How should Christians pray?

YEMI OLAKITAN

 

Prayer is very important in the lives of Christians, it is also a subject of divergent opinions  and approaches, while some believe that eyes must be closed during prayers, others prefer to open their eyes, some go to the mountains, others go to the sea, some kneel, others shout. Senior Correspondent, Yemi Olakitan examines the subject of Christian prayer in the light of Biblical texts and Christian views.

The Lord Jesus while speaking on the subject of prayer said, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:5-8).  He also gave us a pattern of prayer called the Lord’s Prayer in the gospels of Matthew 6: 9-13

Reverend Father Abiona of the Catholic Church while speaking on the subject of how Christians should pray said, ‘‘‘there is no law in the catholic church that says that a Christian should close his eyes or should not close his eyes during prayers. People close their eyes in the Catholic Church and some people do not. The most important thing is that we should pray without ceasing, according to what the Bible commands.  Those who close their eyes when they pray do well and those who do not also do well. When people close their eyes, they do so in order to enhance their concentration and focus. It enables the believers to avoid distractions and to put their minds on the subject of prayer. You cannot say, you are praying when you are looking here and there. You have to put your mind to it.  The people who go to the mountain to pray and the people who go to the sea or river to pray do well as long as they do not do other things that are contrary to the word of God when they get there. God is everywhere and Jesus himself said that when we pray that we should go into our house and shut the door and speak to our heavenly father.’’

The Bishop of Kogi Diocese, the Right Reverend, A.I Dawodu of the African Church Cathedral opined that prayer is a spiritual activity and communion with God, ‘‘the bible says those who worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. Those who go to the river to pray have not done anything unscriptural. Christians go to the river to pray because of the need to stay close to God in an environment of quietness and solitude. Jesus himself regularly withdrew to the mountains to pray and to hear from God. Let us not forget that the African people believe in symbolism. They believe that symbols connect them to the divine that is why they go to the river or the mountain. In the bible, Naaman, the leper was healed after he bathed himself at a river.  (2 Kings 5:1-19)  There is nothing unbiblical about going to the river or the mountain to pray.  Jesus himself preached by the river banks, it was there he met one of his greatest disciples, Apostle Peter. God is everywhere and Christians can pray anywhere, in the church, at home, in the office and they can open their eyes or close it. There is now where in the bible where Christians are told to pray with their eyes close or opened. They can pray with any posture that is convenient for them and at any time in any place. The instruction is to pray without ceasing.’’

In another chat with Elder Theophilus Ajibola of the United African Methodist Church, he said, it is not true that Catholics or orthodox churches do not close their eyes when they pray. We close our eyes and we kneel down..  The Pentecostals stand. They believe in praying while they stand. They hardly kneel. The white garments like going to the sea or river banks. All these are good, if we do them according to our faith.  The reason why we close our eyes is so that we can concentrate on the task at hand. We close our eyes so that we can focus on God and avoid distractions.  What the Bible says is, according to your faith be it unto you.

Deaconess Shola Abimbola of the Global Church of the Living God in Lekki, Lagos says prayer is a communication between man and God. Christians should close their eyes when they pray.  This is because of concentration and focus and it helps to avoid distractions. This is important in prayer. It is not wrong to go to the mountain or the river. You can go to the mountain in your room. It does not necessarily mean that one must go to a physical mountain.  The idea of going to the mountain or the river is just to achieve concentration. It helps to be alone with God and communicate with him. There is no posture that is not acceptable to God, whether you kneel, jump or stand does not matter all that is required that you communicate with your God.  There are instances when one can open the eyes during prayer. If I am driving and I am praying to God. I cannot close my eyes. If I am praying with a prayer list on a paper, I will not close my eyes since I have to read from the list. In whatever way, we choose tom pray God hears.

 Pastor Emmanuel of Hope of Life Evangelical Church said, going to the mountain or to the hill is not wrong, when it comes to the subject of prayer what is important is the faith of the individual believers. It is not wrong for people to go to the sea to pray as long as they go there to pray and not to do unbiblical acts. Prayer can be offered anywhere since our God is everywhere. He is everywhere and he is omnipotent. Prayer is a personal thing between you and God. Consequently, I believe that the exact manner people pray is also between them and God. The exact manner isn't specified in the Bible... Some people may like to kneel, some people may turn out the lights, and some people may look up towards the sky while others may pray silently within their heads. Different people communicate with their saviour in different ways but the most important thing is that communication is occurring.’’

Pastor clement Ofunoye of the Global Church of the living God while speaking on the subject of prayer, said, that Christians should pray with all their hearts and might’s and without ceasing. Some believe in gentleman prayers. I don’t, because the devil is not gentle. Jesus Christ prayed and blood comes out from his face as sweat. If you pray with vigour and you pray sluggishly, which one will enter your subconscious man? I believe in violent prayers. I don’t do gentleman prayers.’’

Evangelist Ezekiel Keith of the House on the Rock, said, ‘prayer depends on the state of mind of the believer.’ According to him, ‘one does not need to close eyes. It is not compulsory but closing one’s eyes connects one to the spiritual, which is God because you then avoid distractions.  There is no definite place where a Christian can pray. You can pray in your room or outside your room but Jesus Christ warn us not to make a show of prayer. Our God is omnipresent and omniscient. One can pray anywhere and at any time in any posture. It is one’s state of mind and the condition of the heart that God is looking at. Christians should pray as they see fit to pray. God is well aware of what's in your heart as you pray; he's aware if you're doing anything out of traditional formality, or if it's being done sincerely. You can pray anywhere.
You can sit, stand, run, lay, kneel, or whatever. I often pray as I lay in bed at night, and when I'm at work - always asking God for his grace. I will pray when I'm just sitting around and sometimes it's as if I'm just having a normal conversation in the same way I would with anyone else - just sitting there casually and talking.  The Bible says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. This is what I live by when it comes to the subject of prayer.

Elder Veronica Osai of Good shepherd Church, Ajegunle said, ‘‘prayer is a personal thing. It's a conversation between you and God. It isn't between you and someone else and God. The way that you have that conversation is between you and God. No one has a right to come and give you rules about how to talk to your best friend. You may do it laying down -- standing up -- walking around. We should be comfortable, open to talk and open to listen. We should just be ourselves. If having your eyes closed helps you, do it. If it doesn't, don't do it.  The bible says, according to your faith be it unto you.