HURRIED PRAYERS

HURRIED PRAYERS

In the Christian Church where I belong, Wednesday of the week is devoted to prayer meeting. The midweek prayer  is a welcome break from the daily grind. Here we can bare our souls to God, pray, and be prayed upon.  It is a time of refreshing as we cast our worldly  cares upon our Savior, and vow not to pick them up again. It gives us the opportunity to be quiet, and still, that we may hear God’s voice.

In one of these days, I am perplexed to hear the worship leader say he is  giving us ten minutes to pray, as if speed is all there is to it in the act of prayer.

Why pray when everyone is in a hurry. This is terrible. 

Why is it that we have to set deadlines, and time patterns even the realm of the spirit?

Churches nowadays   are establishing timelines for every activity under heaven, that everything is rushed and completed to be offered in the altar of measured time.  Every act of worship and service is severely measured.

In my moments of naughtiness, I intentionally defy the bell that rings, calling,  time is up!

Perhaps  some of us have forgotten that our Master and Teacher was never concerned about keeping appointments in terms of measured time. He prayed with no deadlines, even if it took Him the whole night. He used every opportunity, without the slightest care for time. He slept when tired. He did not show disdain of the interruptions that came along His way. Schedules didn’t rule. He even chose to dillydally to prove a point and perform an awesome miracle, by raising a dead man.

If we only realize that real moments and events are God-given opportunities which we should take and make use of, maybe we will not be acting like time keepers,  keeping track of everything. Maybe we will have deeper and fruitful moments of prayer. Maybe we will sooner realize that sending hurried prayers to Heaven are no prayers at all.