Chairman's Message - The danger of PRAYING
By Rev. Eu Hong Seng
Who has ever heard that praying is dangerous?
Too often it has been said that one can never pray enough. That is no doubt a timeless truth. But the grave danger for today's church - besides not praying enough - is that we do not know when to stop praying and start doing.
In the Czech Republic, the Christian community - commonly called the Moravians - is well known for their motto, "No one works unless someone prays." This spoke of their corporate commitment to sustained prayer, and prayers often went on unbroken 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of each year for over 100 years!
| Prayer can become an excuse for NOT doing. |
I believe in tarrying in the Upper Room and I thank God for sustained persistence.
Taking another look at the Moravians, I find that their importunate prayers produced passion and zeal for missionary outreach to South America, Africa, Greenland and many other places. They even sold themselves as slaves, just for the sake of the Gospel.
In comparison, I found myself asking, what has our prayers produced in Malaysia? 2 Chronicles 7:14 is the 'catch verse' of many of our prayer conferences and movement.
We have seen prayers or reconcilia-tion, acts of feet washing, the practice of generational forgiveness, the call for and the responses of inter-border and inter-tribal reconciliation (particularly with Singapore and between East and West Malaysia) and prolonged seasons of prayers and I am beginning to wonder if it is not time to move on.
As we peer into the chapter (8) after the 'catch chapter' of 2 Chronicles 7, Solomon did indeed move on to become a 'nation builder'.
2 Chron 8: 2-6, "... the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; he also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in Hamath. He built Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, also Baalath and all the stor-age cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion."
All these he did besides building the altar of the Lord (v12). And in chapter 9, we are told that the Queen of Sheba had "no more spirit in her," (vs 4) when she heard the wisdom of Solomon and saw what God had done through Him and the spirit of excellence in which he did the work (including the building work) of the Lord.
I suspect Solomon had a 'modified Moravian Motto' - "No one prays unless someone works" or at least is "willing to work."
Prayer can become an excuse for not doing. It's not because we 'have not heard' but because we have become secure (and even comfortable?) in our prayer bunkers.
Solomon … built, built, built and built!
After all the years of prayers for our nation, I want to suggest that it's time the Church of Malaysia becomes 'nation building-minded.' Is this not part of the healing of the land that 2 Chron. 7:14 promises?
Every believer, a nation builder. Yes, it's time to move forward. |
