Zara opened her eyes in horror, jumped off the bed and ran to the toilet. She pulled down the toilet seat and threw up as much as she could. It was the same dream. How could she have the same dream intermittently for the past 1 year? The details were the same. A woman in a burnt orange Hijab- holding on tightly to a young girl of about 6 years while pushing 10-year-old Zara away. They were in an apartment and were standing at the corner of the living room. It was dark and difficult to make out the faces.
It was the way the little girl looked at Zara that made Zara fearful. It was more like a cry for help. Zara was sure she knew this person and needed to save her from whatever this woman was about to do to her. However, the woman held Zara back, and just as she opened her mouth to scream, she slammed her hand firmly over Zara’s mouth and prevented her from screaming. As Zara struggled to break free, the dream usually ended up the same- with the woman plunging a knife into the little girl’s heart, killing her instantly.
“Say after me, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name” Sarah nudged her stepsister as they walked back home.
‘Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name”. Zara repeated. She was learning about the lord’s Prayer and her stepsister; Sarah had been teaching her. Zara was adopted when she was 10 years by Yasmin, Sarah’s mum the same year her family had died in an accident-at least that’s what she was told. The events leading up to that day were foggy in Zara’s mind. The doctors had said it was part of her brain processing the shock, that the memories may return at some point. Sarah was 8 years at the time, now she was 15 years and Zara 17 years. Although she became born again when she was 17, Zara still felt she had a lot to learn from Sarah who had been a Christian all her life.
“Must we pray this way? I noticed it is commonly taught at children’s churches. What’s the importance?”
“Yes, Sunday schools like to ensure that children learn this at an early age,” Sarah replied. Zara could be quite inquisitive about many things, and this was even before she became a Christian convert.
“The second question?”
“What second question?”
“I asked two questions.”
“Oh, the importance,” Sarah chuckled. “So, Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray. Although some of them had been disciples of John, they saw that Jesus prayed differently, and when they asked him, he taught them.” (Luke 11: 1)
“What did he mean when he said Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come? What was he referring to?” Zara was curious
“Hmm, I think I should explain it from the top. Our Father who art in heaven emphasizes the relationship we now have with God, because of the death and the resurrection of Jesus. The fact that we can now call Him ‘Abba Father’ because we are now saved and therefore have the Holy Spirit. (Gal 4:6).
“I see. So that means, Hallowed be your name, was Jesus referencing God in honour?” Zara asked.
“Yes. It also signifies consecration, to God’s will in the place of prayer. Then, your kingdom come is Jesus teaching them to pray and expect the coming of the Messiah and His eternal reign.”
“I see, what about the next one? your will be done on earth.”
“It means for God’s will- which is that all men be saved, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
“That makes sense. Not to digress but I have been thinking though, “Why do we pray for God’s will to be done? I thought he has given us free will.”
“Zara! So, you have had all these burning questions on your mind, and you didn’t tell me. It is now that you want answers.” Sarah nudged her stepsister.
“Anyway, let me try to explain it the way it was explained to me” Sarah continued If you believe God’s will is good, and he has plans to prosper you and give you a good future, then you shouldn’t have an issue with praying this prayer. You are right, he gives us free will, which is why he doesn’t force us to accept him, but he ultimately desires that we do. The more you grow spiritually, the more you align yourself with his desires, because then you will know that his leading is never wrong.”
“Hmm. So, what about asking for our daily bread? This is where we ask for our needs ba?”
Sarah smiled as they entered into their home. “Not exactly, the entire Lord’s prayer has the same message, the priority of God-the resurrection, death and the finished works of Christ. It also points to the gospel.”
“I am lost. How does asking for our daily bread point to the gospel?”
“That’s a good question. Remember how we talked about the bible being translated and how during the process, some things were interpreted based on cultural perspectives at the time?”
‘Yes, I do, which is why we have to ensure we read the bible in context, listen to a good preacher and join a sound church.”
“Exactly! The Greek translation of ‘daily’ as used in that passage was ‘Epiousios’ and it is different from the other Greek translations of the actual word ‘daily’ used in other parts of the bible. That one is ‘Hemera’ and refers to frequency. So, they don’t mean the same.”
“Ah! What does this one now mean, if it doesn’t mean daily?” Zara was shocked to hear this.
“It means ‘super essential’, ‘necessary’. Besides, it would be strange that Jesus would be talking about bread here when he has already said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). “
“By super essential, was he talking about himself? Like ‘I am the bread of life if you eat of my flesh….”
“Wow Zara! look at you. You are absolutely right. The daily bread in question refers to Jesus- his death and resurrection, because it is super essential. It is through that, that the forgiveness of sins in the next verse can happen. This is because, the fact that Jesus died and resurrected, has now made it possible for our sins to be cleansed once and for all, which in turn has made it possible for us to forgive others. If he died for you, despite your sinful nature, why can’t you forgive others?”
Zara was thrilled. Sarah had just expounded something significant, and she marvelled at the level of wisdom the 15-year-old girl had. As a Muslim, she had often snuck into churches with her sister to listen to some preachers, but none had made sense of it this way.
“So you are saying Jesus wasn’t telling them to pray for their daily 2k?” Zara asked and they both laughed.
‘The thing about prayer is that some of us have made it about needs and we need to understand that it’s not just about that, or the binding and casting; the content of our prayer also matters. It is God’s will for us that we prosper, abundantly. So even without asking he knows all our needs.”
“Thank you so much, Sarah. This means a lot to me. “
“Anytime. I was taught as well. You know mum was also a Muslim before she met my dad, so I understand.”
“Yeah, it’s probably also one of the reasons she adopted me. I am so lucky to have been a part of your family”
“No, we are lucky to have you. What happened to your family was tragic. No child should ever experience that.” Sarah paused. “Zee, are you having the nightmares again? I heard you screaming the other night.” She watched Zara’s eyes widen.
“I didn’t know I was loud, sorry about that. It just feels like it is getting worse. I think it might be a memory coming back, and it’s not about the accident. Infact, it doesn’t feel like there was an accident…” Zara stopped. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to open up yet.
“What do you mean? It was an accident, Zee.” Sarah was surprised.
Sarah leaned forward, “You have been having this dream for a long time. Yet each time I ask you, you freeze, and you become vague about it. I want to know. Let me be there for you. What’s going on?”
Zara sighed heavily. “I think my sister was murdered by a woman in an orange Hijab”
“Murdered? What? How? Why? What?” Sarah was startled.
“I don’t know, I mean, everyone has said it was an accident but, I can’t shake the feeling that something is not right. The dreams are too frequent, each time with more details than the previous.”
“Okay. Tell me more about the dream…or the woman.” Sarah was scared that her sister would go back into her shell, so she knew she had to be sensitive. If it took her this long to finally open, this must be worse than she thought.
“In the dream, I was standing at the corner of a dark room, but so was a woman with a burnt orange Hijab, holding someone I think was my sister.” Zara knew she sounded crazy, but she needed to finally open up to someone. “Not think, I am now sure it was my sister, and she looked to me as if beckoning to be rescued from this woman. So, I tried to go to her, I was trying to save her but- but- “Zara’s voice cracked. She was tearing up.
“You don’t have to say everything now. Just take your time. I just have a question did you actually take note of this woman’s face?”
“That’s the issue, I didn’t. I have never seen her face in the dream; besides it was quite dark. I only saw the Hijab and it had something written on it. S-A-K-E-E-N-A-H.” She spelt it out.
“Wait, what? Like the name? That is-” Sarah started to say, her face was turning pale.
“It also had this symbol,” Zara brought out her phone where she had been sketching the details of the dream for months. She showed it to her.
Sarah opened her mouth in horror. She stood up suddenly and ran to her wardrobe tossing things around for a few minutes. Zara followed her closely, utterly confused. Sarah finally found what she was looking for. “Something like this?” she showed Zara.
Zara nearly fell to the floor as she came face to face with the burnt orange Hijab that she had seen in her dream so many times in the last 1 year- The only thing that she could identify from a possible suspect.
“Sarah, is this yours?” Zara could barely speak. A million thoughts collided in her head at the same time.
“Zee, this belongs to mummy.”
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