prayer4MYnation #5

O Lord… today is the day!  I am sure it is not Your Will that any people will get hurt.  But it is quite likely that some will.  I am sure it not Your Will that any people will get arrested or detained unjustly.  But it is quite certain that some will.  I am sure it is not Your Will that our beloved nation would go through times of sufferings, fears and turmoil.  But this is precisely what Malaysia is going through.

Lord God, You are able to make all things (including bad things) to work out for good…  Lord I believe!  Lord I know You are able!

So Lord God, please have mercy on Malaysia.  Within the constraints of all the choices and decisions that fallen and sinful people will make, I beseech You to work some good out of the current situation…

Let there be the good awakening among Your people and Your church in Malaysia.  Make us realize that indeed this world, this country, this city is not our home.  Make us realize that all other grounds is sinking sand… so that we will endeavor to stand on Christ the solid rock.

Let there be the good political and social awakening among the people of this nation.  Make us realize the wrongness of being happy to be the silent majority.  Make us realize that we have responsibilities if we want to remain as citizens of Malaysia.

Let there be the good awakening for a process of change to be catalyzed.  Make us courageous enough to speak up against corrupted people who are currently in position.  Make us wise enough to know what we can do to remove such people.  But yet at the same time, we must be mindful that any new leadership to be, will definitely not be perfect.

O Lord… hear the cries of your church… hear the cries of your people… hear my cries…  In the Name of Jesus Christ, 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.

prayer4MYnation #4

O God, so often we are lazy to pray, and so often we just pray lazy prayers.  Our prayers are shallow, simplistic and generic.  We simply mumble: May God bless my beloved nation…  We just say: Lord, watch over our country…  We naively declare: You are Lord over Malaysia…  Please forgive Your church.  Please forgive Your people.  Please forgive me.

Dear Lord, we have also use too much positive thinking and positive talking in our prayers.  We simply claim victory over this and claim victory over that…  We mindlessly cast this out and cast that out…  We used Your Name in vain to curse this and to curse that…  Please forgive Your church.  Please forgive Your people.  Please forgive me.

And Father God, in addition to all the above, most of our prayers are just concerned with blessings.  Give us this and give us that…  Bless this and bless that…  Let me be happy, let me be successful, let me be healthy, let me be wealthy…  Make all my problems disappear…  Please forgive Your church.  Please forgive Your people.  Please forgive me.

For such a time as this… in my beloved land, Malaysia; is blessing what my country really need?!  Is blessing all that I know how to pray for my nation?!  And, how do we expect You O Lord to bless Malaysia?!

O Lord God, move us beyond just praying for a blessing over Malaysia.  Stir us to know a little bit more about what is happening in this land.  Let us be aware of the challenges in our country… in the Government… in the Business Community… in the Society at large… in our Schools… in our Neighborhood… in our Churches…  Only then can we begin to intercede.  This is my prayer.

O Lord God, as You stir us to want to become more aware; may each one of us make effort to open our eyes and look around us… may we begin to take time to read and to think… may we take note of names and people and places and issues at hand…  Only then will our intercession be meaningful.  This is my prayer.

O Lord God, as You stir your people to arouse us from our slumber; may I be an instrument that You could use… may I be Your mouthpiece to speak to my brothers and sisters around me… may I be a channel that You could use to provoke another to love and good works… may I not be lazy, not be shy, not be afraid, not be ashamed to say something and do something for You.  This is my prayer.

O Lord God, we do want Your blessings upon Malaysia.  But forgive us Lord for thinking that such blessings are confined only to prosperity, peace, unity, education opportunities, economic growth… and all the rest of the good stuff alone.  Ultimately, You want Malaysians to repent from our wicked ways… You want the people to seek Your face… You want us to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ…  Lord God, help us to understand that often the “blessings of the good stuff” actually will not contribute positively to what You want in Malaysia.  This is my prayer.

And so Lord, please bless us with whatever it will take to awaken us from our indulgence in sin, so that we may repent and return to you O Lord.  Bless us with trials, troubles and tribulations; if these will contribute to the coming of Your Kingdom.  This is my prayer.

For Your Kingdom… 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.

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.

prayer4MYnation #2

Father God, it is so easy to go into despair when one becomes aware of the social, political, economical and spiritual climates in our nation.  I cannot help but feel so discouraged and so lost.  The challenges and problems Malaysia is facing as a nation seem so deep-rooted, complex and insurmountable.

Could this be the reason why some of us prefer to put our head into the ground like ostriches?  We don’t want to know…  We prefer not to know…  We pretend that we do not know…

But, so what if I know?!  There is really nothing much that I can do.  And, there is a huge price to pay if I want to do something.  And even so, there is no guarantee that the “something” I could do; would or could result in any meaningful or significant transformation in this beloved nation…

Lord God, I need wisdom and understanding.  We need wisdom and understanding.  As your Church and your people in Malaysia, we need to know Your Word, Your Will and Your Ways…

I will be so naïve to think that there are simple answers that could resolve all the issues we are facing.  Watch and pray?!  This is supremely important but yet this will not simply, magically or miraculously make all the problems disappear.  Nonetheless, Lord by Your strength I will continue to watch with alertness and pray with understanding.

Stand up and speak out?!  Surely this is something we must do as good Christians and responsible citizens.  But in what manners and for what causes should I stand up???  And what should I say and how much should I speak???  And will standing up and speaking out eradicate all the problems???  I am not sure what I should do.  I am not sure how I should counsel others who come to me for guidance.  Lord help me!  As the Bible has instructed me, Lord I want to live peaceably with all men; but yet if I perish, I perish.  Lord I am willing…

Church and State should not mix?!  Lord Jesus, You have taught Your disciples to give to Caesar what belong to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.  We have also learned from history the effects on the Church when the Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity.  Lord, so how then should we live?  Lord, it is not that simple, isn’t it?  Whatever it is, I remember Peter’s reply to those in authority: “We must obey God, rather than men.”  Lord, help me…

Almighty God, even though we are all the same Your people, and You are the same God we are all worshipping; different Christians and different churches have developed different convictions and perspectives concerning the issues at hand.  Why…?!  Is there something wrong with us…?!

Lord, I really don’t know.  Perhaps not…  Maybe not… For such a time as this, perhaps there is room for a diversity of various responses…  In such a time as this, maybe You have called us to take up different positions and to play different roles…  Lord, I really cannot be sure…  But in all that I decide to do (or not to do), let me be intentional and purposeful; to bring honor to Your Name, and to expedite the coming of Your Kingdom!

And so Lord, I need wisdom and understanding.  We need wisdom and understanding.  As your Church and your people in Malaysia, we need to know Your Word, Your Will and Your Ways…  Holy Spirit please teach me and guide me…  I am willing to learn.  Speak Lord, I am listening…  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… and to act as the Holy Spirit guides us respectively.

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 how to pray with a more biblical perspective.

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.

prayer4MYnation #1

Lord God Almighty, my heart is troubled as I become more and more aware of the times we are living in here in Malaysia.  Malaysia is the nation I was born into.  Malaysia is the nation I grew up in.  I love this land call Malaysia.  And I love the people in this land.

I want to move on from awareness to intercession.  I want to begin to pray for Malaysia the nation I belong to, regularly and meaningfully.

I want to start with praying for the Christians and Churches in Malaysia.  Lord, forgive our prayerlessness.  Young and old, we have been so distracted by earthly things, and/or we are so disinterested in Your Kingdom agendas.  We are so engrossed with trivial stuff.  Some of us are so busy making money and accumulating wealth.  Many of us are just focused on pursuing our self-centered dreams and building our own little kingdoms.  Others are only interested in that which will make us feel good and look good.

Awaken us to seek You O Lord!  Stir us up to intercession O God!  And if we refuse to be aroused, take away from us the things that we have loved more than You.  Do this by sending trials, testings and tribulations; for You have warned us that it is better to enter into life crippled or lame, than to be whole and be thrown into the fire!

And even as You begin Your good work in some of us, help us who have come out our slumber to begin to nudge and provoke our brothers and sisters in the right direction.  We need to realize that we have this responsibility; that You will hold us accountable for what we say and do, as well as what we fail to say or do.

And so Lord, empower us to reach out and help each other to be on guard, to be alert, and to watch and pray.  I want to be part of Your answer to this prayer.  In the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.  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… and to act as the Holy Spirit guides us respectively.

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 how to pray with a more biblical perspective.

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.

TOOLS AND TOYS

TOOL /tu:1/n

1 instrument held in the hand

and used for working on something…

2 anything used to do or achieve something…

TOY /toI/n

1 thing to play with, especially for a child…

2 thing intended for amusement

rather than for serious use…  

I was chatting with a South African in Phnom Penh recently, during the coffee break at a Youth Ministry Conference where I was teaching.  He was like a “tent-maker missionary” in Cambodia.  In the course of our conversation, he said something like this:  “Today, too many Christians have too many toys and too few tools…  If my children come to me for money to buy a tool, I will gladly give them almost immediately without any questions…  But if they want to buy a toy, I would have to think hard and long…”

The two words TOY and TOOL got stuck in my heart and mind, and have kept me thinking till now…  A gift I received from my daughter recently (for Father’s Day) spurred me to ponder further.  Sarah gave me an iPad 2, and she specified that I could only use the iPad for play and not for work!  And, I posted on Facebook that this caveat will make it so boring! Ha!

Increasingly, the line between toy and tool is getting more and more blur.  I remember that there was a time in the past I have regularly (and strongly) reminded my children that the main usages of a computer are one, work; two, communication; and three, education.  I could not afford to spend RM3000.00 on a piece of equipment to be used primarily as a toy.  And even if I could, I think my convictions would not allow me!  And so, that created lots of tensions at home!

Today… music listening, movie watching, emailing, smsing, internet surfing, facebooking, youtubing, tweeting, etc, etc… are all inter-twined into gadgets that “Babylon” wants us to buy and possess.  Personally, I think there are unseen forces at work here…  Beside the issue of mammon and making money, there is also this issue of conformation to the pattern of the world (Rom 12:2).

The attitudes, mindsets and worldviews that are being created, promoted and reinforced so subtly, so systematically and so effectively may be summarized like this:

“It’s all about me…  I want to enjoy myself…”

“I don’t care…  I must have…”

“I must feel good…”

“I like when admired for the stuff I have…”

“I want…  I like…  I…  I…  I…”

Because the big “I” resonates so powerfully with our fallen nature, the drive is so strong that a 17-year old Chinese teenager Zheng arranged to have one of his kidneys sold over the internet; so that he could buy an iPad 2 and a laptop (BBC News, Beijing; 3 June 2011)!  Sigh!  Sigh!  Sigh!

Whether we are young or old… youths or adults… we can just make a simple mental calculation of our possessions and gadgets.  How many of these are tools?  How many of these are toys?

Yes, I agreed with what the friend I met in Cambodia said: Too many of us have too many toys and too few tools…  And, I personally think that too many of us are far more interested in toys than in tools…  And I also think that too many of us are sliding down this dark and slippery slope… unknowingly…

But just a caveat before I end, I have not given away the toy my daughter recently gave me…  And please don’t tell her that I am using it more as a tool than a toy.  Hahaha!

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.

THE SUCCESS

FAMILY

Father SUCCESS is a very successful man. 

His wife’s name is VISION.

The eldest son is DILIGENCE

and the rest of the boys

are called PERSEVERENCE,

ENTHUSIASM, COMMITMENT

and PRUDENCE.

The eldest daughter is INTEGRITY.

The sisters are LOVE, JOY,

KINDNESS, HOPE and UNITY.

The baby in the Family

is OPPORTUNITY.

The WORD OF GOD is central

in the Success Family.

Father Success affirms that the BIBLE

brings and holds the family together.

Many want to be friends of Success,

but few knows the secret.

To be a friend of Success,

one needs to get acquainted with

the rest of the Success Family first!

And most of all,

to know that SCRIPTURE is

the foundation of the Success Family.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;

but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,

that thou mayest observe to do

according to all that is written therein:

for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,

and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 1:8

IMPORTANT NOTES:

This is something I have adapted and rewritten some years back.  The original source is unknown.

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.