Adeboye Urges Nigerians to Overcome Anxiety Through Joy, Prayer and Thanksgiving

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has urged Nigerians to confront anxiety, pressure and uncertainty by making rejoicing, prayer and thanksgiving an integral part of their daily lives.

Adeboye gave the advice while delivering a sermon at the headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Lagos on Sunday, where he encouraged believers not to allow the difficulties of life to deprive them of their joy or weaken their faith.

The respected cleric said he had discovered that the three practices of rejoicing, praying and giving thanks, when carried out sincerely and wholeheartedly, could have a significant impact on an individual’s life.

According to a report by Church Times Nigeria, Adeboye based his message on the biblical instruction contained in 1 Thessalonians 5:16–17, which encourages believers to rejoice and pray continually.

He urged Christians to develop the habit of starting every day with joy and gratitude rather than allowing the challenges of the previous day or fears about the future to determine their mood.
Adeboye said, “When you wake up every morning, rejoice.

Praise God. Start your day on a positive note of rejoicing. Forget about the past. Just rejoice. Wake up with joy and allow the joy of the Lord to dominate your life.”

The cleric explained that dwelling excessively on past disappointments could prevent people from appreciating the opportunities and blessings available to them in the present.

He therefore encouraged Nigerians to let go of yesterday’s troubles and approach each new day with renewed hope and confidence.

Adeboye also addressed the issue of worrying about the future, saying that people who trust in God should not allow uncertainty about tomorrow to overwhelm them.

He argued that if God had been able to sustain an individual in the past, there was no reason to believe that He would abandon the person in the future.

“If I am not where I am by my ability, why should I worry about tomorrow? He took care of me yesterday; He will take care of me tomorrow,” he said.

Adeboye further advised believers to cultivate a strong and consistent prayer life, particularly during periods of difficulty.

Rather than allowing personal challenges, financial difficulties, family problems or other pressures to dominate their thoughts, he urged people to take their concerns to God through prayer.

“Pray always. Make your requests known to God. Rather than worry over your problems, pray about them,” the RCCG General Overseer stated.

He explained that prayer was an important means through which believers could involve God in their circumstances and seek His intervention, guidance and strength.

Adeboye also emphasised the importance of thanksgiving, describing it as another essential practice that could help people maintain a positive and spiritually focused outlook despite difficult circumstances.

He cautioned believers against allowing their present challenges to completely determine their attitude towards life, urging them to remain grateful even when their expectations had not yet been fulfilled.
“In everything give thanks.

Don’t allow your circumstances to affect your life. Give thanks irrespective of what you are going through in life,” he said.

According to the cleric, thanksgiving should not be dependent solely on whether things are going well. Instead, he encouraged believers to maintain an attitude of gratitude while trusting that their circumstances could change.

The sermon was delivered during a service dedicated to judges and lawyers, during which Adeboye also spoke about advocacy and the importance of having an advocate.

Making reference to Romans 8:31, he used the relationship between a lawyer and a client to illustrate his point about the role of Jesus Christ as an advocate for believers.

Adeboye said that even when a person makes mistakes, Christians should remember that they have an advocate before God.

He described Jesus Christ as an advocate unlike any other, explaining that Christ’s sacrifice provides believers with hope and redemption.

“He is the only advocate who goes to the judge and says, ‘My client is guilty as charged. But release him and take me instead. He gave himself for us,’” Adeboye said.

The message highlighted the importance of maintaining faith and hope in difficult circumstances, with the cleric encouraging believers to replace excessive worry with prayer, despair with joy and anxiety with thanksgiving.

Adeboye’s counsel comes amid the numerous social and economic pressures confronting many Nigerians, who continue to deal with uncertainties and challenges in different aspects of life.

He encouraged believers to remain spiritually grounded and to approach each day with a renewed sense of optimism, while trusting in God rather than allowing fear and anxiety to control their lives.

The RCCG leader’s message ultimately centred on three key principles—rejoicing, constant prayer and thanksgiving—which he presented as practical ways for believers to remain hopeful, resilient and spiritually strong in the face of life’s challenges.

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