🌱 Teolojia ya Vitendo — Sehemu ya 5: Maombi II — Maandiko, Zaburi, Maombi ya Pamoja na Kufunga🌱 Practical Theology — Unit 5: Prayer II — Scripture, the Psalms, Corporate Prayer & Fasting

Utangulizi: Kujifunza Kuomba Kutoka kwa Maandiko na KanisaIntroduction: Learning to Pray from the Scriptures and the Church

Katika sehemu iliyopita tulijifunza maombi ni nini, jinsi Bwana Yesu alivyotufundisha kuomba, na aina nyingi za maombi ambazo Biblia inatupa. Sasa tunakwenda mbele zaidi. Tutajifunza kuomba kwa kutazama jinsi watakatifu wa Maandiko walivyoomba; tutaketi miguuni pa Zaburi, kitabu kizima cha maombi; tutajifunza kuomba pamoja kama kanisa; na tutaona jinsi maombi yanavyounganishwa na kufunga. Sehemu kubwa ya yafuatayo inatokana na kozi ya maombi inayofundishwa katika kanisa letu na Dkt. Ted Rogers.In the last unit we learned what prayer is, how the Lord Jesus taught us to pray, and the many kinds of prayer the Bible gives us. Now we go further. We will learn to pray by watching how the saints of Scripture prayed; we will sit at the feet of the Psalms, a whole book of prayers; we will learn to pray together as a church; and we will see how prayer is joined to fasting. Much of what follows draws on the prayer course taught at our church by Dr. Ted Rogers.

I. Maombi Katika Maandiko: Alama ya Kidole ya NafsiI. Prayer in Scripture: The Fingerprint of the Soul

Mojawapo ya mambo ya kuvutia kuhusu maombi ni kwamba jinsi mtu anavyoomba hufunua mengi kuhusu yeye ni nani. Namna ya mtu ya kuomba ni karibu kama alama ya kidole ya nafsi yake. Mfikirie Mtume Petro. Katika Injili tunakutana na Petro mwenye pupa, na angalia maombi yake yanavyojikita wapi: anaomba kutembea juu ya maji, kisha analia aokolewe anapozama; akijaribu kuonekana mkarimu, anauliza ni mara ngapi anapaswa kusamehe — hata mara saba?; Bwana anapotaka kumtawadha miguu, anaomba aoshwe kuanzia kichwa hadi miguu. Tena na tena, kiini cha maneno ya Petro ni — Petro.One of the fascinating things about prayer is that the way a person prays reveals a great deal about who they are. An individual's manner of praying is almost like a fingerprint of the soul. Consider the Apostle Peter. In the Gospels we meet impetuous Peter, and notice where his requests center: he asks to walk on the water, then cries out to be saved when he sinks; trying to look generous, he asks how many times he must forgive — up to seven times?; when the Lord moves to wash his feet, he asks to be washed head to foot. Again and again, the focus of Peter's words is — Peter.

Sasa songa mbele miaka thelathini au arobaini hivi hadi barua alizoziandika Petro akiwa mzee, na umsikilize akiomba: "Ahimidiwe Mungu, Baba wa Bwana wetu Yesu Kristo, kwa rehema zake nyingi alituzaa mara ya pili, tupate tumaini lenye uzima" (1 Petro 1:3, SUV). Hapa kiini kimehama kabisa — kwa Mungu Baba na Kristo, kwa "sisi," na kwa "ninyi," wasomaji wake. Mvuvi mwenye pupa, aliyejiangalia mwenyewe, amekuwa mchungaji ambaye moyo wake umeelekezwa kwa Mungu na kwa wengine. Maneno yake ya mwisho yaliyoandikwa katika barua yake ya pili, kwa kufaa kabisa, ni "Bali kueni katika neema, na katika kumjua Bwana wetu na Mwokozi Yesu Kristo" (2 Petro 3:18, SUV). Kwa hiyo, unaposoma maombi ya Maandiko, yasome polepole — kwa maana ndani yake unatazama ukuaji wa nafsi, na unajifunza jinsi maombi yako mwenyewe yanavyoweza kukua.Now move forward some thirty or forty years to the letters Peter wrote as an old man, and listen to him pray: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3, NKJV). Here the focus has shifted entirely — to God the Father and Christ, to "us," and to "you," his readers. The impetuous, self-centered fisherman has become a shepherd whose heart is fixed on God and on others. His last recorded words in his second letter are, fittingly, "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18, NKJV). When you read the prayers of Scripture, then, read them slowly — for in them you are watching the growth of a soul, and learning how your own prayers may grow.

II. Zaburi: Kitabu Kizima cha MaombiII. The Psalms: A Whole Book of Prayers

Kuna kitabu kimoja katika Maandiko ambacho, kwa kweli, ni mkusanyiko wa maombi yaliyotiwa muziki — kitabu cha Zaburi. Mungu ametupa maombi na nyimbo 150, na ndani yake tunapata maneno kwa karibu kila majira ya moyo. Zaburi ziko za aina kadhaa. Kuna Zaburi za maombolezo, kundi kubwa kuliko yote, zinazomimina huzuni, maumivu, na kuchanganyikiwa na kumlilia Mungu msaada (Zaburi 13, "Ee BWANA, hata lini?"). Kuna Zaburi za sifa, zinazoinua ukuu wa Mungu (Zaburi 8; Zaburi 150), na Zaburi za shukrani kwa ajili ya maokozi yake mahususi (Zaburi 30). Kuna Zaburi za toba zinazoungama dhambi na kuomba msamaha (Zaburi 51, maungamo ya Daudi), na Zaburi za matumaini zinazopumzika ndani ya Mungu katikati ya hatari (Zaburi 23, "BWANA ndiye mchungaji wangu"). Kuna Zaburi za kifalme na za Kimasihi zinazomwelekea Mfalme na Kristo (Zaburi 2; Zaburi 22, "Mungu wangu, Mungu wangu, mbona umeniacha?"), Zaburi za hekima (Zaburi 1), Nyimbo za Kupanda zilizoimbwa na mahujaji wakipanda kwenda Yerusalemu (Zaburi 121), na hata Zaburi za kuomba laana zinazokabidhi hasira yetu kwa haki ya Mungu badala ya kulipiza kisasi sisi wenyewe. Usipokuwa na maneno ya kuomba, azima maneno ambayo Mungu Mwenyewe ametupa. Wala usisahau jambo hili: kukariri sehemu ya Maandiko na kuibeba moyoni mwako ni aina ya maombi yenyewe, kwa maana kunaliruhusu Neno la Mungu kukaa ndani yako na kuunda maneno yako kwake.There is one book in Scripture that is, in effect, a collection of prayers set to music — the book of Psalms. God has given us 150 prayers and songs, and within them we find words for nearly every season of the heart. The Psalms come in several kinds. There are Psalms of lament, the largest group, which pour out grief, pain, and confusion and cry to God for help (Psalm 13, "How long, O Lord?"). There are Psalms of praise, lifting up the majesty of God (Psalm 8; Psalm 150), and Psalms of thanksgiving for His specific deliverances (Psalm 30). There are penitential Psalms that confess sin and beg forgiveness (Psalm 51, David's confession), and Psalms of confidence that rest in God amid danger (Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd"). There are royal and Messianic Psalms that point to the King and to Christ (Psalm 2; Psalm 22, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"), wisdom Psalms (Psalm 1), Songs of Ascent sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem (Psalm 121), and even imprecatory Psalms that hand our anger over to God's justice rather than taking revenge ourselves. When you do not have words to pray, borrow the words God Himself has given. And do not overlook this: to memorize a portion of Scripture and carry it in your heart is itself a kind of prayer, for it lets the Word of God dwell in you and shape your speech to Him.

III. Kuomba Pamoja: Maombi ya PamojaIII. Praying Together: Corporate Prayer

Maombi si ya faragha tu. Bwana alitoa ahadi ya ajabu kuhusu kuomba pamoja: "Ikiwa wawili wenu watapatana duniani katika jambo lo lote watakaloliomba, watafanyiwa na Baba yangu aliye mbinguni. Kwa kuwa walipo wawili watatu wamekusanyika kwa jina langu, nami nipo papo hapo katikati yao" (Mathayo 18:19–20, SUV). Kuna nguvu ya ajabu inayopatikana kwa kanisa waamini wanapoomba wakiwa wamepatana. Maombi ya pamoja huchukua sura nyingi. Kuna maombi ya "bisi" (popcorn), ambapo kikundi huketi pamoja na kila mmoja huomba kwa ufupi kama Roho anavyoongoza. Kuna maombezi ya pamoja, kikundi kinachokusanyika kuinua hitaji mahususi — uponyaji wa mgonjwa, mahitaji ya kanisa au jamii. Kuna mnyororo wa maombi, ambapo ombi hupita kutoka kwa mwamini mmoja anayeomba hadi kwa mwingine; aina moja yenye matunda ni mnyororo wa maombi wa saa, ambamo kikundi huweka agano la kufunika siku nzima, saa kwa saa, ili maombi yasikome kwa ajili ya jambo fulani. Kuna timu ya maombi, ambapo mwamini mmoja huleta orodha ya maombi mahususi kwa wengine wachache na kuwaomba wapatane naye katika maombi kwa kipindi fulani — desturi tulivu yenye nguvu; kwa kweli kanisa letu wenyewe lilizaliwa viongozi wa kanisa lililolituma walipokubali kuungana katika maombi kuhusu kama walipande. Na kuna matembezi ya maombi, kutembea katika mtaa au korido ya hospitali na kuomba mbele ya kila nyumba au chumba — kwa ajili ya wokovu, kwa ajili ya uponyaji, kwa ajili ya Roho kutangulia mbele ya Injili. Katika haya yote, mapatano na uwepo wa Kristo katikati hufanya maombi ya pamoja kuwa mojawapo ya injini kuu za maisha ya kanisa.Prayer is not only private. The Lord made a remarkable promise about praying together: "if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:19–20, NKJV). There is extraordinary power available to the church when believers pray in agreement. Corporate prayer takes many forms. There is "popcorn" prayer, where a group sits together and each one prays briefly as the Spirit leads. There is united intercession, a group gathering to lift up a specific need — the healing of one who is sick, the needs of the church or community. There is the prayer chain, where a request passes from one praying believer to the next; one fruitful form is the timed prayer chain, in which a group covenants to cover a full day, hour by hour, so that prayer never ceases for a cause. There is the prayer team, where one believer brings a list of specific requests to a few others and asks them to agree in prayer over a set period — a quiet, powerful practice; indeed our own church was born when the leaders of a sending church agreed to join in prayer over whether to plant it. And there is the prayer walk, walking a neighborhood or a hospital corridor and praying before each home or room — for salvation, for healing, for the Spirit to go ahead of the gospel. In all of these, agreement and the presence of Christ in the midst make corporate prayer one of the great engines of the church's life.

IV. Maombi na KufungaIV. Prayer and Fasting

Pamoja na maombi katika Maandiko yote kuna nidhamu ya kufunga. Neno la Kiebrania la kufunga, tsom, lina wazo la "kufunika kinywa" na la "kutesa," au kunyenyekesha, nafsi — kwa maana kufunga kwa kibiblia si kuacha milo tu bali ni kujinyenyekesha mbele za Mungu. Katika Agano la Kale watu wa Mungu walifunga ili kumtafuta wakati wa shida (Esta 4:16, "mfunge kwa ajili yangu, msile wala msinywe muda wa siku tatu"), ili kuonyesha toba (1 Samweli 7:6), na ili kuomboleza (1 Samweli 31:13). Katika Agano Jipya neno la Kigiriki nēsteuō vilevile maana yake ni kujizuia na chakula kama zoezi la kiroho. Bwana Yesu Mwenyewe alifunga siku arobaini nyikani kabla ya kujaribiwa kwake (Mathayo 4:1–11). Wengi husoma habari hiyo kana kwamba inamwonyesha Yesu akiwa dhaifu kabisa; lakini angalau inafaa kufikiria kwamba, baada ya kumtegemea Baba kwa siku arobaini kama riziki yake pekee — "Mtu hataishi kwa mkate tu, ila kwa kila neno litokalo katika kinywa cha Mungu" (Mathayo 4:4, SUV) — alikutana na mjaribu si kutoka katika udhaifu bali kutoka mahali pa nguvu kubwa ya kiroho.Joined to prayer throughout Scripture is the discipline of fasting. The Hebrew word for fasting, tsom, carries the idea of "covering the mouth" and of "afflicting," or humbling, the soul — for biblical fasting is never merely skipping meals but a humbling of oneself before God. In the Old Testament God's people fasted to seek Him in crisis (Esther 4:16, "fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days"), to show repentance (1 Samuel 7:6), and to mourn (1 Samuel 31:13). In the New Testament the Greek nēsteuō likewise means to abstain from food as a spiritual exercise. The Lord Jesus Himself fasted forty days in the wilderness before His temptation (Matthew 4:1–11). Many read that account as showing Jesus at His weakest; but it is at least worth considering that, having leaned for forty days on the Father as His only sustenance — "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4, NKJV) — He met the tempter not from weakness but from a place of deep spiritual strength.

Kufunga kunatufundisha, kwa namna ambayo nidhamu chache zinaweza, kwamba Mungu Mwenyewe ndiye chakula chetu cha kweli na nguvu zetu. Kunaachilia muda ambao tungeutumia kuandaa na kula milo ili uwe wa maombi badala yake. Na kunatuonyesha mioyo yetu wenyewe: tusipoweza kufikia "vyakula vya faraja" tunavyovishika bila kufikiri katika hisia fulani, tunalazimika kukabiliana na hisia tulizokuwa tukizifunika — na kuzikabidhi kwa Mungu. Neno la hekima linafaa hapa. Kufunga chakula kunaweza kuwa hatari kweli kwa wale wenye kisukari au hali nyingine za kiafya, na yeyote mwenye shaka anapaswa kumwona daktari kabla ya kujaribu; aliye mgeni katika jambo hili anaweza kuanza taratibu, kwa mfungo mmoja wa saa ishirini na nne. Lakini kufunga si lazima kuwe ni kwa chakula daima. Mtu anaweza kufunga televisheni, mchezo au burudani anayoipenda, kitu chochote halali, akimrudishia Mungu muda na shauku vilivyoachiliwa. Kama kanuni, weka kufunga kwako kati yako na Mungu badala ya kukutangaza. Na mfungo ukiisha, shukuru — kwa maana kwa mara nyingine Bwana atakuwa ameonyesha kwamba yeye, na yeye peke yake, ndiye nguvu yako.Fasting teaches us, in a way few disciplines can, that God Himself is our true food and strength. It frees the time we would spend preparing and eating meals for prayer instead. And it shows us our own hearts: when we cannot reach for the "comfort foods" we instinctively grab in certain moods, we are forced to face the feelings we had been covering — and to hand them to God. A word of wisdom is in order. Fasting from food can be genuinely dangerous for those with diabetes or other medical conditions, and anyone in doubt should consult a doctor before attempting it; one who is new to it might begin gently, with a single twenty-four-hour fast. But fasting need not always be from food. One may fast from television, from a favorite sport or hobby, from any lawful thing, giving the freed time and longing back to God. As a rule, keep your fasting between yourself and God rather than parading it. And when the fast is over, give thanks — for once again the Lord will have shown that He, and He alone, is your strength.

HitimishoConclusion

Tumejifunza kuomba kwa kusikiliza jinsi Maandiko yanavyoomba, kwa kuzichukua Zaburi midomoni mwetu, kwa kuunganisha maombi yetu na ya kanisa, na kwa kujinyenyekesha katika kufunga. Hakuna hata moja kati ya haya linalotupatia kibali cha Mungu; yote ni zawadi ambazo kwazo watoto wa Mungu humkaribia Baba yao. Katika sehemu zinazofuata tunageuka kutoka maombi kwenda kwenye nidhamu nyingine za maisha ya Kikristo — Neno katika mwenendo wetu wa kila siku, upweke na maungamo na huduma, jumuiya ya Kikristo, kujitawala, na kumaliza vizuri — tukikumbuka daima kwamba nidhamu hizi zinatiririka kutoka katika wokovu ambao tayari tumepewa kwa neema kwa njia ya imani.We have learned to pray by listening to how Scripture prays, by taking the Psalms onto our own lips, by joining our prayers with the church's, and by humbling ourselves in fasting. None of these earns God's favor; all of them are gifts by which the children of God draw near to their Father. In the units that follow we turn from prayer to the other disciplines of the Christian life — the Word in our daily walk, solitude and confession and service, Christian community, self-control, and finishing well — remembering always that these disciplines flow out of a salvation already given to us by grace through faith.

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