Shall we pray?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Some former philosophers judged God’s existence or the lack thereof on whether He responds to our pleas for help - if God is at the same time all-loving, willing and able.

The passage of Hurricane Melissa may have proven the falsity of this belief. For some people may have prayed and have their supplications answered but, customarily, when people pray to God for help and see their requests materialise, usually it’s hardly more than a casual acknowledgement of the goodness of the ‘man upstairs ‘ or the higher power “Thank you, God - an thank faada far is ungle yu alone”. Yet, frequently, such appreciations are nothing beyond a knee-jerk emotional relief that soon subsides under subsequent unresponsive requests.

In other words, God’s existence is pivoted on a life free from injustice and hard times. On the other hand, countless people may have pleaded to God for intervention in their life because of adversities that have currently turned on the screws. But, for whatever reason, the responses may appear to be a chain link of silences - a voice speaking in the wilderness.

Does God’s unresponsiveness affirm his non-existence? As a parent, do you always grant your children everything they ask fo? And, does your denial of their requests somehow question your personhood or the reality of you as their parents? Would they think so? Moreover, God is seen as greater than us, compared to a parent-child equation. So, if God at times does not fulfill our urgent call to Him, does it mean He did not hear us?

And, if he heard us, why should we judge God or react with moral outrage while at the same time believing God’s morality is superior to ours? That is why we approach Him in the first place, isn’t it? Not granting some requests could be an invitation to search deeper for God rather than having a mere surface acknowledge of Him and should not deter people from praying .

“Keep on knocking, and it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8)

HOMER SYLVESTER

Jacksonville, Florida