People are often bothered with the question as to whether there is need of prayer. Why do we worship a being? Is this necessary? All through the ages, people have found this a bothering phenomenon especially to the individual mind which sets some persons in perpetual bondage. In this state, people tend to pray most times of the day, worship all evening, owning little time for themselves, living unhappy lives free of pleasure. As such, pain becomes the order of the day.
By implication, inherent in the above is the fact that a life of prayer and worship, fasting and mortification is indeed a life free of pleasure, a life free from happiness and joy. One might then ask or wonder what is then the essence of living? If life should only constitute pain, suffering and unhappiness. This is indeed a life of servitude. For a free person is a person who is happy, a person who is responsible for his/her actions, a person who acts not as emotion drives but as the intellect provides.
So many persons hold dear that God is to be worshiped, prayed to for everything. That people are at the mercy of this god. Empirically however, we cannot prove the existence of this being who is, i.e. if it indeed exists, a being so distinct and far removed from what there is. Critically visible is the fact that all those who advocate for the total submission to this being, of money, time and consciousness, have directly or indirectly, mediate or immediate benefits which they always aspire and hope to get. This then leads them to manipulate persons who are weak emotionally, people who are directed by affects and individuals whose minds are passive. They hence capitalize on emotional exultation of this being and because of this servitude or bondage so many people find themselves, they are easily swayed to act, not out of will but as emotion prescribes, these which has already been acted upon.
The question however still remains, why do we pray? Do we necessarily need to do that? What happens when we don’t? Obviously, when we turn to prayer and worship, we submit our wills and inherent responsibility to a “being” or “substance” outside of us. By so doing, we become vulnerable because we belief we cannot act or do things better except we pray. Free individuals who wish to continue to keep the masses in bondage will argue that there is need to keep a relationship with the creator. But if this be the case, then this is actually unfair and unjust on the part of the creator. For how can we continue to give account to a being/substance far removed, who has created us, and set us in yet another location with indeed varied circumstances. This is just like saying a Toyota company produced a vehicle, the vehicle is now being used in Nigeria by an individual and yet, the producer desires or still wants to have a direct relationship with the vehicle. Is this possible? This is highly unlikely, it is hence not the case, for if the car is faulty, a mechanic should be approached and not the producer. Hence, if people have problems, they should contact nature and not trying to go back to God fro there is no and will not be any relationship whatsoever to this effect.
It is often reiterated that “God has no need of our praise but our desire to praise him is indeed our gift”. All these are but psychological imprints on our psychic and hence play on our intelligence. The first part seems to be a truism and a statement indeed not contestable. But the second part, I wonder what the relationship between this affects ‘desire’ and a gift. For how can a desire to praise another be a gift? Our praise of him adds nothing to his greatness. So, why then do we praise him? Why then do we pray since nothing is added to him? Obviously though, a lot is taken from us. It implies therein that it is only but a waste of time, resources, and talents trying to produce something that is not and cannot be.
Subsequently, if we submit to the use of reason as above the emotions: we then are on our way to happiness. For our very essence is to always seek the good of existence, to persist to exist and to be happy. And happiness can and is only found if and only one acts out of one’s nature and not a submission to a substance, for this is indeed a life of worthless sacrifice and unpleasure, a life of servitude which is characterized by pain. The problem is, many persons are already engulfed in such and life and find it scary to abandon it, they are hence afraid of the unknown. In essence, from the above exposition, it suffices and is evident that in its essence, there is no need of prayer or worship. And as such, religious inclinations only but sends us into slavery, pain and unhappiness. Thus, religion and its entirety should be excommunicated, be exiled from existence. For only after such can we humans begin to life a free life, a happy life.
WRITTEN BY: OKWA FELIX AGBO.
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