Let us Pray

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

Psalm 122:1

I was just a couple of weeks into my Kano experience when I had a particularly disconcerting experience. I had gone to a supermarket to buy some stuff when I found the door firmly bolted in my face. I turned around wondering what had become of the storekeepers, only to see a gathering of men, in their obligatory flowing robes, all kneeling on their prayer mats for the mid-day Muslim prayers. "Won't you go and join them?", a nearby woman asked. I flashed her a look of righteous indignation, turned on the heel and strutted away, head held high. The whole motion said one thing only: "How dare you think I'm one of you!"

But then as I've become more used to living and dealing with Muslims it's very clear now that their religion is such an integral part of their culture and their everyday life. They certainly don't joke with their prayer times. It's not uncommon to hear them sounding words of invitation to each other, "let's go and pray", "have you prayed", etc. It's taken for granted - if you're a Muslim, you will pray. Even I have become seemingly so caught up in the system that when the time for prayer is approaching I ask my fellow workers, "won't you go and pray?" They've been conditioned to pray and to do so regularly.

Now without a doubt there's a great lesson to learn for us who pray to the Heavenly Father. I'm not for a minute going to suggest that you begin to treat prayer like a thing of religion. That'll just defeat the whole purpose. God designed it as something for fellowship more than just something we do out of a sense of duty. But that we do it at all is a good starting point. The more we spend time in prayer, the more we condition ourselves to love it and live it. As with all things we practice, it becomes less of an onerous task and more enjoyable with each experience.

So, borrow a leaf from my dear Muslim friends. Pray! And while you're at it, invite someone else. You'd be surprised where that simple act could take you. In a few seconds you could be actively changing your world.

With love, Doosuur.