Feb 17, 2012

TEXT:
Luke 11:1-4:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation'

Thinking about the need and importance of prayer, I remembered a testimony that was shared by a man whose mother was a very prayerful woman. The well to do man, a father of two school going children eavesdropped on the mother’s prayer who was visiting the city from her rural home. The mother was earnestly praying for God to give her son and daughter in law another child. The mother had prayed and fasted over the apparent bareness that had befallen her son’s family. The son, a Christian, had to gather courage and ‘fellowship’ with his mother because he and his wife had planned to have a family of only two children. The mother had never imagined how a well educated man, Christian with a loving wife would refuse to have children. How can that zealous mother’s prayer be classified, bad prayer, ignorance driven prayer or just a good prayer? Is that one of those prayers of which C.H. Spurgeon says, ’Ah, my brethren, we little know how many of our prayers are an abomination to the Lord’ or as another Christian writes, ‘And many shall think they are praying to the Father in my name, whilst deceiving themselves’. How is prayer that driven by inadequate information categorized?

The meditation on the need to ask the Lord Jesus Christ how to pray is motivated by the many calls in my country for prayers. The memory of the bloodshed that followed the last national/political elections is causing some fear, tension and pressure that makes Christians do what they know is best, pray. In an uneven externally induced democracy, among 41 or 42 ethnic groups, one of the major prayer items is against tribalism or ethnicity. Just as an education to hate questions is hardly one to provide answers, so is Christianity. So there is need to keep asking what exactly is the prayer need? Is it for tribes to end? What would be the consequence of having people lose their sense of identity derived from their ethnic origins?

WHAT IS ETHNICITY AND WHY IS IT TERYIFYING?

An ethnic group is a group of people with a shared background that makes the members identify with one another. Ethnicity is often the most predictive of over-all identity-status and is seen as more important to self-definition than occupation. In any community people can be categorized in many ways, such as by gender, race, religion, ethnicity, language, income, age, or sexual orientation. What is unfortunate is that these categories are sometimes used to label people unfairly or to saddle them with stereotypes. Stereotypes are generalized assumptions concerning the traits or characteristics of all members of a particular group. They are frequently (although not always) negative and generally incorrect. What is of interest is how ironically, negative stereotypes discourage closer contact, preventing the perpetrator from discovering what the individual victims of these stereotypes are really like.

An ethnic group often has a common language, common culture and common ideology that results from shared values and worldview. That in what is called democracy, where every person has one vote, the larger community is likely to have shared views and so tilt the weight to their favor. That causes fear to those who realize they cannot have the numbers and guilt to those who find themselves favored. Is that tribalism? What then is the prayer that a Christian needs to pray in such case?

Two points of view in regard to ethnicity

1. Some people have argued that the legitimacy of the national state should be based on a notion of political rights of autonomous individual subjects. According to this view, the state should not acknowledge ethnic, national or racial identity but rather instead enforce political and legal equality of all individuals. The biblical support for this view is that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away and behold the new has come (2 Corinthians 5.17). The question is whether being new creation in Christ is the same as political nationalism. To the Christian who holds that view, the prayer for ethnicity may probably be to have people cease to value the their culture and look out for what is foreign to them but shared by others. This is where speaking one's language or using the names that are not foreign tend to be sucipiciously viewed.
2. Other people are of the view that the notion of the autonomous individual is itself constructed in one’s culture. According to this view, states must recognize ethnic identity and develop processes through which the particular needs of ethnic groups can be accommodated within the boundaries of the nation-state. To undervalue the culture of the people is to take away their humanness and sense of being. That can cause deep insecurity as people lack sense of identity. The biblical support for this view is that the bible is based on family that becomes a tribe,such as the nation of Israel. Jesus Christ was born into a culture, was named in a way understood within the culture, ate the food that was defined in the culture and so on. So what is the prayer regarding ethnicity offered by the believer who holds this view?

THE REAL ISSUE WITH ETHNICITY

It is the lack of understanding and appreciation of cultural differences that cause fear, hatred which allows for stereotyping and prejudices. Cultural pride is a necessity that allows human dignity and self confidence. However if it is taken to evaluate others as not being good enough if they are not like us then, the cultural pride becomes a problem. The prayer is not that people cease to appreciate who they are but acknowledge the differences as they appreciate that being different is opportunity to enrich relationships. Apostle Peter found real hard to acknowledge God’s view of human beings is that they are all created in God’s image and likeness. In Acts 10 when Peter was sent by God to a non Jew, Cornelius, he reasoned ‘But Peter said, No, Lord; for I have never taken food which is common or unclean’.(Acts 10:14). Listen to the realization after interacting with God, ‘ Then Peter said, Truly, I see clearly that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation, the man who has fear of him and does righteousness is pleasing to him (Acts 10:34-35). That is the fact that every believer has to have in mind. Cornelius did not have to adapt Jewish customs for God to fill him with the Holy Spirit. It is John Newton who said that 'If a man is born again, hates sin, and depends upon the Savior for life and grace, I care not whether he be an Arminian or a Calvinist.'

Stereotypes and prejudices cause is what should be addressed - The prayer should be for an understanding of God’s word in a way that stereotyping and viewing others from tribal biases is not what gives us security. It is as we listen to God that we realize that the greatest prayer is to have God give us the prayer. Remember doubtful prayer is not prayer at all. Some prayer that is rooted in undetected tribal dislikes for other people can be compared to fighting alligators which feels good as one is busy and can assume that God can be moved. Such a prayer can make one feel needed by the group and so feel productive yet the mission was not fighting alligators but to drain the swamp. It is necessary to think through what the prayer item is and the desired outcome and examine whether it aligns with the overall mission of God which should be the mission of the church. Do you know God's mission concerning earth?

CHRISTIAN PRAYER IN THE FACE OF TRIBAL DIFFERENCES
Allow God to speak to our minds - God desires to make His will which is already designed in heaven to be known and done on earth. That requires more meditation on God’s word. Remember ‘It is far better to drive men away by faithful preaching than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithful preaching!’ (Al Whittinghill)d. The prayer that should precede the one on ethnicity is that God reveals his will to us. No human power or issue can be too strong for God.That is what will make those in power say like Queen Mary. ‘Mary Queen of Scots (Bloody Mary as she was sometimes called) was more terrified of John Knox’s prayers than she was of any army that might be brought against her’. Do you genuinely desire to have the will of God realized on earth?

Obedience to the word of God – You cannot love God and hate your brother whom you can see. ‘'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt’(Leviticus 19:17). ‘Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness’ (1John 2:9). If every Christian lived in obedience to the word of God the tension of tribal hatred would not be much.  Jesus disciples are learners who continually take their lessons from him and discuss the lessons with other learners in what is called fellowship.  

Examine yourself for any tribal grudges- You cannot have an attitude that blocks from relating with a group of people and still be a Christian. It is in gathering for prayer for the nation where people need to distinguish between fear, guilt and stereotyping of others. If one is used to categorize others as sinners who are enemies to be avoided, then obedience to Christ’s command of being his witness cannot be fulfilled. Many of today's prejudices have their roots in thousands of years of human history and may be so imbedded into us that it takes effort to recognize them. Prejudice can be manifested in personal bias, discriminatory practices, and - at its worst - acts of violence. ‘Avoid using stereotypes even seemingly positive ones, such as generalizing a whole ethnic group as exceptionally good at math or musically talented’. A Christian has to determine to treat everyone with love and respect.

Pray for prayer - Sometimes I wonder whether the type of government inherited and said to be democratic is the most suitable for heterogeneous nations. May be as we pray God would reveal a less conflicting system of governance that is suitable for us, particularly in Africa where the concept of democracy is not well understood. To socialize people in a way that they lose confidence in who they are may risk their independence as human beings, their creativity, and ability to make choices even the choice to follow Christ. Sometimes what looks like new may be camouflage of other people’s cultures whose very hidden intention is expansion of the economic markets and political influence. We have to keep asking God to teach us how to pray in regard to our living together as Christians from different ethnic communities without losing our sense of origin while appreciating others. How do you respond to the question that Watchman Nee asks, ‘Why do so many Christians pray such tiny prayers when their God is so big?’