prayer4MYnation #3

Yahweh God, I want to pray for leaders and people holding authority in Malaysia.  Even as I pray for the Malaysian Government, I remember that in times of old, You have dealt directly with kings, rulers and nations.  You caused Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass like an ox, when he became proud and arrogant…  You sent plagues upon Egypt when pharaoh refused to let Your people go…  You rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah to punish the people’s great sin…  Yahweh, I know You have not really worked in such ways for a long time.  I do not know why.  In my natural thinking, I do wish You would manifest Yourself like before… but I do not dare to ask.  For I know that Your ways and thoughts are higher than mine.

As I continue, first of all I bring the PM and his cabinet ministers before Your throne.  As I pray that these leaders may be men and women who will fear God, hate injustice, embrace truth and love the country; I know that if they deliberately choose to do what is wrong, You could nothing with harden hearts.  You have given us all the freedom of choice, and therefore You will not violate this precious gift.  And so, O Lord even though You could direct the king’s heart like a watercourse, often You would not choose to do so.  Understanding this, I will still pray for the Malaysian Government.

I also pray that good and responsible people, especially Christians who have access to the PM and his cabinet, will have the boldness and conscience to speak up.  I know that this will be a very very difficult thing to do…  In this fallen world, there is always a price to pay for doing and saying what is right.  And so I uphold these people before Your throne O Lord.  Please strengthen them, please guide them, and please protect them.

I pray too for our top decision-makers in the Judiciary, Police, as well as the Army.  These are leaders who need to serve with integrity and good judgments.  They need to serve without fear nor favor.  But in many sense, Malaysians have lost both our faith and our respect for so many of them.  Still we must pray for them.  O Lord, please do not allow the conscience of these people die or harden completely.  Please help them to do what is good and right.

Even as I press on in this prayer, I must confess that I do not really believe that Malaysia would be transformed… that justice would be restored… that corruption would be eliminated… that poverty would be eradicated… that our hopes and dreams for a harmonious country would come true…  No Lord, my unbelief is not because I doubt Your power to bring about such transformations, for You are the omnipotent God who created the heavens and the earth in six days!  No Lord, my unbelief is not because I doubt Your love and compassion, for You are the most merciful God who has given us salvation through Your only Son, Jesus Christ!

My unbelief here is in the contexts of my understanding that all things would work towards setting the stage for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  You have affirmed in Your Word that in the last days lawlessness will increase… that people will be lovers of themselves and money; that they will be boastful, abusive and unholy; and that they will act slanderously, treacherously and in conceit.  This is the direction humanity is heading, both in Malaysia and all over the world.  This will all finally lead to the outpouring of the woes of the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls.

O Lord, I struggle as to how I should pray with the End Times in mind…  O Lord, I tremble in fear when I realize the futility of it all…  Therefore, my ultimate hope, is not in the transformation of this nation.  My ultimate hope, is the new heaven and new earth.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.  Yahweh God, I pray this prayer believing that Your Word would always come to pass, and Your sovereign will would always be done.  In Jesus’ Name… amen!

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Jason Fong believes that the Lord is leading him to pray more meaningfully for our beloved nation Malaysia.  He is sharing these prayers with the church at large through this blog and the Facebook.  He hopes that this series of prayers will further catalyze more Christians to watch and pray.

Please read Jason’s earlier article: LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY in this same blog, which was posted on 23 March 2011.  It would be a helpful reading for us to learn to pray more biblically.

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