Page 15 - MidWeek - March 1, 2023
P. 15
MARCH 1, 2023 MIDWEEK 13
The Brotherhood means...
...being mindful and faithful. Honoring tradition, culture - and leaving a legacy.
Brotherhood for Life
1
Ihaven’t had a prayer answered in years. I think God has put me on prayer call block. It’s prob- ably my fault, though. I’ve pestered God over the years with unreasonable requests: protect children from harm, establish peace on Earth, stop natural disasters, get rid of illegal fireworks ... Maybe I should ask God for more manageable things in- stead: decorate celebrities with awards, help athletes win championships, bless meals ... God must find my constant stream of incoming prayers annoying. Perhaps they all get tossed into the prayer junk bin.
I understand. I get irritated with junk mail and robocalls, too.
Still, it pains me to think that God does not want to take my calls. To protect myself from feelings of re- jection, I invent reasons why God ignores my prayers. I assure myself that God still cares about me, just in a way different than I thought God would. I tell myself that the reason God doesn’t answer my prayers is because God knows what I pray for isn’t important or necessary or good for me. Yes, God wants to protect me from myself. I convince myself that things actually turn out for the bet- ter when my prayers aren’t answered. God has other plans for me. But I can’t suppress a nagging question every time this happens: If God already knows what’s best for me, why even pray, then?
I’ ve tried the other gods too, but the response rate to my prayers has been the
Are You There, God?
I’ve tried the other gods too, but
the response rate to my prayers has been the same. There seems to be a collusion among the gods. I think I’m on the prayer blacklist.
same. There seems to be a collusion among the gods. I think I’m on the prayer blacklist.
sue beseeching the same god for different outcomes. Those who hijacked the planes on 9-11 shouted prayers to God before committing their mur- derous deed, while innocent passengers also prayed to the same God during their last moments. Maybe someone else was begging God to help save a loved one from a ter- minal illness at the same time I was pleading with God to help mine. I hope God helped the other person.
If the gods exist, there must be a good reason why they don’t answer prayers. Perhaps we are only allot- ted a limited number of an- swered prayers and I have reached my lifetime quota. I’ve also considered the possibilities followers from different religions have sug- gested.
Here are three:
I engaged in my share of self-blame, too. My prayers weren’t earnest enough. I wasn’t faithful enough. I am undeserving. I’ m the prob- lem, it’s me. This desperate and depressing way of cop- ing underscores a certain belief among the faithful. For some of us, it is better to believe in a God that doesn’t care to answer our prayers than to consider the possi- bility that there’s no God to respond to them in the first place.
1. The larger picture. “How do you know the baby that passed away wouldn’t have grown up to be a mass murderer or serial rapist?” I don’t. But why did God al- low baby Hitler and little Ted Bundy to grow up, then?
2. The ways of God are unfathomable. “We will un- derstand at a later time why things happened the way they did.” What’s the point of praying now, then?
3. God is not subject to human standards. “God cannot be judged by human reasoning or by our own codes of conduct.” But hu- man standards of morality are precisely what we use to proclaim God’s goodness in the first place. Perhaps God is not good, then.
So, I’ll keep sending God my prayer requests in hopes of a response, though per- haps now I’ ll try doing so with a different caller ID.
Maybe there are prayer battles going on — with peo- ple on opposite sides of an is-
Jay Sakashita teaches re- ligion courses at Leeward Community College and University of Hawai‘i at Mā- noa. Reach him at misfitspir- it808@gmail.com.
