Kaya tinali titamaliza kupempherera chakudya kapena kupemphera pamaso pa anthu, ambiri a ife tinaphunzitsidwa kutsiriza pemphero ndi ameni kuyambira ubwana wathu. Chizoloŵezi chimenecho chinatitsatira m’mapemphero athu amene tinali nawo kwatokha. Kungakhale ngati mapeto a pemphero lathu ndi chiyanjano chathu ndi Mulungu. Ambiri aife tili ndi chizolowezi chimenechi mpaka lero. Zikuoneka kuti ndi mathedwe achilengedwe akulankhula kwathu ndi Mulungu komanso ndi Mwana wake Yesu Khristu. Kodi izi zingakhudze bwanji kuyenda kwathu mu chikhulupiriro chomwe mungafunse? Tikamapemphera nthawi zambiri timayesetsa kukhazika mtima pansi ndikudzikonzekeretsa tokha kuyandikira pamaso pa Mulungu. Kumaphatikizapo kuchita khama lodzikumbutsa tokha za maitanidwe athu ndi kufunika kwake. Munthawi imeneyo m'mapemphero athu timakonda kuyikanso malingaliro athu ndikuyang'ana kuti ndife ndani mwa Khristu ndi mwayi wokhoza kuyandikira kumpando wachifumu wa Mulungu. ( Ahebri 4:16 ) Zimenezi zimatibwezeretsanso m’kawonedwe kauzimu, kawonedwe kosatha. Ndi malo abwino bwanji kukhala! Ndilo lingaliro lenileni, koma kenako chinachake chimachitika. Kuti chinachake ndi mapeto a pemphero lathu, mapeto a kulankhula kwathu ndi Mulungu. Ndipo zimachitika ndi AMEN.

Tsopano mawuwo si vuto kwenikweni koma ndi chimene mawu amakwaniritsa. M’chithunzithunzi cha pemphero likhoza kudula njira yolankhulirana ndi Mulungu. Zimayika kugawa pakati pa nthawi yomwe timakumbukira chithunzi chachikulu, ndi "moyo wathu watsiku ndi tsiku". Kugaŵana kumeneko ndi kumene kungatipangitse kupunthwa. Ndizofala kwambiri kunena kuti Yesu Khristu ndi Ambuye. Ndi zinthu ziti zomwe kapolo sangatsate chitsogozo cha Mbuye wake? 

Paulo m’kalata yake yoyamba yopita kwa Atesalonika ananena kuti tiyenera “kupemphera mosalekeza” ( 1 Atesalonika 5:17 . M’lingaliro lachizoloŵezi izi zingakhale zosatheka popeza tifunikira kugwira ntchito, kupita kusukulu, kapena kulera mabanja athu, koma m’lingaliro lakuti tikumvetsera kwa Mzimu wa Mulungu ndi kulola kuti utiumbe m’zonse zimene timachita, ndiko kuti. koposa zotheka ndi zofunika. Kuyenda mumzimu kumatchedwanso kuyenda m’kuunika. M'moyo wathu wamba nthawi zonse timayatsa magetsi tikalowa m'chipinda. Timaona kuti ndi chinthu chachibadwa kuchita. Kuyenda kooneka ngati kophweka kuchokera kumalo ena kupita kwina kukanakhala kovuta kwambiri ngati kukanakhala kuti palibe kuwala kotiululira njira yolondola yoti tiyendemo ndi kutha kuona zopinga ndi kuzipewa. Kusankha kusiya “kuunika” kwathu kwauzimu nthawi iliyonse kudzazimitsa kungatisokoneze panjira ndiponso kungatichititse kuti tisamazindikire zopinga zimene zingatisokoneze. 

Nthawi zina zimadutsa m'malingaliro athu kuti "Ndikufuna nthawi yokhala ndekha". "Ndiyenera kuika malo pakati pa ine ndi Mulungu". Sitikunena choncho, koma tonse tili ndi njira zopangira kuwonjezera dangalo. Mwina timatsutsana mwa ife tokha kuti katundu wa Ambuye ndi wolemetsa ndipo tiyenera kupuma. Malingaliro athu amatinyenga kuti timafunikira mpumulo kuchokera kwa wotipatsa mpumulo. Ngati tiyenda m’kuunika sitidzapunthwa. Njira yokhayo yomwe timapunthwa ndiyo ngati tanyengedwa, kuti ngakhale kwa mphindi imodzi, tingakhale bwino kuyenda mumdima ndiye m'kuunika. Choncho nthawi zonse tikamanena ameni kuyambira lero tionetsetse kuti sikumathera pakulankhula kwathu ndi Mulungu, koma chikumbutso kuti ngakhale tiyenda pa dziko lapansi sitikhala kutali ndi Iye. Monga momwe Paulo ananenera mu Akolose 3:2, “Ikani maganizo anu pa zakumwamba, osati zapadziko.”

Whether it was after praying over a meal or praying in public, from our youth many of us were taught to finish a prayer with amen.  That custom followed us to our prayers that we would have in private.  It would serve as a conclusion to our prayer and our fellowship with God.  Many of us have this habit even until this day.  It seems to be a natural conclusion to our communing with God and with His son Jesus Christ.  How could this in any way impact our walk in faith you might ask?  When we pray we usually try to calm our mind and prepare ourselves to approach the presence of God.  It involves making a conscious effort of reminding ourselves of our calling and the importance of it.  In that moment during our prayer we tend to refocus our mind and zero in on who we are in Christ and the privilege to be able to approach the throne of God. (Hebrews 4:16)  This puts us back into the spiritual perspective, the eternal perspective.  What a great place to be! It is the true perspective, but then something happens.  That something is the conclusion of our prayer, the conclusion of our communing with God.  And it happens with an AMEN.

Now the word isn’t necessarily the problem but it is what the word accomplishes.  In the picture of a prayer it may cut off the line of communication with God.  It puts a partition between the time that we are mindful of the bigger picture, and our “everyday lives”.  That partition is what may lead us to stumble.  It is very common to refer to Jesus Christ as Lord.  Under what circumstance would a servant not follow his Lord’s leading? 

Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians says that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).  In a traditional sense this may be impossible as we need to work, go to school, or raise our families, but in the sense that we are listening to the Spirit of God and allowing it to mold us in all that we do, it is more than possible it is essential.  Walking in the spirit is also referred to as walking in the light.  In our typical lives we are always quick to turn the lights on when we walk into a room.  We consider it a natural thing to do.  A seemingly simple stroll from one place to another would be quite difficult if there was no light to reveal to us a correct path to walk in and the ability to see obstacles and avoid them.  Choosing at any time to leave our “spiritual light” off would derail us from our path and make us less aware of obstacles that may be in our way. 

Sometimes it crosses our minds that “I need some time to myself”.  “I need to put some space between myself and God”.  We don’t phrase it quite like that, but we all have creative ways of adding that space. Perhaps we argue within ourselves that the burden of the Lord is heavy and we need to rest.  Our mind deceiving us that we need rest from the giver of rest.  If we walk in the light we will never stumble.  The only way we stumble is if we are deceived, that for even a moment, we would be better off to walk in the dark then in the light.  So every time we say amen from this day forth let’s make sure it’s not an ending to our communing with God, but a reminder that though we walk on this earth we are never far from Him.  As Paul says in Colossians 3:2  “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

K. Vassilopoulos ©CDMI