PRAYER HOUSE OR SLAUGHTER HOUSE?

By:
Ajukura, Fidelis O.
ajukurafidelisobi@gmail.com
26th October, 2023.

Man as a fallible being has always relied on the power and support of an infallible, self-sufficient and all powerful being - God. When man's strength and knowledge fails him, he turns to God for help. As a physical being who dwells in the material world, he resorts to prayer - the only vehicle through which he can render his petition to a transcendental being. By way of definition, prayer is 'an earnest request addressed to a higher being or authority'. Prayer is a bipolar activity in the sense that it revolves around the sender (man) and receiver (God). What this means is that, without the lesser being who renders the petition and the higher being or authority who receives the petition, there cannot be prayer.

Prayer is a veritable tool for the survival of every society. Based, on man's imperfect nature, he is prone to making mistakes every now and then. Whenever he realizes this or is confronted with a difficult situation, he goes down on his knees (a symbol of submission and surrender) and tenders his request. Similarly, there is another type of prayer known as intercession. In intercession, a prayer is rendered on behalf of another person. Several reasons accounts for intercession. For example, intercession can be held for somebody who cannot pray because of unbelief, sickness, bewitchment, confinement etc. Examples abound where people have been delivered following the intercessory prayers of their loved ones. Doing this, however requires enormous faith and closeness to the higher being such that the deficiency or weakness of the one being prayed for can be overlooked by the higher authority or God. In as much as one can pray for another, it is incumbent on people to pray for themselves. Doing this, requires, among other things, having a cordial relationship with the receiver (God) of the prayer. In the Christian faith for example, it is unequivocally stated that the prayer of an unbeliever or sinner is an abomination in the sight of God. The prayer of one who doesn't have a good relationship with God is simply a waste of time - it will not attract any positive answer.

In crude and backward societies, people spend more time in prayer than work. They pray to God over trivial issues. For instance, they pray to God for food when they can actually till the soil and get food to eat. The Bible (in James 2:17) reminds us that 'faith without work is dead'. Whatever we do, we should recognize the importance of work. False teachers who describe prayer as the ultimate means through which success can be achieved in life refuse to accord primacy to work. To them, work is subordinated to prayer. But the Bible warns that, 'whosoever will not work, let him not eat'. It is against this background that the despicable con men open prayer houses where they sit tight and drain the people of their hard earned resources. Beside the early priests whom, according to God's instruction worked only in the Tabernacle others, including the greatest apostles of Christ worked. Apostle Paul worked even as he was engaged in the spread of the gospel of Christ.

Today, especially in hunger and poverty ravaged societies where people are desperate for a morsel of bread, they have erected prayer houses here and there with the sole intention of manipulating unsuspecting members of the public. Many operators of these prayer houses go the extra mile to acquire magical powers that enables them have access to the inner thoughts, fears and suspicions of their clients. Upon the pronouncement of the client's fears and suspicions by the 'manipulators', the client becomes transfixed and ready for exploitation. Breaking loose or free from this entanglement is a matter of God's grace. In this regard, many career, businesses, marriages etc have been ruined using the instrument of fear. Another strategy that is used in keeping their victims under control is occultic means - victims will never comprehend what is happening to them.

Many of the prayer house operators recruit agents; mainly young ladies who go about wooing people to come for deliverance. The agents who are also fabricators of lies have only one motive - to deceive people. Many of these agents are snitches; they find out things about their victims and pass them to their masters - the pseudo miracle workers.

Operators of prayer houses are moved by one thing only - money! They are not perturbed by the victims pain, sweat or cry. The only reason why they will dismantle their instruments of exploitation is 'when the well is completely dried up'. At this point, they will look for an excuse why they will have to withdraw their service. Operators of prayer houses are mean and wicked. The only god they worship is money. They demand money for prayer and sometimes inflict mysterious ailments on their clients to keep them in perpetual slavery.

Prayer houses are dangerous houses, those who are always in the habit of patronizing them most often are like the proverbial stubborn grasshopper that ends in the bowel of the egret. A woman was held captive for over a decade because she patronized a prayer house. The fake miracle worker held her tightly like a vise such that everything about her disintegrated.

The major reason why people patronize prayer houses is ignorance. It is true that somebody can intercede for another but such act or gesture must not come with a demand of payment. God's gifts are free. Jesus Christ and leaders of other religions did not demand for money to carry out their work. The story of Simon (the socerer) and Philip in Acts 8:9-20 speaks quite clearly that the gift of God cannot be bought or sold. Anybody who is in one form of difficulty or the other should go to God in prayer or according to (James 5:14) 'go to the elders of the Church for prayer'.

On no account should we put our trust in men or prayer houses. Only God is worthy of our trust.

Let us avoid prayer houses for they are nothing but slaughter houses.