SIMPLE PRAYER (Part IV)

By Odon Bulamba

Mathew 6:8, “do not be like them.” Them are the Gentiles and the Pharisees. Physically Christians are the same as Pharisees but spiritually they are different. Pagans are alive physically but spiritually they are dead. When a body is dead, it begins swelling and decomposing. Every body will start fleeing the body and all pagans do is give a bad smell for God. They have a bad smell and are swollen with pride. After death even the colour of the skin becomes ugly and in the same way people flee dead bodies, God flees pagans. When they are with us, God can’t be there.

The prayers of a Christian smell nice, like perfume to God. But when He smells a sinner, it is not nice to Him and the shape of the body is ugly. All you can do to a dead body is bury it. Do not imitate the Pagans because this is like imitating the dead and God will not be happy.

The dead have no shame, you can undress the dead and they will not react; they will accept everything you do, they have no power. If it rains or snows, they don’t care. Many Christians today live like this; to sin is normal. When sin is not a problem, this shows they imitate the pagans. They don’t even realise they sin. But how do you know if you are not aware of what you are doing? God tells us we must be sensitive and not be like the dead who have lost their sensitivity. And when God’s Word is there, we must know where we are up to and if we are not at the right place we must leave this and readjust.

People imitate pagans in the way they dress, eat, sleep, worship (pagans worship sin), dance. E.g. they go to a BBQ, get drunk, find a boyfriend, have sex, dance. You won’t glorify God, you won’t read the Word of God or pray. Christians imitate pagans so people will think I’m not old-fashioned (foolishness to man).

Where your heart is, there also is your treasure. Also, where your mind is, or where your being is. If you don’t read the Word of God, you just imitate pagans. E.g. when you are with people a lot you will begin to speak like them. When you fellowship with pagans, people will know.

II Corinth 11:14, the only one who has the right to disguise himself is satan; to deceive. When we say, lets go to God and pray but when we have already shocked people by the way we have dressed or been drunk, will we have time to ask for everyone’s forgiveness? Our prayers are our offering and a sacrifice and before giving an offering we must ask forgiveness. If we give rotten sacrifices He will not accept