [To a sister] I saw you holding two sticks … Two things will come before you very soon … and you will not know which one to choose … The Lord said that anything you are going to do … you should put it in prayer so that God may direct you … (Prophet Aiyegbusi. Service 6 August 1970)