Pastor Confesses: I Tormented People With My Early-Morning Prayers

A pastor has shared a candid reflection on his early years as a Christian, admitting that he unknowingly disturbed and frustrated people around him with excessively loud prayers while believing he was demonstrating spiritual zeal.

In a post shared on Facebook, the cleric recounted how he once interpreted complaints from neighbours and family members as persecution for his faith, only to later realize that his behaviour was causing inconvenience to others.

According to him, his understanding of personal devotion and prayer has matured over the years, leading him to adopt a quieter and more considerate approach to worship.

Reflecting on his youthful days as a born-again Christian, he explained that he often woke up very early in the morning for what was meant to be a private period of prayer and fellowship with God. However, those moments frequently became loud enough to disturb everyone around him.

“In our younger days as Christians, out of zeal and ignorance, we tormented people and when they reacted, we thought we were being persecuted,” he wrote.

The pastor recalled that his early-morning prayers would often echo throughout the compound where he lived with relatives. While some family members endured the noise without complaint, others were less tolerant of the constant disruption.

He particularly remembered his late mother repeatedly objecting to the noise, insisting that he was depriving other people of their sleep.

“My mother was never the type to keep quiet about such things. She constantly complained that I was disturbing people very early in the morning,” he recounted.

However, he said his late father usually came to his defence, interpreting his actions as evidence of spiritual dedication rather than a nuisance.

According to the pastor, his father once told his mother to allow him continue praying in whatever manner he felt was necessary to connect with God.

He humorously recalled his father saying that even if receiving answers to prayer required him to pray with his head on the ground and his legs in the air, he should be allowed to do so.

The cleric also narrated an incident that occurred during his university days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he lived in Eni Njoku Hostel.

He explained that one morning during his fourth or final year, he went to the hostel laundry area to pray before dawn. As usual, what he considered a quiet devotion gradually became a loud prayer session.

Unbeknownst to him, some students in the hostel many of whom were engineering students had become irritated by the disturbance.

Instead of confronting him directly, the students reportedly began throwing stones in the direction where he was praying.

Fortunately, the stones did not reach him because of the structure of the area where he was standing. However, the sounds of the stones landing nearby made him realize that his prayers had become disruptive.

He admitted that had any of the stones struck and injured him, he might have interpreted the incident as religious persecution at the time.

Looking back now, however, he believes the students were simply reacting to behaviour they found disturbing.

“If any of those stones had hit me, it could have been labelled persecution, whereas in reality I was the one troubling them and they simply decided to trouble the troubler,” he wrote.

The pastor said the experience, along with the wisdom gained over the years, taught him the importance of balancing personal spiritual practices with consideration for others.

He concluded by noting that his prayer life today is far quieter than it was in the past.

According to him, his devotional periods are now truly “quiet times” rather than noisy sessions that inconvenience those around him.

In a light-hearted remark, he joked that he has become so mindful of noise that he can now pray without disturbing his wife, whom he affectionately referred to as “Her Majesty,” even while they are in the same room.

The post has since generated reactions online, with many social media users praising the pastor for his honesty, self-reflection, and willingness to acknowledge mistakes made in the name of religious enthusiasm.