LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

Not a few Christian groups have been set up with prayer as a key agenda.  Special days have been periodically set aside to call us to fasting and prayer.  It is also good to note that there are churches and Christians individuals who are placing special emphasis on prayer and making special effort to pray.  The urgency to pray specifically for our nation has intensified in view of what has happened in our country since the last political tsunami… and also what we predict will happen within this year, or maybe the next 24 months.

But how should we pray?  Or rather, what should we pray for?

It is quite common to hear people pray for the advancement of the Gospel… for breakthroughs, for more people to come to the Lord.  We also pray for the growth of the Church… for more churches to be planted, for revival to come upon us.  We pray for the healing of our nation… for corruption and crime to be eradicated, for truth and justice to prevail.  We pray against the forces of darkness… for victories, blessings, miracles, signs and wonders.

Perhaps it is good and needful for us to evaluate our prayers in the contexts of the Scriptures…

If God were to answer all these well-meant prayers exactly according to all that we ask, our world and our society should and would get better and better by the day.  I think that such a positive progression (however slow it may be) would eventually mean that there will be no need for Christ to come again, because all would be well on planet earth!  But, the Bible in no uncertain terms tells us that the world will move towards a condition which will eventually set the stage for Jesus Christ to return.  And the final scenario will not be a rosy one.  The Word of God paints a picture of perilous times (2 Tim 3:1) and increased lawlessness (Matt 24:12).

In view of the Scriptures above, are we praying right?  Well, I am not saying that we are praying wrong.  Did not the Lord teach us to pray for the Father’s Kingdom to come?  And if we are to pray in faith, how else could we pray?

Well… I think if we were to pray more biblically, it will require us to see a more balance perspective regarding the on-going spiritual warfare between good and evil, the tension the children of light will face as we strive to live righteously in a fallen world, and what must transpire before the final victory we will have in Christ when He returns.  As much as the prayer of faith requires us to pray fervently to hold back the forces of darkness, it also requires us to be prepared to embrace suffering for the sake of the Gospel, with confident trust and even jubilant joy.  There is the “ultimate future” of savoring the final victory… and there is the “immediate future” of persevering towards that victory…

In this context, maybe instead of just praying that Malaysia be won for Christ, it would be more biblical to also pray that Christians and churches be more motivated and effective in sharing the Gospel…  Perhaps instead of merely praying that corruption be eradicated, it would be more meaningful to add that Christians and churches should be more aware of what is happening in our country and be bolder to speak up…  And probably instead of praying only that the forces of darkness be pushed back, it would make better sense that we include praying that Christians should learn to wield the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) to combat satan and his demonic host.

When we learn to pray more biblically, we will put things into a more balanced biblical perspective.  We will know that after getting up from our knees, we need to walk our prayers with actions, and align our lives with the Word of God.

Yes Lord, teach us to pray…

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If this article has blessed you, or if you think this article will bless someone; please feel free to forward it or used it in any way that would bring glory to God.  If appropriate, please acknowledge the source when quoting this material.  Jason Fong also welcomes your thoughts and comments for mutually edifying interactions.

Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article may not necessarily reflect those of the Christian organization Jason works in, nor the church or denomination he belongs to.

PraisetheLord

19 March 2011

The meetings in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Min City (Vietnam) were all fruitful.  The main objective of this component of our Ministry Trip was to evaluate the current situation there and to plan the way forward.  Indeed the Lord has guided us!  Praise Him!

The steadfastness of my colleague from Japan to continue to serve with us on this ministry trip despite of the situation back home is exemplary.  We thank God for His sustaining peace and strength!

More than 120 people attended the conference today.  It was a tiring day, but seeing the eagerness and hunger of the people was most rewarding.  Glory to God!  Please pray that seeds sown in conference will take root, grow and bear fruits.

Tomorrow… I will be preaching in a local church here in Phnom Penh.  There will be one more meeting in the evening with some local leaders, over dinner.  Please pray for effective ministry and meaningful interactions in all the meetings.

I look forward to fly home on 21 March (Monday)…  I look forward to see my family…  I look forward to some rest…

“But I have had God’s help to this very day,

and so I stand here and testify

to small and great alike…”

ACTS 26:22

pray4me

14 March 2011

The Lord is good!  I am currently in an Indo-China nation.  My colleagues (one Japanese and one Korean) and I have just arrived at the second city after a couple of very good meetings in the first one.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

The massive earthquake in Japan just the day before the commencement of this on-going Indo-China Ministry Trip actually caused great uncertainty and anxiety for us.  We were so worried about my Japanese colleague who is part of team going to Indo-China.  On Friday night (11 March), we were still not able to confirm the safety of this person and his family, and whether he could make it for the ministry trip.  It was like a news blackout, though we had reports that Narita Airport and major roads were closed.  Eventually, it was confirmed that he could not fly out of Tokyo on Saturday to join us.  There were adjustments that needed to be made in regards to the meeting planned.  We thank God for His guidance in working out all these things.

My Japanese colleague finally arrived on Sunday afternoon.  We praise God for His protection!  We thank you for your prayers as well.

We will be moving on to the third city on 16 March, where my other colleagues from Indonesia and Singapore will join us.  Please continue to pray.  God bless you!

“And of this Gospel I was appointed

a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

...I am not ashamed,

because I know whom I have believed,

and am convinced that He is able to guard

what I have entrusted to Him…”

2 Timothy 1:11-12

pray4me

11 March 2011

In about 12 hours, I will be on my way for my second ministry trip under SU East/West Asia ministry work.  This time round, I will be going to two countries in Indo-China, ministering in 4 cities.  I will be away from home for about 10 days.

At various point of this ministry trip, I will be working with my SU colleagues from Japan, Korea, Singapore and Indonesia.  They are part of the SU East/West Asia Regional Ministry Team.

The ministry works planned for this trip will include seminars for Christian leaders, preaching in churches, meeting up local church leaders and spending time with local SU staff.

Please pray for…

=      God’s guidance and protection in all the travelling…

=      God’s anointing on the preaching and teaching, that His Word would go forth in clarity and with power…

=      Fruitful interactions and networking with local church leaders…

=      Meaningful mentoring relationship with the local SU staff members…

=      God’s protection over my loved ones back home…

“Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

for I know that through your prayers

and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

what has happened to me will turn out

for my deliverance…”

Philippians 1:18-19

PRAYER MEETING:

WHY OR WHY NOT?!

Most Christians do not attend the prayer meeting in their church.  I think the figure is about 80%.  Why 80%?  Because from observations, a church with about 100 people at the Worship Service usually has only about 20 people in the weekly prayer meeting.  And maybe this can be considered quite good already.  The Sunday Worship attendance in my home church is usually about 2,000 people… but prayer meeting attendance is definitely not more than 400 people.

Not many Christians actually attend both Worship Services and prayer meetings consistently.  But for me, actually I attend more prayer meetings than Sunday Worship Services in my own home church.  Why?  Because of my ministry work, often I would be away preaching or teaching on weekends.  As such, on a normal month, I usually get to attend Sunday Worship in my home church only about two times.  Sometimes only once.  But usually I would be able to go to prayer meeting about three times.

There was this day when I tried to get my younger daughter to join my wife and I at the prayer meeting.  She asked, “Why must we go to church to pray?  Why can’t we pray at home?”

By the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, I was able to respond spontaneously to her, “As much as closet and individual prayer is important, there is also a need for corporate prayer...”

Indeed, there is the community aspect of prayer that many Christians have not understood, or deliberately choose to ignore.  Worst, perhaps we have used the excuse of “I can pray at home…” to rationalize not going to church prayer meeting; but in actual fact we are doing anything and everything at home, but pray.

Praying in itself is already a very difficult spiritual discipline, what more coming together to pray as the Body of Christ.  Not negating the fact that often our lives are so very busy, or some church prayer meetings are really just boring meaningless routines, or that we absolutely cannot stand all the hypocrisy; we still need to come together to pray…  The practice of the discipline of corporate prayer also helps us learn humility, submission, perseverance and sacrifice.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If this article has blessed you, or if you think this article will bless someone; please feel free to forward it or used it in any way that would bring glory to God.  If appropriate, please acknowledge the source when quoting this material.  Jason Fong also welcomes your thoughts and comments for mutually edifying interactions.

Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article may not necessarily reflect those of the Christian organization Jason works in, nor the church or denomination he belongs to.

FACEBOOK ABOUT FACE

I was talking to this 16 year old teenager about FaceBook recently.  She told me that she is sort of “giving up” on FaceBook.  Quite interesting (and to my shock), she said it is boring.  And furthermore, she said that a handful of her friends are also not spending much time on FaceBook now!  Wow!  What a revelation!

Actually I am only about 2 months old on FaceBook.  For the past months, I logged on almost every day, about twice a day.  I would spend about 10-15 minutes each time, and maybe a bit longer if there are some interesting stuff… or something worthwhile to check out further…

What have I “discovered” in FaceBook?!

I think about 90% of most people’s activities (postings and comments, etc) on FaceBook are trivial matters… matters which zero or next to zero eternal consequences or values.  Perhaps food and photographs are the No. 1 subject matters… what I ate, what I drank, what I saw, where I’ve been…  Next, is changing profile pictures... and then everyone will go wild clicking “I LIKE”…  Another common activity is recommending video clips on YouTube…  And then, there are the occasional outbursts of “I am hungry!”, “I hate that…” and “Why?!” or “What!!!”

Please don’t get me wrong!  No, I am not saying that these are useless stuff… or bad stuff…  At this point of time, I am just thinking aloud…

I think there are some values in the stuff above which I have labeled as trivial.  I think the primary good in all these stuff is that it helps people know what we are doing and thinking.  Which means some social connecting can happen.  The secondary good is that there is a channel for expression and release… when we are happy, frustrated, or bored…

Indeed, I am beginning to understand why the teenager I spoke to can become bored with FaceBook.  When FaceBook is just all about trivial matters, very soon we will look for the next thing to give us some highs…

So… what has Jason Fong been doing on FaceBook?!

So far… I have done a bit of the usual “trivial” stuff… like “liking” some people… responding to people’s comments… But just a wee bit, so that I am not misunderstood as a “boring” person!

But really… stuff I have done on FaceBook which I think were significant included recommending certain articles and posting certain comments… that would hopefully “provoke” people positively toward God.

I have a dream for FaceBook…

I would like to see FaceBook become a tool where we could use to provoke each other to love and good works.  I would like to see FaceBook become a catalyst to spur one another to be mindful of God a bit more.  I would like to see FaceBook become a window to help the world at large to know what should preoccupy the hearts and minds of people who truly love God…

If this dream fires your imagination, I would like to invite you to join me…

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If this article has blessed you, or if you think this article will bless someone; please feel free to forward it or used it in any way that would bring glory to God.  If appropriate, please acknowledge the source when quoting this material.  Jason Fong also welcomes your thoughts and comments for mutually edifying interactions.

Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article may not necessarily reflect those of the Christian organization Jason works in, nor the church or denomination he belongs to.