I was praying with some friends some days ago when the rains started. The rains poured heavily, and I knew there would be some floods in parts of Accra. But something else crept into my mind, and had me smiling. I remembered my days in PENSA KNUST, when I used to be a part of the prayer team. I met some very zealous and God fearing brothers and sisters in there, who challenged us to move the boundaries of our prayer times. Those periods were awesome. Our prayer meetings were on a strip of land behind one of the halls. On Monday evenings, we would go and pray hard, with all the gymnastics and coarse voices. And we were so committed that even in the rain, we would stay in the rain and pray through! 

In the second semester of my first year, I was appointed bible study coordinator. I remember vividly the hand-over ceremony. It was on a Monday evening, and it rained heavily. That day, I was soaked and cold! My palms were white! But it did not bother me one bit! I prayed and enjoyed praying through the rain.  

As I remembered this, the rain intensified. Now I was under a shed, and the wind kept blowing the rain towards me. I was uncomfortable. I was worried my shoes and clothes would be wet. The cold was distracting, and the lightening, frightening. This time, I was concerned about praying in the rain. And this had me a little worried. 

I was worried a little because, a few years ago, I wouldn’t have cared one bit. In fact, I would have felt that the sacrifice of praying in the rain endeared my prayers to God. But this time, I wasn’t so eager to do so. Did this mean I had backslidden? Did I now feel too big to pray in the rain? Had I become proud? Was my love for God growing cold? These thoughts kept coming to my mind, as I looked for a comfortable space under the shed to continue praying. For a brief moment, I contemplated that the change in my reaction to praying in the rain indicated that my spirituality was on a downward slide. 

Then it clicked! Praying in the rain is not a marker for spirituality! I heaved a sigh of relief. That sigh of relief was because not only because the weight of guilt had lifted, but also because I knew God had given me something to share with the family. It is interesting sometimes the things we use as indicators of growth. Some are as silly as praying in the rain, but others are traditions deeply embedded in religion. Sincerely some of these carry very little significance before God. As I pondered over this, I was reminded of Jesus words in Matthew 23:23, where He said the people had neglected the weightier matters of the law.  

I am fully convinced that the weightiest spiritual matter is Love. The surest maturity marker is love in its varied expressions. Interestingly, in the first letter of the seven letters to the churches in Revelations, Jesus reprimanded the Ephesian church for abandoning the love they had at first. He warned them that if they did not rekindle their love, they would lose their place before him. In other words, although the Ephesian church was doing so well in many aspects, the lack of growth in love meant that they were doing nothing really.  

Family, let us seek to grow in love. Love for God, and love for one another. I am again reminded of what Paul said in Philippians 1:9-11. I’d like to conclude with this verse.  

“This is what I pray for you. I pray that you will continue to LOVE each other more and more. I pray that you will know God better and better. I pray that you will understand those things that are true. Then you will be able to choose what is best in the way that you live. Then on the day when Christ returns, you will be COMPLETELY CLEAN. You will not be guilty of any bad thing. Because of the work Jesus has done in you, you will be right with God. And your lives will be full of good things. As a result, people will praise God and they will say that He is very great”