We must not approach God on a quick fix mentality – Pastor Charles
Churches of various denominations gathered yesterday to commemorate the National Day of Prayer in the form of a rally under the theme âMen ought to always prayâ.{{more}}
During the proceedings, held at Heritage Square in Kingstown, Pastor Caldon Charles of the Rillan Hill Church of Nazarene delivered a powerful sermon in which he urged the audience not to be âoff duty as Christiansâ.
âWe must not approach God on a quick fix mentality,â Charles said. âWe must approach him always in prayerâ.
Drawing from the theme of the commemoration, which comes from Luke 18:1, Charles declared that one day of prayer is not enough.
âOne day of prayer, while it is good, it is not enough, because the scripture calls us to always pray. So, we should not look at this as a one-off event, that when we are finished we just go back to the old things that we like to do,â the passionate pastor said. âMen always ought to pray and not lose heartâ.
Persons in the audience shouted and applauded in agreement with Charles, as he delivered his sermon.
âWe are to keep our weapon of prayer always, knowing thatâ¦we must pray for the nation always,â Charles said, as his voice began to break. âIf we are to experience true revivalâ¦we need to get backâ¦to the creator of heaven and earthâ.
Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Maxwell Charles also spoke at the rally.
He urged persons to speak with God as if they were speaking with their friends.
âThere should be a realness of prayer, that link between God and man. Let us not destroy that link,â the minister said.
Additionally, Charles noted that prayer should be a daily routine in the homes and in the workplace.
âWe need to start the day with prayer,â he said.
âMake prayerâ¦an indispensable necessity, knowing that God is the God of this nation and we are simply stewards to carry out his biddingâ.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves seemed to share Charlesâ view, as he called upon students in the audience who admitted to not praying in the morning, and proceeded to say the âOur Fatherâ prayer with them.
Gonsalves stated that citizens of the country are free to believe or not believe in God. However, he stressed that persons must not discriminate, regardless of an individualâs belief.
âWe have a competitive society. People compete for jobsâ¦churches compete for souls and politicians compete for political power,â Gonsalves said.
Referring to his relationship with Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace, Gonsalves noted that âdespite all this competition, it is important for us to be united and be tolerant of each other and each otherâs beliefs and ideasâ.
In his short address, Eustace stated that this was ânot the best we can do for Godâ.
âIt has always struck me that this ceremony is too low-key. I think we need to spend more time in developing the programmes for this national day of prayer to allow for a greater participation of members of the public,â Eustace said.
âI really would like to see many more persons participating.â
He urged the organizers to put more thought into the preparation of the rally so that more participation can be achieved.
In reply, Gonsalves suggested that there be a gospel concert on the evening of National Prayer Day, which he notes, falls on the second Monday in June, every year.
The rally, which appeared to be well received by attendees, also included a worship team and a series of prayers done by clergymen of various denominations.
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