The recent Merdeka 40-day Prayer and Fast generated good publicity for the Christian community and increased the Malaysian Church’s visibility in the nation. We hope that through the exposure, our Lord’s name has been magnified by the Church’s humble and sincere efforts towards nation building and community care.
This year’s prayer and fast campaign attracted the participation of at least 70,000 Christians throughout the nation. As the theme One Voice in Prayer suggested, the campaign was a call for unity, and for Christians to commit themselves to pray in agreement with other believers according to Matt. 18: 19–20, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
With all the troubles and challenges confronting us today, how critical it is for us to stand united and in agreement as we intercede for our nation. To repeat the list of social ills plaguing our society will seem like an overkill – we’ve probably heard enough of the rising culture of violence, school indiscipline, increasing immorality, et cetera, et cetera.
Nevertheless, we need to repeat it to emphasise the serious-ness of the situation. Recently, the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation released statistics comparing the incidence of various crimes between the first half of 2003 and 2002. The number of armed robberies increased by more than 30 percent, while the number of armed gang robberies increased by about 25 percent, according to the statistics quoted on an online report by The Star/Asia News Network. This was followed by attempted murder, up 23.53 percent. Other crimes that showed increase included rapes, house break-ins, vehicle thefts, and property-related offences.
Commenting on the figures, the Foundation Vice-Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, said, "One of the root causes of all our social ills lies in the serious moral degradation affecting our younger generation, coupled with the lack of parenting skills and guidance to enable children to tread the right path," he said.
How apt it was then when Cindy Jacobs, during her message at the Klang Valley Merdeka prayer rally, spoke about what God was about to do with our Christian youths (see page 2).
Her message brought much excitement and hope that God would visit the Church, and through it, arrest the decaying condition of our society and finally, bring fresh winds of changes. In other words: Revival.
Before Revival Falls
Revival signals a manifestation of God’s power in our midst. But for revival to come, it must be preceded by prayer. This will then lead to changed lives, changed values and ultimately, transformed communities.Some may be tempted to aksk if prayer really matters. Has intercession any effect on our lives, our community, our nation? Most, if not all, Christians would reply with an unequivocal, perhaps academic ‘YES’. And yet, when we consider the amount of time people spend in intercession, or look at the attendance of churches’ prayer meetings, we can’t help feeling that intercession ranks low in the course of our daily lives (see page 6).
Most churches struggle with low turnout at their weekly prayer meetings. But against this dismal backdrop, there are signs that increasingly, Christians are being burdened to pray like never before. Across the country, small prayer groups are springing up, Christians are forming prayer groups in their workplaces, while churches are making efforts to hold joint intercession. These are encouraging signs towards the unity that we have yearned for.
Has prayer any effect? Consider what Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading founding fathers of the U.S.A. who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, did when the leaders of the new nation were confronted with an impasse.
"The Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure over the issue of whether small states should have the same representation as large states. In this hopeless situation, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin offered a suggestion.
He was convinced Scripture is right when it states, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Psalm 127:1), so he said: ‘Gentlemen, I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I move that prayer imploring the assistance of Heaven be held every morning before we proceed to business.’
"The motion carried. From then on prayer was offered each morning. The change after prayer was introduced was so dramatic that in a short while a compromise was reached which is still in effect today." – Story from The Bible Friend.
Let us not give up meeting together and praying together in agreement. There is great power there.
|
