Light of the World - Bedok Methodist Church

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14By Ivy WongWhen God’s People Pray...“...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn fromtheir wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”2 Chronicles 7:14ne of BMC’s key priorities for the next three years(2006-2008) is to strengthen and build up a cultureof PRAYER in our church. If the community Oof God stands at its watch and commits its every plan andcourse of action to God in prayer, imagine the tremendouswork He can do through us! Ivy Wong shares this heartbeatof God.A Call To PrayerGod desires for more of His children to rise up to the callto prayer and intercession. To have a healthy balance to ourChristian life, prayer and intercession should be a pivotalpart of our life in Christ. Much like revival in a church,which begins with individual hearts being ignited withpassion for Christ, prayer revival starts when the fuel ofprayer is ignited in individual hearts and then as a body ofChrist coming together in prayer. Such united prayer canbring forth power and unity that is potentially explosive andmay usher in signs and wonders. The saying goes, “OnlyGod can move mountains, but prayer can move God’s handto move mountains.”In his book, Gap Standing, Hedge Building, Ps Frank Damaziodebunks the myth that intercession is for a “selected fewwho are called”. Indeed prayer intercession is every believer’sresponsibility. Intercession, which stems from prayer itself,is not an office (as in the office of apostles, prophets,evangelists, pastors and teachers in Ephesians 4:11-12).Neither is prayer a gift of the Holy Spirit, like speaking intongues or healing in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. An office is aspecial calling, while gifts are given to some and notnecessarily to others. It is not that way with prayer. Prayeris available to all.Prayer is a privilege as well as the responsibility of everybeliever. Just as every one of us is called to worship andA prayer watch in session.evangelise, we are to pray. In the case of prayer andintercession, some may devote themselves to great studyand skill development, but all believers are called to participatein it. Intercession is not for a ‘gifted’ few. This false beliefserves only to spiral the church or ministry down into astate of prayerlessness.If all of us can come to embrace the fact that everyone isand can be an effective intercessor, it will release us to thework of prayer and ultimately, restore a healthy spiritualbalance in the church. A prayerful ministry is a powerfulministry.“O Lord, hear my voice when I call to You. May my prayer be setbefore You like incense…” Psalm 141:2Even as we examine our own prayer lives before God andseek to restore our altar of incense, our motivations areimportant. The Psalmist says, “Who may ascend the hill ofthe Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart”. Ourwanting to seek God in prayer should not be borne out ofguilt or duty. Instead, it should be driven by our love forGod Himself and fellow men. As we respond to God in
love through prayer, His agape love willso fill us that we will be “burdened”as we see and feel the needs of othersaround us. Our burden of comingbefore God in prayer for others thenbecomes our intercession. The worldaround us is full of needs. Many haveyet to know the saving grace of theLord Jesus Christ. How about fellowChristians who are undergoing trialsof all kinds? God waits “for a manwho would build up the wall and standin the gap” on behalf of others(Ezekiel 22:30) in intercessory prayerfor Him to bring about breakthroughsin the spiritual realm and enforce thevictory Christ had wrought for us onthe cross.“We, through prayers of intercession,meet the powers of darkness, enforcingthe victory Christ accomplished whenHe met them in His work ofintercession.”Dutch SheetsIntercessory PrayerBrothers and sisters in Christ, theeffect of prayer on the church istremendous. Prayer brings resistanceto division, disloyalty and disunity. Itdraws the body of Christ together,creating interdependence on oneanother. Today, let us advance intoour prayer closets to seek His faceduring our personal time with Himand ask Him to ignite our hearts withthe coals of prayer passion. Let usalso come together to strengthen eachother in prayer at our church prayerwatches.Ivy Wong worships at BMC with herhusband and Associate Lay Leader,Winston, and her three children, Sophie,Adriel and Daniel. She leads Prayer Sparks,the Children’s Ministry’s children intercessorygroup.Prayer WatchCome for our BMC Prayer Watch on Thursday, 8 pm at the Prayer Room.Experience intimacy with God through prayer. Join God’s intercessors to watch,listen, and release His anointing to the world.Prayer Sparks, a children’sintercessory group from the Children’sMinistry, was started in 2002 to encourageour Sunday School children to pray. Today,about twenty children meet to pray twoSundays a month. Below is a testimonyby one such young intercessor, VeenaRachel Amudhan. May we too beinspired!“My brother, Ashvin, and I joined the PrayerSparks (PS) last year. I personally always foundit hard to pray out loud and desired to changethat by joining the group. I thoroughly enjoy PSmeetings as we pray for each other’s friends andfamily if they are sick or need prayer. By doingthis, we have learnt how to care for one anotherI have also made many new friends.At PS, every member owns a prayer journal inwhich we write prayer requests. We further havesynchronised prayer every night at 9 pm. AuntyIvy also gives us a list of scripture verses we canclaim in prayer. I have found these very useful.My most memorable experience in PS has to dowith my grandmother, Mrs Christie. In July lastyear, she had to have her left leg amputatedbecause of her diabetes and she was feeling veryapprehensive about the operation. I shared thiswith the others in PS and they began to pray forher. Aunty Ivy even asked everyone to makecards for her. Aunty Ivy and her son, Daniel,Ivy leads young prayers warriors from Prayer SparksThe Prayer Sparks children are visited by a gratefulMrs Christiealso visited my grandmother in hospital to giveher the cards personally and to pray with her.My grandmother was very touched by this andthe cards gave her much needed encouragement.After the operation, which ran smoothly, one ofmy grandmother’s first outings was to BMC tothank everyone in PS for their prayers andencouragement. Later, she shared with me thatshe was very touched by the fact that thesechildren, who were total strangers, could writesuch heartfelt notes as if they knew her personally.“They were very encouraging and I cried whenI read them,” she confessed.In the Bible, Jesus said: ‘Let the little childrencome to me, and do not hinder them, for theKingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’(Matthew 19:14) Through my joining PS, I’velearnt that even the prayers of an 11-year oldlike me can have such mighty effects. Being inPS has not only taught me to care for others butit has also made me see the power of prayer andthe wonderful way in which God works in ourlives. Like a spark can ignite a blazing fire, Iintend to change lives for Christ through prayer.”Veena Rachel AmudhanPrimary 5, Prayer SparksIf you like toenquire aboutor send yourchild to Prayer Sparks, please contact Ivyat wisawong@singnet.com.sg
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Light of the World - Bedok Methodist Church

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