Pray in a way that is convenient to you

Pray in a way that is convenient to you.

Abraham Daljang Maker, Kampala Uganda

The mode of prayers I have so far seen since 2003 the year I set my foot on Ugandan soil are still fresh in my brain. Although I was born in a village, I had a chance of being baptized in a small town called Akot which could be just a small trading center in advanced world. My mother Rebecca took me for baptism at the age of five. She asked me to choose my Christian name and I said that. “Abraham is my name.” I had no idea of what the name mean until 1999 when I read it in the Old Testament.  Episcopal church of Sudan ECS is where my mother used to pray till 2007 when I learned that she is one of mother unions in Anglican Church.

Being a Christian, I used to pray in Anglican of Uganda since it’s the main church and which is a bit related to ECS.  My colleague called me one day to go and attend three days conference in Arua youth center. That was in April 2003 if I can still remember it very well. The church we went to for the conference was neither ECS nor Anglican. We entered the conference hall when praises and worships had begun. In the middle of the praises, the presiding man called for attention and asked if anyone amongst us was not born again. My friend raised his hand plus many other people. they were asked to move forwards, my dear friend told me to raise my hand too but I was perplexed why I should when I got baptized at the age of five and confessed Christ as my savor with the help of my mom who told me to repeat the words the pastor was saying. (Will you follow Christ all your life? And mom would tell me to say, “Yes, I will.”) I almost asked the question of Nicodemus that how can the grown up be born again, but I did raised my hand too in order not to miss the right path of God.

In front of the crowd, I was feeling awkward because many eyes where fixed on us. I lowered my head and waited. The man told us to follow what he was saying as the way of affirming that we accept Christ as our personal savior, the words he said were not totally different from the first confession during the Baptism that you will follow Jesus. That went on very well though because it did not involve any thing difficult.  After giving our lives to Savior, he began to pray placing his hands on the forehead of each of us and pray for some time as a sign of removing the devil in our heads and our bodies which I learned latter was the reason. Amazingly, as he prayed while holding someone’s head, I saw each one falling after the other with loud scream and I was freezing while waiting for my own scream and the fall down. Fortunately, there were people already behind each of us who would hold you not to fall hard of the floor; I had also someone behind me. When it was my turn; the man asked me and I told him my name. He then grasped my forehead holding it tightly and I felt the pain running down my cheek and my eyes were as if they would explode off. He was leaning me behind with that terrible force but I spread my legs and stood firm, for almost three minutes the force was unbearable but I never gave up. He suddenly released his hand on my head and the supporter behind me had nothing to hold because I did not succumb to the pressure. With frowning face, the man asked me where I came from and I told him the name of my school.

Before lunch, there was worship which took a few minutes after that the prayers started and everyone was punching and kicking the air, slapping hands, knocking chairs and walls and shouting aloud. With my ECS style, I bowed my head and prayed quietly; but I was like an alien in the crowd because everyone was moving about in the hall and I was the only one who remained in my seat. Then someone came and slapped my shoulder hard and shouted; “chase the demons out of him, he is possessed” I than realized that it would very dangerous if all demons come to me alone and I started praying too while moving and shouting. In all these efforts of scaring away demons from me, I was only repeating the same words over and over again and my throat became course. I ran out of words and I had nothing to say but time was still long to end the prayer, it was just thirty minutes and the prayer was to go on for one and a half hours. I saw someone crying aloud and I thought this word be the best way of killing the remaining minutes. But alas! It was worst then just repeating one word on and on. I cried in a way I never had done before, not even when my mom would flog me whenever I made a mistake. My eyes blurred and I lost vision and fell down badly without some one behind to support me. I woke up in a few minutes later only to see people fanning me with piece of clothes and their figures were like small stick above my head, as if the sound came from a deep pit I heard words like “Praise the Lord.”  I sat up with bruises on my limbs and my eyes were sore, I regretted why I didn’t fall down when the man was pressing my forehead so that I would get someone to hold me behind before I would felt down.  At the end of the conference at 5pm friend told me “you see; that is how you should pray to chased away the demons not to attack you.”  He also added that our prayers are being intercepted in the sky before they reach to the Almighty by the devil which reigns in the blue.

I read my Bible that evening and I came across Matthew 6:5-13 about Jesus teaching the disciples on how to pray which is totally contrary to repetitions of same words, shouting and slapping whatever is in front claiming to chase the devil. I also recalled a Phrase during teaching before baptism which says, “Where is God?” And the reply was “God is in heaven, here and everywhere.”  I was wondering why my friend told me that God is only in Heaven and our prayers can only reach him when we shout aloud to chase the reigning beast between us and our heavenly Father. I told latter that I will not go for the third day of conference because I know God is in Heaven, here and everywhere and he will hear my prayers wherever I ask him.

Till now, I still have no definite answers to these questions.

Why didn’t I fall down when the man was pressing my forehead so that I would get a support from someone who was behind me?  Why was this man kept on pressing my veins knowing very well that it was hurting?  How and why did I fall in course of crying prayers? And is it really true that our prayers are being intercepted in the blue and can only reach God when we shout aloud and cry? I fail to answer and these questions.

May God bless you who reads this article