The prayer was lengthy. The prayer leader was rapping, his words
incoherent, and his prayer unintelligible. My slight problem with
‘prayer’ is that it has become more like gambling. Let’s say as much as
possible to God and if we are righteous or can quote copious scriptures,
he would answer. ‘He is a prayer answering God, not a prayer storing
God’ shouts the leader. Please……I have heard that before.
I have always believed that the more selective, with words, one is
during prayer, the more effective one would be. Jesus didn’t rap his
prayer or utter lengthy, incoherent sounds. That is why His prayers were
recordable. Imagine if we were required to write our prayers before
saying them, we would all be very concise. One should remember the exact
words said in one’s prayer. This approach would focus one’s faith and
thus enhance it. Why should the potency of my prayer be judged by or be
dependent on my demeanor during prayer, the volume of my voice, the
violence of my gestures or the piety of my expression? Why should length
take precedence over sincerity of heart? Why should communication with
my maker have to be so exhausting? The picture of God forced on my mind
by spiritual leaders has been one of a grand, overbearing boss, who
constantly plays hard to get. Why can’t we fellowship with God over
breakfast, in church? Is there a way church could be made more
appealing, without diluting the spiritual content of the service?
Oya, stop! Stop! These thoughts are dangerous. They are not permitted
in chapel. You don’t question the actions of the chaplaincy or of
your spiritual leaders. If you do this, it means you are not
spiritual, and in extreme cases, not born again. Spiritual people just
do as instructed. If they are told to pray, they pray. No questions. No
opposition.
I couldn’t reconcile the voices in my head. I sat. Damn the
consequences. I prepared myself to listen to the unquestionable sermon
of today’s preacher. I dozed off………then the ‘grace’. Service is over.
I stepped out of chapel, hungry, disheveled and unsure of my standing
with my creator, viewed through the lens of a monolithic, Pentecostal
community , preaching a valid message, with the twin instruments of
coercion and scare-mongering. Is scaring people into going to church and
giving their lives to Christ, good evangelism? Is fear, solid bedrock
for a sound Christian adventure? Oya, stop! I switched on my I-pod touch
and plugged my earphones, as I strolled to my room.
