Hokkien Testimony #65

Hokkien 福建见证集 | 一支草，一点露 (65)

Hokkien Testimony #65

Today we welcome you to the 65th testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Each week we have different people from different churches share their stories with us. Everyone has their own special story of how God has changed their life. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Sister Xu Ai Hua who will be sharing about God’s work in her husband’s life . Let’s listen to Sister Xu Ai Hua share this personal Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.  

Sister Xu Ai Hua’s Testimony:

My husband and I have been married for 40 something years. The relationship in our marriage was pretty rocky, and he had a bad temper and at times could be mean. There were times that I just couldn’t take it so I would leave the house. I did return home, and the first time I returned was because my youngest son was getting married. However, as far as my husband’s personality and habits, nothing was different. I was there for about six months and then once again I couldn’t stand it and left the house. The first time that I returned I was not a Christian; however, the second time I was staying at my daughter’s house, and I came back to visit. I seldom went anywhere except to go see my granddaughter. I usually only visited them once a year. However, I received a phone call from my granddaughter and she invited me to attend their small group party.  I told her I would go with her because I had planned to go visit her anyway.

So in a few days my granddaughter took me with her to the small group party. We sang songs and really had a good time.  Then they shared and prayed for me. I began to cry and they asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus as my personal Savior. I really didn’t know how to do that or anything about it. I didn’t think about my husband’s response or anything else, but I agreed.

A couple of months after I accepted Christ, my husband asked me to return home. He was diagnosed with liver cancer. That was difficult for me because part of me didn’t want to go back, but I was conflicted. I didn’t know how to take care of him and do what needed to be done. I prayed about it but it seemed that God just didn’t answer me. Finally, I prayed that if God wanted me to do this that I would see my husband in a dream, and I did. That was God’s answer for me, and I was able to drift off to sleep. However, I just was having such a hard time, and I asked God a second time to appear to me and allow my husband to speak with me. That definitely let me know that God wanted me to go home to be at my husband’s side.

I told my daughter that I was going back home. She actually was the first in our family to become a Christian and her father was not happy about her decision. But I gave her freedom to make her own decision. So at this time in my life, she was concerned about me returning. She had a heavy heart and suggested that she go see her father first, before I returned. So she did go see him and let him know that I had made a decision to accept Christ. He was very angry and once again lost his temper. I didn’t pray or anything, but decided that I shouldn’t return home. However, after a few days I had a third dream that depicted my husband falling and two people helping him. I really didn’t understand the dream and called a friend who had been a Christian for some time, and they told me that they felt I should return home. This could be the opportunity for me to lead my husband to trust Christ.

To make a long story short, the doctor said that he had about six months to live. I was concerned about him and attended a Hokkien service at our church.  My husband is Hokkien and the service was all in Hokkien. After a few months my husband was moved to tears and eventually we went to church together. He had the opportunity to hear many testimonies. However, after that he didn’t want to go back, but I continued to pray. One day at church the pastor led us to kneel and pray for anyone on our hearts who was not yet a Christian. So I kneeled and prayed for my husband. When I returned home my husband told me that a man appeared to him and told him a lot of things. He said that he didn’t remember all that was said to him, but the Lord stood in front of him and reached out and touched his thigh. My husband told me that it was very strange and then the man suddenly disappeared. I was very moved because I knew that the Lord had appeared to my husband. I knew that Jesus is indeed God. He didn’t say good-bye but came to visit my husband, and I told him that Jesus loves him. I told him that Jesus also wants to save him and heal him as well. I also told him that he needed to open his heart and receive Jesus as his personal Savior.

After Jesus appeared to him, my husband was willing to go to church with me. However, once again he did not want to go back. So I told him how blessed he was that Jesus had appeared to him, and he showed him how much he loved him by personally appearing to him.  So I encouraged him to accept Jesus, so that he would have peace and be healed. I told him that I could pray with him to accept Christ, but he refused. So I contacted the pastor, and he came and prayed for him. At that time my husband couldn’t even open his mouth, but suddenly the phone rang, and I went to answer it. Following that the Lord worked and he could talk and accepted the Lord Jesus. Another very special thing also occurred. He was to be baptized on January 4^th, and the day before he swallowed a fish bone that was stuck in his throat. However, once again the Lord took care of him. Through prayer once again the Lord answered our prayers and his throat was okay. Eventually, he did pass away and the Lord took him home to be with him.   

Pastor Lim:

Through all this journey God showed how much he loved Ai Hua’s husband. In the beginning he opposed accepting Christ. Even though he refused to believe, God still made a way for him and gave him further opportunities to trust in him. Sometimes we are so obstinate, but God loves us even more diligently. This is definitely a unique testimony. In the beginning he worshiped idols as well as his ancestors, and absolutely refused to trust Jesus. However, through all of this, God gave Sister Xu wisdom to know how to manage this situation, and her husband was able to open his heart and trust in Jesus.

Today we have listened to this testimony, but unfortunately we don’t have enough time to share all the details. However, simply put, because this wife trusted Christ and loved her husband, she poured out her heart in prayer and looked for opportunities to share the Gospel with him. So we see how God step by step was with him until he left this world. As we look back over all that has transpired in this testimony we definitely are grateful for all that the Lord has done in their lives. If any of you today have a hardened heart like this and refuse to believe, we encourage you not to be like this. Instead, let Jesus Christ come into your heart. You will discover that this Lord is really great, and he loves you to the very end, that is forever. Please follow me as I pray:

Lord Jesus, I thank you. You are the Lord God. At this time I ask you to forgive my sin. Please come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Allow my life to change and give me a new direction. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

May the Lord bless you.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 30

30 Days of Prayer: The Hokkien Harvest ministry has an annual tradition of providing 30 days of prayer during the 7th Lunar month. Brothers and sisters, today is the last day of the Chinese 7^th Lunar Month. But even after today, with confidence we will continue to pray for the salvation of the Hokkien people. There are many needs and we thank you so much for partnering with us.

30 天平安月禱告：福建豐收團隊有個傳統，那就是每年在農曆七月時會有 30 天的平安月禱告。弟兄姐妹，今天是华人七月的最后一天。这之后，我们就要继续的、有信心的为着福建人的救恩来祷告。我們非常感謝你們與我們一起合作來回應很多的需求。

30 Days of Prayer – Day 29

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 29 of the seventh month

Paul’s Prayer

Philippians 1:3-11

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Introduction:

Brothers and sisters, during the epidemic, it has been inconvenient for us to go abroad to visit relatives. Who do you miss the most? How does it make you feel? Well, Paul missed the brothers and sisters in the church in Philippi because they were united in one accord with Paul’s thriving evangelism. As Paul shared the Gospel, they often provided financial support and interceded in prayer. In his prayers, Paul also often thanked those believers who loved him, for the comfort and joy that they were to him.

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi to show his concern for them. Paul was a man of great wisdom and status. But he actually let go of all this and was willing to go everywhere and anywhere to preach the Gospel for the Lord, because the object of his loyalty was the Lord Jesus, and the work he had done and the hope he had kept were all in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also exhorted them to preach the Gospel in love, not out of their own flesh and personal zeal. In everything, they were to be wise, be able to distinguish right from wrong, as believers they were to have good character, and be honest and share in the work of evangelism. They were also encouraged to bear the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

King Solomon asked God for understanding and wisdom to rule over his people, and God gave him what he asked. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you. What should we come before God and ask for today? Changes in the external environment, personal entanglements, and the severity of the current epidemic should not affect the peace that the Lord bestows on us. This peace forms a force that can actually take money, power, and learning and dedicate these things to be used for the glory of God. We are more concerned to see that every relative and friend receives the Lord’s salvation. This is our responsibility, and it is what the Lord entrusts us to do. Brothers and sisters, today is the last day of the Chinese 7^th Lunar Month. But even after today, with confidence we will continue to pray for the salvation of the Hokkien people. Once again let us unite in the name of the Lord Jesus and openly pray for our relatives and friends by name who have not yet believed in the Lord.

Pray:

Compassionate and loving Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Before this Mid-Yuan Festival (7^th Lunar Month) is over, let us continue to show concern for our relatives and friends who have not yet been saved. We pray that the Lord will continue to give us the power and passion to share the Gospel with them. We would love to see them all come to believe in Jesus as their personal Savior. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Say it together! Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 28

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 28 of the seventh month

Paul’s Prayer

Acts 10:9-16

⁹ About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹² It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. ¹³ Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” ¹⁴ “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” ¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Introduction:

Prayer can travel through time and space in order to reach God. One day Cornelius was praying when an angel of God spoke to him. He was a Roman centurion living in Caesarea, a God-fearing Gentile. The angel let him know that a man named Peter, who lived in Joppa, would come to share the Gospel with him. The next day, Peter was praying and he saw a vision from God. Three times God said, “kill and eat.” Through this vision, God changed Peter’s thinking about Jewish law. God prepared Peter’s heart before taking him to Cornelius to share the Gospel. At that time the Jews considered Gentiles unclean and therefore did not associate with them. But Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel, brought the Gospel to the entire world and fulfilled the promise that was given to Abraham. Thus the barriers between Jews and Gentiles were completely lifted in Christ, and Gentiles also became citizens of the kingdom of God.

Since we are also Gentiles, we may not have the notion of not wanting to preach the Gospel to the Chinese. However, we may not think of preaching the Gospel to other ethnic groups or Chinese people with different dialects. What’s worse is when someone thinks they are high-class Chinese and don’t want to evangelize or reach out to lower-level Chinese. Remember that the Gospel of Christ is for all people. During these 30 days of fasting and prayer, our focus is on the 200,000 Hokkien-speaking, mostly unbelieving elderly compatriots in our country. Most of them are lonely and poor elderly people. We would like to bring the love of the Lord to them.

Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive us for judging people by their outward appearance and treating people with malice. Such an attitude is not in line with your divinity and teachings, because you are a God who is not partial. We want to repent of our wrongs and renew our hearts. We pray that we will bring your love into the community, serving Hokkien-speaking seniors, truly making friends and caring for them. Dear Lord, help us to be willing to shine and be salt for You. May your name be glorified. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 27

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 27 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 7

John 17:11

¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[a] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

John 17:21

²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Introduction:

In John 17:1-5, after the Lord Jesus prayed that He would do the will of the Father, verses 6-26 show that the Lord is praying for His disciples. The Lord Jesus’ first petition was for the Father to protect His disciples. The second prayer is for the Father to sanctify them with His truth. In addition to praying for the students at that time, the Lord Jesus also prayed for those who believe in Him in the future. What did He pray for? First He asked the Heavenly Father to bring them together and make them one in spirit. Next he asked the Father to show them all the glory that was given to Christ.

In short, the prayer of the Lord Jesus shows us that there are three real needs of a disciple: 1. To be able to obtain the Lord’s protection. 2. To know the Holy truth that is sacred. 3. To be unified as one in order to manifest the glory of Christ. In fact, these few petitions of the Lord are closely related to the Great Commission that He bestows upon Christians. When the Lord Jesus left this world, He did not ask the Father to allow His disciples to leave with Him. To the contrary, He said, “I do not ask You to send them out of this world, but only to keep them from the evil one, the devil. As You sent me into the world, so I will send them into the world.” So this passage tell us that the Lord Jesus asked His disciples to remain in this world for the same reason that He came into this world, that is, that they would continue to live to bear witness to God’s love and to display God’s glory.

Brothers and sisters, how can we be a living testimony to the love of God? How can we show the glory of God? In addition to being a witness as we share the Gospel, on a personal level we also must live a holy life. In the church, we need to love one another and come together as one so that the name of the Lord may be glorified. For if we are one, we show forth the very essence of the Lord, that is we show forth God’s name and the life he gives to us that comes from God. Our responsibility is not to allow the devil or man to destroy this divine unity. We know that the newspapers sometimes love to report on church schisms, or times when the church goes to court, or stories where you come to sue me, and I come to sue you, and other such shameful news like this. The more we see such news, it only shows the disunity between churches. Today, our purpose is to please God, to glorify the Father, and to strive to preserve the unity in spirit that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us.

Pray:

Father God, we pray for real breakthroughs in our spiritual lives and through our daily devotions leading us to live holy lives that will glorify Your name. Help us to be a testimony of Your love through the way we live our lives. We know that time is short, so our desire is to quickly share the Gospel with our family so that they can know You and truly believe in You. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 26

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 26 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 6

John 17:1-5

¹After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Introduction:

This is the prayer that the Lord Jesus prayed when He was about to end His earthly work. The Lord with his disciples had just finished the Passover and also established the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. But Judas, who was to betray the Lord, left the group and was preparing to frame Jesus. The Lord Jesus also knew very well that He would soon be betrayed and be nailed to the cross. As he awaited his coming death, he spent precious time praying for himself and his students, expressing his reliance on God the Father and his love for his students.

Here in his prayer we see that the Lord Jesus prayed for Himself first. Therefore, in the first verse, the Lord Jesus said, “Father, may You glorify Your Son…” The Lord Jesus said here, “Glorify Your Son,” as if such a prayer was not a selfish prayer. This refers to the glory that the Lord Himself would receive from the resurrection and ascension, which of course also includes the suffering on the cross. The Son of Man, the Lord Jesus, was to be humiliated and would endure the cruel punishment of the cross until death. Only with this kind of obedience can the Lord Jesus be able to fulfill the Father’s plan of redeeming the world and glorifying the Father. Because of this sacrifice, in this way the Lord Jesus’ concern for His own glory is actually closely related to the Father’s concern for glory as well.

In general, our prayers often say, “Lord, please increase the number of the church so that my church will be…”, “Lord, please enable me to do this, so that …”. Sometimes we really need to examine whether or not our prayers are self-centered prayers. The motive of the Lord Jesus’ prayer should be the motive of our prayers, that is, to allow God’s will to be fulfilled in us, and to further glorify God because of us. Do you long for God to bless you? Do you desire to grow in the grace of God? Are you eager to be healthy in body and mind? Then you ask that you will be able to glorify God through all of this.

Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to learn from this prayer of obedience from Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and teach us how to pray for the work of your heavenly kingdom, especially the salvation of the Chinese people. It is your will for us to turn to you and trust in you. Please keep us from disobeying the vision from heaven. May the Lord make us willing to be messengers of the gospel and have the courage to actively preach the gospel to those around us. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 25

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 25 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 5

Matthew 7:7-11

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Introduction:

In the life of many believers, they often feel very tired and weak. James 4:4 gives us the answer  which says, “You don’t get it because you don’t ask.” Many Christians ask, “Why doesn’t it seem like you’ve made progress after all these years?” God’s answer to you is, “It’s because you neglect to pray. You don’t receive because you don’t ask.” Many servants and leaders of God ask, “Why am I fruitless and powerless in my ministry?” God would answer the same way, “It’s because you neglected to pray. You don’t have it because you don’t ask.”

Generally speaking, Christians spend very little time in prayer. If we will take the time to pray, we will have power. We do not have as the Bible says because we do not ask. Many say they are Christians, but they forget the history of the church that shows us the Christians who came before us loved to pray and knew how to pray. Historically in the kingdom of God the people in those churches were prayer warriors.

When Satan leads the church and preachers to unknowingly put aside the mighty weapon of prayer, the church falls for the devil’s tricks. The devil looks at the church today, and he snickers. What is he laughing at? He said you can have Sunday school, you can have small groups, you can have women’s fellowships, you can have choirs, you can have crusades, and you can even have good music. However, if these are not placed under the power of God, to be upheld and preserved through persistent, zealous, confident, and powerful prayers, these all may look good but are basically useless.

The devil is not afraid of the specialized and unique work that we do. The devil is only afraid of God. If our work is separated from prayer, there is no work of God. All we have to do is stand up and believe in prayer and pray according to what the Bible teaches, so that we can see the blessing and fulfillment of God. What is prayer? Prayer is the key to the storehouse of God’s grace and power. This heavenly warehouse is inexhaustible. Our Heavenly Father has opened that warehouse door for us and says to us, “Ask and it will be given to you.” Through prayer we can see what God can do. Remember, nothing is impossible with God.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus who loves us so much, we come before Your throne of grace and pray by faith for our relatives and friends who have not yet believed in you.  We believe that when we open our mouths to name our family and friends and pray for them, that the Holy Spirit will immediately begin working in their hearts, preparing their hearts, removing the doubts and hindrances that will allow them to receive your salvation. Lord, we believe that You will surely reward them and their families with your wonderful saving grace. May You Lord lead us to pray more, with a greater desire to pray, and with even greater faith. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 24

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 24 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 4

Luke 22:39-46

³⁹ Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Introduction:

Jesus knew that his time to go to the cross was near, and he reminded his disciples that they should pray lest they fall into temptation. What confusion would the disciples have? The Lord Jesus knew that because of fear they would run away and would not dare recognize Him as Lord. The Lord also knew that they would be discouraged and even feel deceived. In their hearts they probably wondered why the Messiah Savior was crucified on the cross. Dear brothers and sisters, if you were one of the disciples, wouldn’t you also be confused?

Now let’s try and understand the mood of Jesus at that time. In the face of the torture of the cross, He would also be afraid and sweat drops of blood. He even ask God to remove this bitter cup from him, which was the torture and death on the cross. Then he prayed, “But not as I will, but as You will.” The Lord was willing to obey the Father in order to accomplish God’s will. When He came back from prayer, the disciples had fallen asleep because they were too tired. We ourselves must watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation and be attacked by Satan.

Once upon a time, in a village, there were some really lovely spotted deer. The villagers cherished these deer very much, but the deer were often attacked by wild wolves that lived in the woods. The villagers were very heartbroken and decided to have a campaign to kill the wild wolves. Before long, the wolves were all wiped out. The spotted deer lived a peaceful life since then, increasing from dozens to thousands. They ate up the crops of the villagers, and because there were no wild wolves to force them to run and be physically active, the deer all fell ill and died one by one. Are we also living in a situation where we think that there is no attack from Satan, and we no longer live a life of watchfulness and prayer? At this time, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we once again name our relatives and friends who have not yet accepted the Lord, praying that they will not fall into the temptation and power of Satan.

Prayer:

Merciful Heavenly Father, thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we can receive Your salvation. May the Holy Spirit help us not only watch and pray, but to also live a victorious spiritual life that will glorify your holy name. Once again we would like to pray for our relatives and friends who have not yet accepted Christ, asking You Lord to protect and watch over them. May they quickly overcome any false ideas they may have, reject Satan’s tricks and the harm he intends, and repent and turn to You. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 23

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 23 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 3

Mark 1:35

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Luke 6:12-13

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:

Introduction:

The above verses show that the Lord Jesus has an intimate relationship with God the Father. At various times, Jesus prayed to God alone and we see this in Mark 1:35.  When the Lord Jesus began His ministry, the crowd in Capernaum followed Him. He healed the sick and demon-possessed people on up into the night. But before dawn, Jesus went out to pray. In prayer, Jesus knew he had a new assignment. He was going to Galilee to do what the Father wanted him to do. Jesus was carried away by the warm welcome of the crowd because his focus was on the work the Father wanted him to do. Today the Lord has also given us His Great Commission to accomplish. So if the Lord needs time alone to pray to the Father, what about us?

As the Lord carried out his ministry, it caused conflict among the religious leaders of that time. Jesus also knew that these religious leaders had a plot to kill him, so it was important for him to choose people who would truly follow him so that he would be able to continue his ministry in the future. We see in Luke 6:12-13 that before the Lord chose his twelve disciples, he spent the entire night in prayer. We should also always pray for the sick and ask the Lord to heal them, especially those who are on the verge of death. We also want their loved ones to be healed, and to know and believe in the Lord as well. In my church, there is an old sister who was converted after her daughter returned home. Thank you, Lord, for showing her grace like this in her darkest hour. Please help us learn to be more like the Lord Jesus, who accepted God’s will and was willing to serve in order to glorify God.

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for obeying the will of the Father and for allowing yourself to be nailed to the cross so that the world can be saved by your grace. You are our Savior and our King. You are also our High Priest, interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We pray that You will help us to always abide in You, to obey Your teachings, and to faithfully follow Your Great Commission. During this period of fasting and prayer, we are going to call out the names in prayer of our unbelieving family members. With courage we will bear witness for You. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

30 Days of Prayer – Day 22

30 Days of Prayer During the 7^th Lunar Month

Thank you for joining us for this 30 Day Prayer Emphasis during the 7^th Lunar Month. The posted video is in Hokkien with Chinese characters, and an English summary is also provided below.

Day 22 of the seventh month

The Lord Jesus’ Prayer Part 2

Matthew 6:9-13

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Introduction:

Prayer was originally a time of pure communion between God and us. If anyone prays for the purpose of not being in communion with God, but for the admiration of men, or to show off what he thinks is his godly life, he shows his own foolishness and wrongdoing. We should humbly ask the Lord to teach us how to pray!

Matthew 6:9-13 is known as the “Lord’s Prayer,” and the Lord is teaching the disciples how to pray. Prayer is not to be said with endless repetitions (vv. 7, 8), or with the desire to deliberately be seen by others (vv. 5, 6) in order to show off my piety. The Lord’s Prayer consists of seven verses. The first three sentences praise God, and the last four sentences teach us how to pray before God.

The main purpose of prayer should be to praise and glorify God, not to glorify ourselves. It is not just for the sake of asking for our own blessings or interests, but putting the things of God first, and then asking for ourself. Jesus gave this prayer to his disciples and to us, not for us to keep reciting it, but as a model for us. First of all we do this to glorify God, then we pray for our physical and spiritual needs.

The story is told of a father who was going abroad to work. Before he left, he asked his three children what they wanted him to buy and bring back to them. The eldest son said he wanted a game console, the second son said he wanted a toy car with remote control, and the younger son thought about it for a long time and said that as long as you, Father, come back safely I will have everything because I have my father. Are you praying today like a Pharisee, or a Gentile, or this small child? At this time, in the name of Jesus Christ, please call out the names of relatives and friends for whom you are praying who are not yet believers.                                                            

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to turn our hearts and withdraw from only caring about the things that are temporal on this earth. Help us to care more about the things of God and things in heaven that are eternal. We are especially concerned about the souls of our relatives and friends who have not yet believed in the Lord. At this time, I ask for Your Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of our relatives and friends. May your mercy and salvation, Lord, be upon their family. Please lead us to be prayer-loving Christians. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.