Hello!! Great to have you here again. Remember Dr (Mrs) Evelyn Mentor-Oriere, whom we played host to last week? I knew you would.  You would recall that she spoke to us about preparing yourself for God’s blessings. We also asked her about how she was located and she referred us to her husband. Well, we got him to answer that and more. Let’s hear from him:

1nebody: Can we meet you?

MO: My name is Mentor Oriere. I am a lawyer by training and a writer by gifting.

1nebody: Great combination, what do you write about?

MO: I write academic articles, I have contributed to a number of law journals. I also write on topical issues, Christian issues, etc. Basically, anything that is of interest to me.

1nebody: Good to know. Let’s talk about your walk with God.

MO:  It was in 2004. I was just about rounding up my secondary school education and the greatest thing ever happened to me; I dedicated my life to Christ and became addicted. Note that, I had been attending Church prior to this time. Even my parents couldn’t understand what had gotten over me. They rebuked me and tried to restrain me, although they could see the transformation that new birth had brought into my life. Perhaps God allowed this, so as to push me into the secret place to develop myself in prayers and studies. This was the period that I got introduced to Dr Myles Munroe’s ministry; his books and teachings became my best companion. Although he’s transitioned to glory, his life remains a blessing to me.

1nebody: Can’t agree less. He remains a blessing to the body of Christ around the globe. So, we played host to your wife last week and she asked us to find out from you how you located her (laughs) but first what qualities were you looking out for?

MO: (smiles) I wanted a wife who is intelligent, beautiful and committed to God in every sense of the word; one who doesn’t joke with her tithes, offerings and service to God. There’s more: a good dancer and a sociable person.

1nebody: Did your wife get a tick in all these?

MO: She did! I must confess that God packaged all these specifications together in my wife. She thrills me with her dance steps. (laughs)

1nebody: (Laughs) When you say God packaged your desires and delivered your spec to you, does it mean you prayed about a wife?

MO: Certainly. It was an intentional and purpose-full prayer. I had just “survived” a bad relationship and I did not want a recurrence. In fact, I attended Shiloh 2014 (an annual gathering of Living Faith Church, worldwide) with that as one of my prayer requests. When it was time for Shiloh sacrifice, I gave for myself and my would-be wife. I told God to bless me with a wife who would partner with me in fulfilling God’s purpose for my life. Fast forward to 2015, I had the first chat with my wife. Although, I did not know she would be my wife.

1nebody: Would you say that  you got your answer immediately, that was within a few months of your prayer?

MO: Errm, “immediateness” is relative. I would say God answered me and gave me a wife, when He saw I was prepared enough to have one. Preparation here cuts across emotional, physical, spiritual and even psychological readiness to shoulder the task of heading a family.

1nebody: That’s absolutely correct. Now to the main question how did you know Dr Evelyn was to be your wife and how did you ask her to be your wife?

MO: (laughs) I would come to that but let me add that in readiness for what I asked God for at Shiloh 2014; I was giving tithes in the name of my would-be wife. I listened to and read tons of materials on the subject of relationship and marriage from various authors. I got busy serving God, while also looking out for a “wifeable” lady (laughs) Don’t forget that I already had her as a friend but I never thought we would be married. The Holy Spirit kept prompting me towards her and I initially resisted. I eventually sought counsel from my spiritual father, Pastor Israel Akinsanya (who was the Pastor of my Church at the time). After talking with him, I could not fight the Holy Spirit’s prompting anymore; I knew it was time to make my intentions known. In December 2016, I told Evelyn that I would like to invite her into a “marriage bound love relationship with me”. These were my exact words to her.

1nebody: Hahaha! That sounds like a 30-second manifesto

MO: (laughs) Maybe it took more or less. It was really straight to the point though. There was no point beating about the bush.

1nebody: Wow! That’s  definitely a take-home point. So, you both met in Church while serving God. These days, a good number of single ladies in Church think “church brothers” should be dreaded. How true is this?

MO: This may be true; at least I have seen one. However, I think our sisters should understand that a matter as serious as a relationship for a person of destiny must not be entered into casually or on flimsy considerations. Have standards for yourself, godly ones. Even as a man, I personally laid down concrete tests to scrutinize and double check my conviction that Evelyn was my wife from God, among the several ladies I had to choose from. There might be brothers that are still a work in progress but certainly, there are still good ones and I pray God leads everyone who desires to be married to the best life partner in Jesus Name.

1nebody:Amen!!! What a way to conclude this session, thank you so much for sharing with us. God bless you

MO: It’s been an honour for us as well, many thanks for having us