You cannot easily quit after wedding; Choose engagement, live together before — Prophet Blessing

Prophet Nana Yaw Blessing, founder and leader of House of Prayer For All Nation Family (HOPFAM) in Cape Coast, has admonished believers not to rush into weddings.

Recounting his experience, he said, he had been blessing a lot of weddings during his nascent stages in the ministry but has come to the realization that, it was a wrong approach that he took.

"One reason is that, once you wed your spouse, you cannot divorce again. Because divorcing your spouse after wedding has consequences and you must answer to God. It is clearly spelt out in the Bible. But I realised that some of the marriages I had blessed was collapsing and those involved were seeking divorce which was disturbing to me.

Narrating this experience, he said, "I had to study the bible and understood the implications of divorce after weddings. We pastors are also part of the problem. We need to educate our flock very well on the implications of wedding and divorce.

"I have stopped officiating fresh weddings. I can only officiate fresh wedding when those involved have been properly briefed about the implications and they still insist before I shall do as required. Normally, I always advise would-be couples to do an engagement, live with their spouses for a considerable length of time before considering wedding.

"If after about one, two, five, ten or fifteen years of living together and you're still very comfortable with each other and want to spend the rest of your entire life with your spouse then, the wedding can be held".

According to him, marriage is a family affair and not for the church or pastor to determine that. All the pastor is required to do is to bless the marriage after the two families have performed all the necessary traditional marriage rites.

Speaking to DC Kwame Kwakye on 'About Life' Show on Sunday 18th April, 2021, he explained that, marrying traditionally is good and easy to divorce than the Christian or ordinance wedding.

He spoke on the topic "What Accounts For The High Divorce Rate Among Christians".

He added that traditional marriage is acceptable before God. "I urge all young men to consider that. Go and live with your wife and after some years, you can bring the marriage before the altar in God's presence and subscribe to the necessary marriage vows.

"Once the wedding is done, you cannot divorce your partner because it is till death do us part. I don't entertain divorce in my church after weddings. Two of my Church leaders had to leave my church because of this."

In clarifying his position which might be seen as a deviation from what most Christians know and accept, he said, in traditional marriages, no vows are proclaimed in the presence of a pastor and God. "If one decides to walk away, the implications are not as dire as that of weddings as prescribed by the bible."

According to him, during the olden days weddings were for older couples who had lived together for years but unfortunately today, weddings have become fashionable events among the youth.

"Weddings are not just fashionable events but serious and solemn ceremonies that has spiritual implications if one decides to seek divorce. Don't just come to the altar with anyone but be sure that you are willing, prepared and very certain you can spend the rest of your entire life with your spouse before saying I do," he cautions considering the high rate of divorce in the country.