Newsletter
Of Christ and Caesar |
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AN increased burden to pray for the nation was the outcomeof a nationwide prayer drive during the National Day celebrations. As intercessors, pastors and Christians from various churches and from all walks of life (including an 80-year-old grandmother!) travelled the length and breadth of the country, most expressed a yearning to pray as never before after visiting the various States and seeing the peoples and sites for themselves. This year’s prayer journeys focused on the gateways and highways of the land, with the themes Loving Our Nation and Thy Kingdom Come undergirding their petitions and supplications. A 13-member team from the Bahasa Malaysia churches also took part, with the team scouting the entire peninsula with praise, intercession and the Word of God. The BM team did significant intercession at inter-state borders and state capitals, going to such places as Bukit Kayu Hitam, Padang Besar, Baling, Kangar, Alor Setar, Pengkalan Hulu, Kota Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Malacca and Batu Pahat. The itinerant intercessors from several churches in the Klang Valley who fanned out to the different States linked hearts with many in the States whose local churches held their own prayer initiatives. For instance, more than 2,000 Penang Christians gathered on the 31st night and prayed for their chief minister, Dr Koh Tsu Koon who attended the event. Christians in East Malaysia hiked up the country’s highest mountain (Mount Kinabalu) to proclaim the lordship of Christ over Malaysia. In the Klang Valley, Sri Perdana, Putrajaya, KLCC, the Bukit Jalil Complex, the central commercial and business district, the law courts and government buildings were among several important landmarks that were targetted for specific prayer as well as several city ring roads. “God is restoring the Church’s role as His gatekeepers and watchmen over the city, to guard and enforce Christ’s victory, and Kuala Lumpur is the gateway to the nation, just as Jericho was the gateway to the Promised Land,” shared one intercessor in the central route team. As Malaysia stands poised to become a key player in the global IT network with its Multimedia Super Corridor, high-tech airport and top class communication tower, the country will be open to a tremendous influx of people, technology and information. The Church needs to take possession of all these gateways as well and ‘raise up a standard’ before they are infiltrated like ‘a flood from the enemy’. The climax of the prayerwave was a national day prayer rally at Renewal Lutheran Church (RLC) in Petaling Jaya which saw Malaysian church leaders washing the feet of their Singaporean counterparts to reciprocate the foot washing done at a massive rally during Singapore’s own National Day. The symbolic and prophetic act of reconciliation between the two nations were accompanied by several words of encouragement (which some might interpret as prophetic) for Malaysia given by the Singaporean pastors. “You are a nation which God as blessed with the gifts of hospitality and resourcefulness. We pray these strengths would be used to the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom, particularly in the arena of inter-ethnic relations as peoples from all over the world congregate in your nation. And if the Church rises up in this land to do its God-appointed task, the country will be the door to usher in an awesome revival in Asia” they said. RLC’s Rev Dr Joshua Yee in his opening prayer declared blessing upon the nation, based on Proverbs 11 so that the country “would go on course to fulfill its destiny in the purpose of God” and that “every negative word spoken by the mouth of the wicked over the country would be broken.” Breaking up into small groups, the participants at the event prayed for peace, justice, national righteousness and economic sufficiency to prevail in the land, as various church leaders led them in the concluding prayers for various prayer items. PJ Gospel Hall elder Kong Yeng Phooi prayed for the nation, its leaders and for Christian politicians, praying that “evil men would not come to power in the coming elections” and that “Christian politicians would have the wisdom and courage to condemn wrong and do what is right.” SIB Sarawak’s Andy Anyi Wan prayed over the country’s economic situation, Christ Community Centre’s Albert Issac prayed for unity in the Body of Christ, Dr Chew Weng Chee from SIB Kuala Lumpur prayed for families and Mr David Boler, also an elder from PJ Gospel Hall, prayed for the Gospel to effectively penetrate our land. “We, the English-speaking churches need to repent of our lack of versatility in Bahasa Malaysia and other ethnic languages to reach out to our communities,” said Mr Boler. Photo: Act Of Reconciliation: Malaysian church leaders wash the feet of their Singaporean counterparts at the National Day Prayer Rally at Renewal Lutheran Church. |
