On Monday, the Día de los Fieles Difuntos, we went with some new friends to the kite celebration in Santiago, Sacatepequez. This festival is held in a cemetery and there are giant kites flown and on display.

It is traditionally believed this is one day when you can communicate with your dead relatives via prayer requests attached to kites flown heavenward. The festival is filled with bright colors, the sounds of all sorts of music, and a blending of smells wafting from sidewalk vendors. The idea being that your dead relatives will be able to find your prayer requests if they are attached to a colorful, loud and aromatic festival.

There is no doubt that I’ve got all sorts of theological issues with this festival, but I still walked away from Santiago convicted. Thousands of people walked up to this cemetery, hundreds of men flew the kites and worked tirelessly to erect the huge barriletes, many families gathered at the graves of loved ones and shared some Flambre together and this was all done in the name of a tradition kept alive in the hopes of prayerfully communicating.

In the midst of this, I wondered why it is so difficult for me to pray to the God of the Universe who desperately wants to hear my prayers?

I don’t need to erect a 50-foot tall kite in order to communicate with God, nor do I need to gather with thousands of others in a cemetery in order to be heard. I merely need to engage in simple and intimate conversation with the God who loves me and gave His Son as a sacrifice for my sins. This incredible sacrifice removed the barrier that kept (unholy) me from God. I think it is probably time for me follow the Biblical exhortation to pray without ceasing and to act on the Scriptures that have been rattling around in my head for so long…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

(Todd)