KNEELING BEFORE THE FATHER ON CAMPUS
Going along with the Nairobi church's theme for the month of March, "I kneel before the Father," two brothers from campus, Paul Wekesa (photo right) and Patrick Kulubi (photo below), were selected to preach on the topic of prayer at one of the Friday evening campus devotionals in March. Paul is a final-year student at Kenyatta University, where he is studying chemistry and Special Education and Patrick is in the third year of his degree course in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nairobi.
Lessons on PrayerThe campus disciples were excited to hear great preaching from two of their peers as Paul preached about being real in our prayers and letting God know what's really going on in our lives and hearts. Patrick spoke about being personal and creative in prayer, using our God-given talents to praise our Creator. The two were followed at the pulpit by Fred Arogo, who is in the full-time ministry and is a former member of the campus ministry. He, too, preached about the need to be real with God. A very inspiring evening was brought to a bonding end with the disciples breaking up into groups of three's to pray together.
Answered Prayer
That day was particularly exciting for one of the sisters on campus, Grace Mueni, as God answered a seven-year prayer of hers. Her father had been unjustly put on death row and remained in prison for that period despite lack of evidence against him and with little progress in court.
When Grace got baptized in 1999 her father was already in prison. It was difficult for her to talk openly about her father to people, but she eventually got the courage to do so. Disciples would pray about the situation and some accompanied her on occasion to go visit her father in prison."At times I felt helpless," says Grace. "I'd think to myself that my father would stay in jail forever. I would pray for a submissive heart in case my father was given the death sentence." Disciples would come up to Grace from time to time and reassure her that they were praying for her father.
The day before the inspiring prayer devotional on campus, Grace got the awesome news - her father had been acquitted! "If I hadn't overcome the fear of letting people know about my father, they would never have prayed, and this would never have happened," says Grace.
In answer to the prayers of many, as Grace got real with God and with her spiritual brothers and sisters around her, the God who cares came through in a great way for her and for her entire family.
Points about Prayer
Here are the outlines of the three lessons on prayer presented that evening.
1. REAL PRAYER
By Paul Wekesa
In communicating with us, which he does through the Bible, God is straight and real with us. We, in turn, communicate to God through prayer and as we do so, we, for our part, need to be real with God.
Jonah 4:1-9
God knows what's on our hearts and so we must be real with him and not try to hide what is going on inside of us. What Jonah was feeling was not right, but he was honest about it with God, and that was the right thing to do.
v. 10,11 As you are real with God, he is then able to tune your heart and mind to his as he does here with Jonah. Being real with God brings peace.
Personal testimony: At one point on campus I (Paul) wanted to fall away and had decided that that Sunday would be my last one at church. That morning I went to the playing fields at Kenyatta University and poured out to God that that was the way I felt and that I wanted his strength to help me overcome. I was able to come back from the spiritual brink.
Luke 22:42,43
Here, Jesus is real with God, and an angel shows up to strengthen him. Whatever you feel, tell God, and let him in to strengthen you and help you to stand.
2. BEING PERSONAL IN OUR PRAYERS
By Patrick Kulubi
In life we are aware of the consequence of our actions, e.g. if you don't read hard you will not succeed academically. That way, we learn the importance of different things. We must also learn the importance of prayer.
Matthew 6:5,6
We are encouraged to talk to God heart-to-heart. Even with friends we talk to them alone and in private sometimes because the friendship is personal. You don't always want to have your conversations with a friend in the middle of a crowd.
Matthew 26:36-39
At the height of a crisis of obvious emotional strain, Jesus realizes that what is needed is prayer. This is similar to Daniel continuing to pray though he knew that he'd be sentenced to death for it. These men knew that they needed prayer in order to be close to God.
Be expressive to God. Use your talents to keep your prayer life varied and fresh, e.g.
-if you are good at poetry, write poems to God
-if you are good at writing songs, then write songs to God
-if you like to sing, then sing to God
-if you like to draw or paint, express what your feeling to God in a picture.
3. SHARE YOUR HEART
By Fred Arogo
Psalm 142:1,2
It is easy to feel that God wants to hear only good things from you. God wants to hear everything - the good, the bad and the ugly. Here David expresses a heavy - maybe even hardening - heart to God. In any true friendship you share about your great moments and also the low ones as well, not just the good alone.
If you have a good friend and you hear from someone else, not from that friend, that the friend was having a problem with something you did or said, you feel hurt. We expect friends to be open with us.
Daniel 9:20,10:10-12
Daniel had sin to confess and yet was esteemed by God. In confessing sin, he was open about the least attractive part of his life (sin makes you look bad, not good), and God esteemed him. God didn't condemn him.
Q. Do you pray like this, telling God exactly how you feel?
Don't make your relationship with God either artificial or official. Be a friend, see God as a friend, and be open and honest with him about how you feel.