Amid the troubles in this land, God’s people have been entrusted with the responsibility to gather to share, consult, pray and strategise. And as the country faces increasing internal and external threats, there is now great urgency to pray for the nation.
“God is interested in nations and He has changed the course of nations as history has shown. I believe our nation too can change,” said Rev. Andy Chi.
The chairman of the NECF Malaysia Prayer Commission was speaking at the first Central Region Prayer Consultation in February, attended by 51 delegates from 34 churches in the central region (Selangor, Wilayah and Perak).
He shared NECF’s vision, which is to unite the Body of Christ for a transformed nation. The consultation, organised by the commission, aims to mobilise churches to network and pray to achieve the vision.
Keynote speaker NECF Secretary-General Rev. Wong Kim Kong talked about the national challenges, particularly religious activism, and pointed to the book of Esther to show how Christians should engage themselves in the nation’s affairs.
Engaging the government is a necessary part of our Christian responsibility, he stressed. Sadly, most Christians are apathetic towards politics because they consider it dirty.
He also cautioned intercessors not to be “triumphalistic” but to get “down to earth”. In his conclusion, he exhorted, “Powerful movements begin with people, small groups of men and women, who are willing to tithe their time and abilities outside their own scope of ministry.
Our barometer of success before the Lord is when local churches gather to pray and members tithe to this cause. This will not be an individual success but a corporate success, and the favour of God will be on His people.”
During the consultation, representatives from various towns in the states shared the challenges their towns are facing. They then broke into small groups for intercession. They also prayed for locations which do not have any church or whose churches have less than 20 Christians (listing compiled from the Department of Statistics).
At the end of the consultation, the delegates agreed to form a central prayer network aimed at building relationships and mobilising prayer in the region.
State coordinators were appointed, being Dr Chan Geok Oon for Perak; Jeremiah Gun (assisted by Leong Dai May) for Selangor; and Pr Looi Kok Khim (assisted by Pr Rennie Tan and Pr Josephine Lu) for Wilayah.
This is the third regional prayer consultation, the first two being the northern and southern peninsular regions.
The commission is currently planning the fourth consultation for East Coast churches and hopes to establish a national prayer network by year end
BLOWN AWAY... Ling Bek Sing, senior pastor of High Praise Ipoh
and Church of Sitiawan, was blown away by the surprise birthday
celebration the delegates gave him at the consultation.
Strengthening relationship is a high priority for the prayer leaders
and intercessors.
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