African Plume

“Call Me. I Will Stop It.” By Akin Ojumu There is a world of difference between saying: “God answered my prayer and stopped the rain.” and declaring: “Call me. I will stop it. I have power over the weather.” The first statement attributes the supernatural intervention to God. The second attributes a standing supernatural ability to the minister. That distinction is not semantic hair-splitting. It goes to the heart of biblical theology concerning divine sovereignty, spiritual gifts, miracles, and the place of the Christian minister. In a remarkable set of comments, Arome Osayi makes the following claims: “Maybe we want to do an outdoor meeting and it’s raining, call me. I will stop it.” He continues: “I have power over the weather. And I have exercised it many times in Africa.” He then recounts an incident at the University of Port Harcourt where, according to him, rain stopped after he addressed it, allowing him to preach. Later that night, Osayi says God spoke to him: “When you shut t...