Please help me out here. Bible students, pastors and anybody who wishes to help me. I’ve been having two nagging thoughts for the past few months and it is really troubling me. It’s about prayers. Before I proceed, I would just like to say that this is a genuine query, so BW, GM, Ben, J etc please refrain from leaving smart remarks. I would really appreciate that. Thanks.
My first query is this. I am a Presbyterian. Ever since I can remember, I always pray before and after sleeping. I sit upright on my bed as I pray. I know The Bible has been interpreted in many different ways, hence the reason why there are so many divisions among Christianity. Catholics pray with their eyes open while we do with our eyes closed. That is how we were taught to pray. What I would like to know is, can we pray while lying down on our bed? Why do we have to sit up? Is it written anywhere on how our body posture should be while we pray? Don’t mistake me, I am not challenging the existing dogma. And it’s not because of laziness. It’s just that I can concentrate while lying down just as well as I can concentrate while sitting up. I’ve been told that I should sit up as I pray. And I have been obediently doing that for the past so many years.
I once tried praying while lying down, but in the middle of my prayer, I slowly sat up again because it felt really odd doing something different suddenly. I really would like to know, if it is indeed ok to lie down and pray before sleeping and when we wake up (Ofcourse I would sit up and pray in the morning because if I lie down and pray, I would most probably fall off to sleep again 
).
From a Christian perspective, I know people might say it is ok to pray in anyway as long as we pray. What I am asking is more from a Presbyterian perspective, whether the Church of Wales has written anywhere that we should sit up and pray before sleeping etc. Thanx. I know it is trivial, but lately, every night before I sleep I get this thought in my head, which kinda distracts me a bit from the main issue of prayer itself.
My second query is this.
I am an occasional drinker. And when I drink, I don’t overdo it (usually). I am a responsible adult and I know my limits very well. Plus, I am not in Mizoram so I am not breaking any law 
Now, I never pray before sleeping on nights that I drink. I feel it is not appropriate of me to speak with my Father when I am not having a stable state of mind. So that is how things have been on nights that I drink. No prayers. I am not trying to start another long debate on whether drinking alcohol is a sin or not, and whether the wine mentioned by Jesus is fermented or just grape juice. We have had many long discussions on those topics and I don’t want this query to spark off another debate like that.
It’s just that, according to my personal belief, I don’t think I should pray when I am intoxicated. To me it feels like a mark of disrespect to God. But I have seen many other Mizos who do pray before sleeping after they had a couple of drinks with me. Is this wrong? Or am I wrong in thinking that one should not pray when one is a bit tipsy? I know this may sound very trivial to some, but to someone like me, this is another serious issue that comes to my mind every time I drink and go to sleep. Should I pray? Will God consider it an insult? If God considers it an insult, then why do some other Mizos pray when they are under the influence? I believe that if I drink a little bit of alcohol that will not make me lose my senses, then it is not a sin. And I don’t ask forgiveness when I drink, as long as I can control myself and my thoughts. But why then do I feel it is like showing disrespect to pray when intoxicated?
Thanx. All comments are welcome, as long as they are not smart ass ones.
Similar Posts:
- What’s best to drink?
- Open Cola
- Death of an innocent
- Merry Christmas
- Lindsey Lohan: ‘Yes, I’m a Slut; So what?’ (via Digg)
December 13th, 2006 at 10:18 am
[…] Now that this happened, you would love to hear what he says on this issue “Two queries on religion” Born again is about expressing your true passion during prayers by standing up, raising your hand and shouting out praises to Him rather than asking stupid questions like “whether we can lie down and pray before we go to sleep as long as the urges came from within”. […]
Report this comment