SIKIA KUOMBA KWETU: SHIDA NI KUSIKIA?
Matendo ya Mitume 12: 12-17
12 Na alipokuwa akifikiri haya akafika nyumbani kwa Mariamu, mamaye Yohana, ambaye jina lake la pili ni Marko; na watu wengi walikuwa wamekutana humo wakiomba.
13 Naye alipobisha kilango cha lango, kijakazi, jina lake Roda, akaja kusikiliza.
14 Alipoitambua sauti ya Petro, hakukifungua lango, kwa ajili ya furaha, bali alipiga mbio, akaingia ndani akawaambia kwamba Petro anasimama mbele ya lango.
15 Wakamwambia, Una wazimu. Lakini yeye akakaza sana, akasema ya kwamba ndivyo hivyo. Wakanena, Ni malaika wake.
16 Petro akafuliza kugonga, hata walipokwisha kumfungulia wakamwona, wakastaajabu.
17 Naye akawapungia mkono wanyamaze, akawaeleza jinsi Bwana alivyomtoa katika gereza. Akasema, Kampasheni Yakobo na wale ndugu habari hizi. Akaondoka, akaenda mahali pengine.
Habari hii itufundishe somo kubwa sana, kwamba; tatizo sio Mungu kusikia maombi yetu bali sisi kuamini kuwa Mungu anatusikia. Ukisoma pale kwenye mstari wa 12, neno linasema kuwa kanisa lilikuwa limekusanyika nyumbani kwa Mariamu, mama yake Marko, likiomba. Pata picha ya watu waliokusanyika kumlilia Mungu baada ya kusikia mchungaji wao Yakobo, kauawa kikatili ( kama vile ISIS wanavyoua, alikatwa kwa upanga), na Mkuu wa Kanisa anasubiri kunyongwa. Walikuwa wanaombaje watu hawa? Lazima ilikuwa ni kwa mzigo sana hata hawakujali muda. Kwa kuwa neno linasema (mst wa 5) Kanisa lilikuwa likiomba kwa bidii. Halafu taarifa inakuja wakiwa katikati ya maombi kuwa Petro yuko mlangoni. Jibu lao sasa, kwa aliyewaletea ujumbe wa kitu walichokuwa wakikiombea kwa mzigo;
"Unawazimu wewe!".
Wengine wakasema alipoendelea kusisitiza kuwa ni Petro;
"Pengine ni malaika wake"
Yaani hawa wengine sijui ndio walijua kuwa Petro kafa, na mzuka wake ndio unatembelea sehemu alizokuwa unazozijua!
Wamesahau kabisa kuwa walikuwa katika maombi juu ya Petro. Jiulize, ndani mwao walikuwa wakiomba kama desturi au kwa imani kuwa Mungu atajibu. Na kama wanatarajia jibu, si ina maana kuwa yule anayeombwa anasikia? Na hili ni moja ya matatizo makubwa ya Kanisa la sasa. Tunaomba si kwa sababu tunaamini tunachokiomba tutakipata, bali tunakusanyika kuomba kwa kuwa kuna ratiba ya maombi kanisani. Sio kwa sababu kuna jambo tunalolitaka kwa Mungu, nasi tuna imani ya kulipokea, kwa sababu tunaamini atatupa, Ila kwa kuwa kuna siku ya maombi.
Yesu aliwaambia wanafunzi wake, Marko 11:24
" ...Yoyote myaombayo mkisali, aminini ya kwamba mnayapokea, nayo yatakuwa yenu".
Yaani anasema, usipoteze muda kuomba kama ndani mwako huna imani ya kupokea.
Nikuulize ndugu, wewe ukiomba unakuwa katika mkao gani, wa kupokea au wa kusikiwa? Unaombaje kama huna imani ya kupata? Na kama hutarajii kupata, kwa nini uombe. Shida si Mungu kutusikia, shida ni imani ya kuyapokea yale tuombayo kwa kuwa hatujaamini kuwa yatakuwa yetu. Tusiamini tu kuwa Mungu anasikia, tuamini pia kuwa atatupa, kwa kuwa nia ya kuomba ni kupata sio kusikiwa.
LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER : WHY! IS THIS A PROBLEM?
Acts 12:12-17
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
Reading from this scripture, one gets to understand the problem that many of us are facing on the question of prayer. Analysis of the matter shows that the problem we face is not God not hearing our prayers, rather it is us believing that He hears our prayers. According to this scripture at verse 12, the Word says that the church was gathered at the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, praying. And from the looks of it, they were at it for a long time, continuing even when Peter was knocking at the gate. They gathered to pray when they heard that their matriarch James was killed by Herod (possibly using the same methods that ISIS is using, beheading) a horrible way to die, and that Peter, the head of the Church was in Herod's jail awaiting execution! Just imagine the intensity of the prayers. But when the maid, Rhoda, came to tell them the Peter was at the gate, the admonished her saying,
"You are besides yourself " that means "deranged"
When she kept on insisting that it was Peter at the gate, others said,
" It is his angel". Wow! Were they considering him dead?
They had completely forgotten that one of the agenda for the overnight was to pray for the release of Peter. That being the case, one wonders, what was the prayer status here! Were they praying to heed the call of the Church Elders? Was it to just attend the overnight program as announced in the weekly church programs. Because if they were expecting an answer from God surely the should also expect Him to hear their prayers. Why then were they sceptical of Peter's appearance at the gate? Who were they praying to. And this is one of the problems with the Church today. We pray not to receive but to meet the set church programs. We pray because the Church has set up a prayer day!
Jesus once told His disciples at Mark 11:24,
" ...whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them".
What He is saying is that, don't waste time praying if you do not believe in receiving what you pray for.
I ask you now, when you pray, do you expect to be heard, or do you expect to receive what you have asked for? Why pray when you have no faith to receive what you pray for? The problem is not that God does no hear us when we pray, He does! The problem is on the receiving part, we do not receive as we consider it impossible, because we do not believe that we receive what we ask for. Our faith should not be limited to having God hearing our prayers, but extend it to receiving what we pray for, as the whole purpose of prayer is not to be heard, but to receive what we ask for.
