Cyber Column by Berry D. Simpson: Begging prayer

Posted: 9/30/05

CYBER COLUMN:
Begging prayer

By Berry D. Simpson

In West With the Night, Beryl Markham writes: “In Africa, people learn to serve each other. They live on credit balances of little favors that they give and may, one day, ask to have returned. In any country almost empty of men, ‘love thy neighbor’ is less a pious injunction than a rule for survival.”

In Karimoja, northeast Uganda, they beg from each other.

We were warned: “The Karimojong are always begging. You will be begged for money, for your watch, for your hat, for your sunglasses, for your clothes, for medicine and anything else they can think of.”

Most of the time, my wife, Cyndi, and I were so ignorant of the language we had no idea we were being begged. One time, we were walking back from church with English-speaking Martha, and three women were trying to talk to Cyndi. She asked Martha what they were saying, and Martha said they were begging for 100 shillings.

It was surprising on several levels. For one, we were being begged aggressively and had no idea it was happening. The other is that Martha, who was taking us around, didn’t intervene. If I’d been Martha, I would’ve told the women: “Leave my friends alone. Can’t you see they are guests?” But begging was so natural to her she saw no need to intervene. Neither did she seem embarrassed by the beggar’s behavior or upset at her. Martha was very matter-of-fact about the whole thing.

At the village of Nariwore. a young man who was serving as my interpreter noticed my watch and asked me to bring him one when I come back from America. He said, “Then we’ll be friends.”

On that same trip, Longo, who was carrying his stuff in a black plastic bag, asked me to bring him a backpack like mine when I come back to Africa. Back home, I might ask, “Where can I get one like yours,” but Longo expected me to furnish one for him. He said, “Then people will know we are friends because I have a pack like yours.”

Cyndi had her own story. Losilo asked Cyndi for her shirt. She was wearing a khaki long-sleeved backpacker’s shirt, and he wanted it. They never asked for my clothes; maybe my shirts were too sweaty. Or maybe because I was significantly larger than most of the guys and my shirts wouldn’t fit. Cyndi was actually about the same size as Losilo. She told him, “No, I want to keep this shirt.”

The thing is, we could’ve replaced anything we gave away easily and cheaply once we got home, and our giveaways would serve these Karimojong for many years. Why be so stingy and selfish? After all, we are rich Americans and have lots to share. But giveaways have hurt Africa as much as they’ve helped, and we didn’t want to upset the relationship between Jacob, a missionary living in Karimoja studying the language, and the Karimojong after we left. We’d be the generous benevolent Americans giving away all our stuff and feeling good about ourselves, leaving Jacob with the expectations for more and more and more.

One curious thing about begging: The Karimojong word for prayer is “akilip.” It means “to pray.” It also means “to beg.” It’s the same word.

I asked Jacob how this worked. He told me, the word “akilip” originally meant “to beg.” It was what ordinary citizens of the community would do when they asked the Big Men of the community for food, cattle or possessions. Historically, the Karimojong belief in God never went beyond the idea that the Creator was a Big Man with a storehouse of blessings, and in order to receive anything good from him, he must be begged. So they begged him, believing that just like the Big Men in the community, God might give to them. When Christians first entered Karimoja and started talking about prayer, the people said, “We already do that, and the word is ‘akilip.’” A new word never was coined.

At first, Cyndi and I thought that using the same word for prayer and begging was offensive, and Cyndi said, “Yikes, we need a new word!”

But the more we thought about it, the more we understood. What is prayer, really, but begging for God’s grace? Anne Lamott writes, “There are only two prayers: ‘Help me, help me, help me,’ and “Thank you, thank you, thank you.’” Sounds like begging, doesn’t it?

While we use words like “petitioning” and “adoration” and “praising” and “interceding,” it’s all pretty much about begging for grace from God. And, amazingly enough, it’s through that begging—praying—that we become friends with God.

Berry Simpson, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland. You can contact him through e-mail at berry@stonefoot.org.