By Rev. Dr Leaderwell Pohsngap
Health Minister AL Hek on Wednesday informed that he had proposed the suggestion of organizing special prayers which was accepted by the chief minister.
On Prayer
(This is not a theological treatise on prayer but just a personal reflection as a Christian)
Ever since the declaration of the Pandemic Covid-19 last year, where all of us denizens went through a troublesome lifestyle in which we are forced to follow different protocols and subjected to lockdown from time to time, different Christian churches and groups have called for prayer and in many cases along with fasting. I have myself been a part of some. We as Christians believe that prayer is part of our faith journey. Of course, we know, if we are honest, some Christians take prayer as a priority for everything in life, while many ‘use’ prayer as the last resort when everything else has failed. So there is no surprise for me with this call for prayer and fasting by different church groups from time to time.
But what surprised me is the news I read on May 27 last in the The Shillong Times, our dependable Daily in our State for many years. It says:
Govt to organize special prayer program on May 30. The report goes, “The state government has decided to organize a special prayer session by citizens at 12 noon on May 30. Health Minister AL Hek on Wednesday informed that he had proposed the suggestion of organizing special prayers which was accepted by the chief minister. Hek urged citizens, irrespective of their religion, to take part in the special prayer from the confines of their homes. “We need to pray for the departed souls who died of COVID-19 and also for early recovery of those who are infected by the virus,” the minister said. Hek informed that the Directorate of Information and Public Relation has been asked to circulate the message for the information of all citizens.”
Unlike the calls by different church groups, this message is different, because it is a call not only to the Christians but to all citizens, irrespective of their religions. It is indeed a pleasant surprise and I am so glad that the Government is calling for prayer. I read and reread this news. I thought it was a cabinet decision but from the news it seems it was not. It was the suggestion of the Health Minister to the Chief Minister and the Chief agreed. I want to thank God and thank them for their courage to do this and for using the Government machinery (read DIPR) to publicize this. I encourage all of us to join and I hope many will. I will join because like many of you:
1. I believe Covid is a dreaded disease. Whatever name we give it and whatever may be its source, it is a plague. And it has killed many!
2. I believe God uses us humans through inventions of medicines, through different protocols and other efforts to defeat this plague.
3. But I believe ultimately it is God who will bring it to cessation.
4. Therefore, we need to pray for wisdom to fight it. We need to pray for those who have been affected by Covid-19 as expressed in this invitation and we need to pray for God’s mercy to stop it.
I do not know what other faiths say about prayer. And what I say here may not make sense to those who are not of the Christian faith. But when I think about these prayer calls and especially that of the Government, it made me ask some questions and seek for answers from the Christian perspective, taking the Bible as the context. This is not to lessen the importance and the needs of these calls for prayer. But rather to strengthen the need for prayer and plead with God to have mercy on us
Questions and answers as I understand them:
Is prayer a must for us in our faith?
I believe it is. If you are a Christian it is a given. In prayer we express our relationship with God, our trust in Him and our need for Him. God calls His people always to assemble together and plead with Him for our needs. Paul, in his letter to the church at Philippians 4:6 said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” Then he encouraged the believers in Thessalonica, saying, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess.5:7)
Does God hear us and answer our prayers?
Yes. Throughout the Bible we have promises and testimonies of God hearing and answering prayers. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God said, “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. The Psalmist said about God, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon you, for you will answer me” (Psalm 86:7)
Is there a condition to receive answers to our prayers?
I wish there was none. But wish as I may, there seems to be a condition to receive an answer to prayer. In the verse that we have referred to above, God said, “When people come and humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them and heal their land.” To do this means that people acknowledge their wayward ways and repent. So, humbling oneself and repentance seem to be a condition.
We have a beautiful story in the Old Testament. God told Jonah, the prophet, to go to Nineveh, a great city steeped in wickedness. God said that in 40 days it will be destroyed. Jonah went and preached in Nineveh. Then the people, from the greatest to the least, including the king himself put on sackcloth and ashes, proclaimed a fast, turned from their wicked ways and begged for God’s mercy. Then God relented and the city was not destroyed. This is a beautiful picture of humbling before God and repentance.
God looks at who we are in our hearts and lives, not just what we voice in prayers. Yes, we need to pray but our hearts must be in tune with Him. If our lives are not right, He calls us to be humble and repent.
Points to ponder:
1. Very often in prayer we beseech God for a change in our situations, conditions or for others to change. What do you think will happen if we first humble ourselves, repent and then petition God for our needs?
2. What do you think might happen, if churches or Christian groups or even the Government calls for a day of repentance instead of just prayer and fasting? After all, I think many of us, Christians and non-Christians alike have skeletons in our closets that need to tumble out. I am sure then, God’s mercy will fall on us and heal us.