Few years ago while I was lecturing at the university, I received an email from a student in his sophomore year. He eulogised my pedagogical skills and how he found my lectures scintillating and unmissable. In closing the email, he prayed that I would be his project supervisor when he gets to final year in two years time. I replied, "God forbid". I however thanked him for his mail and kind words.
His email was without any bad intentions but the prayer was not meant for me and certainly did not align with the future I envisioned for myself. While saying amen could or couldn't have thwarted the course of my life, being intentional about affirmations to misdirectional prayer points was my calibrated strategy to avoid the stray bullet of unwanted 'blessings'.
Affirming to an amen must be consistent with your destination and goal in life. Every prayer point, regardless of the good intention, if it does not align with your set goals, does not deserve your amen. If your goal is to get a well paying job after study abroad, don't say amen to prayers of minimum wage jobs. The work experience is not the same. Same thing applies if your desire is to study overseas, don't say amen to studying locally. The environment and the opportunities are not the same.
Today I received an email from the same student and he wrote that he has now understood why I replied "God forbid" to him years ago. He has now graduated and seeks my help in securing admission abroad. I am sure he wouldn't have reached out to me if his amen became my reality.
Amen is a correspondence with the transcendent and an invocation of the possible.
You may not control the prayer but you are in charge of your amen.
