by NikL 29 Replies latest jw friends
We had some wet old geezer from London beth-hell give a prayer at the end of the a$$emb£y in Nottingham ice arena.
I actually opened my eyes and looked around me because I thought it was a talk and I was the only burke standing up. I wasn't. It was crap. the old fool was waffling on, my mind drifted to ice cream and sex.
WingCommander: 100% with you on this. I experienced what it was to go through a long prayer as a kid: Torture! I experienced it as a young single man: Still felt like torture! I than experienced it as a father of young kids: UNBEARABLE!!!
The things that I could not understand is that most of these man were parents themselves and surely they knew what it was like to hold a baby or a very young kid during the prayer... and they didn't care!!
They'd go on with a full and complete revision of the three days of assembly!
They should end each prayer with:
"Thank you Jehober, even though we now know that the GB can be wrong when they explain the bible, and that what we believe today will probably be changed next week, so in effect we have had FALSE worship for 100 years running, we are still happy to give you our money, lives, and build the GB a great retirement complex."
To me, they always felt like they were really, really, really anxious petitions for God's approval...
...like borderline desperate, as if they were afraid they wouldn't get it or something.
Those pious monologues were too long to keep standing so i would just sit down and wait for it to get over. As years wore on, it got to where i didn't stand up for any prayer, just put my head down on the chair-back in front of me.
Great comment ttdtt!
Yes, I always cringed when it seemed like the brother giving the prayer was actually TEACHING Jehovah something while he went on and on! Or making sure that Jehovah had not forgotten or missed the content of the meeting because he was asleep...
Or when the brother giving the prayer just summarized or reviewed the entire content of the meeting again!
I would think "OK, yes, we have just heard all of that...why repeat it all...?"
That would be like going to dinner and thanking your host on the way out like this: "Thanks for the invitation to join you for dinner on this, Saturday 10th. We started with some small talk, then you offered us drinks, after which we talked some more then you offered us some snacks before we moved to the other room and sat at a large table made out of oak wood. then you asked if we wanted some peas and steak which were cooked nicely in a sauce.....on and on to desert and farwells"
You get the idea
Hmm it's an interesting point. It's almost like the target of the prayer is the actual audience in attendance. I think i read in another thread how prayers at the end of the conventions are excruciating. It made me think back and I totally agree with this. It was almost like a complete recap of the convention, as if Jeevoova was outside in the parking lot and needed to be filled in on what happened.
When I was young, we used to have a rented hall that was pretty old. In the summer, they'd open the windows to let some air in and as it went dark outside (Thu meeting) the daddy-long-leg crane flies would be drawn to the light and start buzzing around the ceiling (quite high / domed), sometimes venturing down.
Obviously, no one wanted one of those things flying in their face so you kept half an eye on where they were.
My sister (2 years older than me) and her friend were sat in the row in front of me one evening and as the prayer droned on and you heard the buzzing of the flies, I saw they were keeping an eye out for them too.
So I reached forward and flicked their hair behind their ears.
OMG, I never thought anyone would scream THAT loud! And of course the surprise of them screaming made others jump and half-shout out too.
I think the payer finished and I remember being pretty grateful that no one knew it was really me and not an actual fly. I think I would have been in serious trouble.
@punkofnice
. It was crap. the old fool was waffling on, my mind drifted to ice cream and sex.
oh dear Punk--i hope you didnt get a stiffy while you were stood there with your head bowed.
I hated when that would happen. A prayer isn't a soapbox, bro. There's been lots of reminds on that in the KM and other stuff. Keep prayers to under a minute.
The worst were at Bethel. Holy shit. For some brothers, that's the first time they've ever been able to do something in front of the whole bethel family, so the prayers would go on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Fuck you man. I've got like 10 minutes to eat and get to work.
