A Ray of Hope

Prayer, the Spirit, and the Word are the three in one means through which the work of God is being carried out since the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. After His crucifixion and resurrection, the spread of the gospel of grace and the gospel of the kingdom has always been through this unique way. First, there must be prayers, indeed, prayers in one accord, then the Holy Spirit's move in the serving ones of the Lord and also in the ones who have been prayed for, and then the ministry of the word with all its purity. Then, the result will be salvation, revival, and recovery of the Lord's chosen people. 

This is exactly what we have been learning and practicing all these years. The work of the Holy Spirit has to begin with us first and then with the ones the Holy Spirit Himself burdened us to pray for. Unless there is a move of the Holy Spirit, every "move" would be of human initiation and would require human labor to produce human fruit. This is what the Lord has called us for. Therefore, we have been praying and waiting on the Lord for His move. Sometimes with expectations and hope, sometimes with desperation yet full of hope. In longing for the Lord's move in others, we also are open to the Lord's move in us first; to deal with us in whatever way He feels best. Gradually, we are beginning to see the results. At least, we are beginning to witness the day dawning; a ray of hope.

Last week, a brother with whom I have been praying for over a year now, called up to visit and fellowship. We had a wonderful time of brotherly fellowship when he opened up his situation to take the way of learning the truth and serving the Lord together with us in the church life. He expressed his deep desire to be trained in the full-time training even. The Holy Spirit indeed has been working in his life through many situations he has been undergoing these days. The prayer the Lord burdened us to prayer was the move of the Holy Spirit in us first and then in the ones we have been praying for. The work of the Holy Spirit has begun to manifest now. With this fellowship from the brother, I brought the same matter to the brothers' fellowship of the church where we all felt good to invite him to come every morning to pray together and pursue the Life-study of the Bible. This is a part of the preparatory training to learn the truth, to be equipped with the truth, and to be able to stand absolutely for the truth.

Similarly, another brother also called up to fellowship his desperate situation of joblessness. Of course, as a church we have decided to help the needy saints, at the same time, we also wanted to help him in spiritual matters that he may be gained by the Lord and that he may also gain the Lord. So he was also invited to join the daily morning prayer and pursuit.

The Lord has spoken through the brothers' fellowship concerning the way to shepherd our two dear brothers whom the Holy Spirit has been working upon. Beginning last Tuesday, the two brothers joined the morning prayer and truth pursuit followed by fellowship. This was perhaps the first time they ever listened to the ministry of the word. Besides, they both also registered for the latest semiannual training on the Crystallization-study on Joshua, Judes, and Ruth. Though the message and the speaking were so high, they were able to understand and appreciate the Lord's speaking through the ministry of the word. These two brothers are Hindi speakers, one from Gurugram itself and the other from Bihar. 

What a grace on their part, and what a blessing for the church as well! May the Lord recover both the brothers for His testimony. This is a ray of hope I have been witnessing these days. It has been such an encouragement to witness the work of the Holy Spirit in the local Hindi-speaking saints. I attributed this to the Lord's answering the Body's prayer for His move and testimony in the Hindi-speaking region of North India, especially in the city Gurugram where the Lord has placed us.

Hallelujah for this ray of hope! May the Lord fully gain what He intends to gain in North Hindi among the Hindi-speaking people!