23 October 2014
The Malaysia Day Prayer Celebration 2014
The Malaysia Day Prayer Celebration on September 16, 2014 at Calvary Convention Centre at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur was indeed an awesome national celebration by Christians from all the various denominations. The hall was filled with more than four thousand worshippers coming together to give thanks to God and to pray for our beloved nation, Malaysia.
The Host
Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) and National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) were the joint organizers of this event for the second year. The head of various denominations, and Christian politicians were among those who came to grace the celebration.
Worship & Praise
The event started off with a flag parade by the indigenous Christians of Malaysia in Semenanjung, Sabah and Sarawak, who were adorned in their beautiful traditional costumes. All Malaysian stood in honour as we sang the Negaraku together. Josh Yeoh of Penhop and his team led praise and worship. The prophetic dance team which comprised of Sabah and Sarawak Christians from DUMC and SIB KL Central add to the grandeur of the celebration. The theme of their dance and costumes portrayed to us the splendour of our God as we worshipped together.
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 Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng |
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Keynote Addresses
The Chairman of Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and NECF, Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng gave his keynote address entitled "Contending for the Soul of the Nation", based on 1 Kings Ch 18. In his address, he said that now was the time for the following to be done:
 Bishop Dr Ong Hwai Teik |
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Prophets to be released;
People to be reviewed;
Promises to be claimed;
Prayers to be prayed;
Power to be obtained.
The Methodist Bishop Dr Ong Hwai Teik gave his CCM address entitled "A God Incomparable, A Role Remarkable." He shared from Isaiah Ch 46 and Ephesians Ch3. He shared of God's eternal plan for His church. He encouraged everyone that the manifold wisdom of God should be made known in this land through the Malaysian Church. Both speakers challenged the Malaysian church to commit to 24-7 prayer which was necessary for the nation for such a time as this.
After the key addresses, came the time of prayer and intercession which contained five focuses:-
Prayer & Intercession
Pastor Edwin Agong of SIB Metropolitan Community led the intercession in Bahasa Malaysia on the theme of Nation: praying for the rulers, leaders of the country, the citizen, the wealth of the nation and the next generation.
Rev Johnson Chua of Beacon Presbyterian Church prayed in English for the Church: focusing on unity of the Church, spiritual maturity of the Church, and how the Church was to play her strategic role in nation building.
Pastor Chomy Ching of Philadelphia Church followed by interceding in Chinese language focusing on the theme of Family: for the restoration of the family unit and for the family prayer altar to be set up.
Rev Justin Clarance of Tamil Methodist Church prayed in Tamil for the Government: focusing on the judiciary system, for the Christian politicians and the civil service.
Sis Chrisanne Chin, co-ordinator for 24-7 Prayer Malaysia closed the intercession session with praying for the Migrants and Refugees. The Malaysian Catholic Church had extended an invitation to join them to celebrate the 100th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The theme of Pope Francis' letter was "Migrants and Refugees: Towards a Better World", and he reminded that "Each individual is a part of humanity and, with the entire family of peoples, shares the hope of a better future." After the small group intercession, everyone read out the prayer for refugees together.
Launch of 24-7 Prayer Initiative
Then the time arrived to launch the nationwide 24-7 Prayer Initiative. Prayer United proposed this prayer initiative amongst the various prayer networks and pastors fellowships to mobilize all Malaysian Christians to uphold the nation in 24-7 prayer for 2 years commencing September 16, 2014.
The Declaration
The culmination of the celebration was the Declaration made by Rev Danil Raut, President of SIB Semenanjung, in Bahasa Malaysia. Everyone read the declaration together. The framework of this declaration was based on the Daniel's prayer in Daniel Ch 9. A copy of this declaration is linked here.
Benediction
Finally, Bishop Aaron Yap of the Lutheran Church of Malaysia, closed the celebration at 12.30 pm with blessings to everyone and commanded all to live out boldly for the Lord and be a blessing to our nation.
Many came forward and shared how they were blessed with this worship and prayer celebration. It was a joy to see all the different tribes and tongues coming together to worship the Lord and to pray for our beloved Malaysia.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ...For there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore. Psalm 133.
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