After we dropped the kids off at school, Christina and I had some time in the morning to run various errands. It has been good to spend time together as we get adjusted in a new country and culture.
We live in an area that is very expat friendly; therefore it is easy to get comfort and forget about the needs around us. But driving just a few minutes outside of our area, Christina and I discovered there that is a whole new whole yet to be discovered. As we were trying to find a market to buy some of our cheap groceries, we came across a town that was predominantly Muslim. In fact, people call it the Muslim Village due to all the Muslims that are concentrated in one small area.
As I was weaving back and forth through the side streets, we came across a huge mosque. It was during the noon time prayer, therefore we heard the call to prayer. The imam’s voice was blaring through the speakers which could be heard from blocks away.
But this is when I made a spiritual observation.
It was interesting to see how many of the Muslims did not obey the call to prayer. Many of them were just going about their business and others were just sitting around. I just found it strange that in the background there is a loud call to prayer and many Muslims were not praying. Everything inside of me was thinking – “I know that every good Muslim obeys the call to prayer five times a day, but why are there so many Muslims who are ignoring the call?”
Then I realized that it is like us, as Christians – God sometimes gives us a call to prayer due to various situations, but so many of us are busy with our own lives that we ignore the call. There are also times when we do not take God seriously, hence so we do not respond when the call is given.
It was easy for me to judge the inconsistency of people not living out their faith, but then again, I was humbled to realize that we, Christians are no different in our prayerlessness.