Unrecognised answered prayers
What you need to know:
- I wondered what she expected God to do. God had clearly heard her prayer and sent her a client whom she had mistreated and consequently lost.
Why do we pray? Why do we spend hours on hours, starving ourselves for breakthroughs that we cannot even handle? The other Sunday I observed something that really provoked these and so many other questions. I was at this salon where a prayerful couple works. They are so into the gospel that the man has been nicknamed Pastor.
On this Sunday, a client came in to have her daughter’s hair plaited. They woke the pastor’s wife who had coiled herself in a corner where she was sleeping apparently after spending the night in church praying. She hardly looked at the client, only mumbled answers to questions and sighed. The client sensing something wrong, asked her if she would be able to do the job to which she replied that she was still recovering from a night spent praying. At this point I rolled my eyes wondering how that was supposed to be the answer to the client’s concern. Well, when time came to plait, she started combing the little girl’s hair with such ruthlessness that the poor girl squealed in pain. I heard my hairdresser curse under his breath and instructed that she combs gently.
The girl’s mother was up in a second and I thought she would assault Christine but apparently she had more class. She comforted her crying daughter and insisted they find her a different person. The pastor’s wife just stood there looking on with this “poor me attitude” sighing and breaking into a hymn once in a while. Never did she apologise or attempt to reassure the client that she could do better. She just retreated to a corner where she coiled herself again. I overheard her lamenting that she might not be able to buy medicine for her child if she did not get a client.
I wondered what she expected God to do. God had clearly heard her prayer and sent her a client whom she had mistreated and consequently lost. Did she want Him to drop a sack of money on her head? But with that attitude even if God gave her a sackful of money she would still complain about having to remove the rubber bands tying the bundles. Honestly, why do people waste their time praying for opportunities and blessings they clearly do not really need and cannot handle?
