Sweet Hours of Prayer

At least once in a week I have decided to spend time in fasting and prayer to enjoy a specific time with the Lord. The Lord has been gracing me to spend such specific time of interceding. While here in Taipei too, the Lord graced me to enjoy such sweet hours of prayer.

Each time when I went to pray, the first one hour was a time of interceding for all the dear and near ones, more of my family related prayer burdens. This time my heart was fully crying out to the Lord for my brother in law, that he would be recovered back to the church life, that he and his wife would love the Lord and the saints, and become useful vessels for the building up of the Body of Christ. This burden was also in line with our visit to his family in Tainan. 

When I finished releasing my family related burdens, the Lord led me to specifically pray for a sister who was attacked by the enemy with the facts of the past. She has been struggling to forgive another sister whom she was not in good terms with. The second hours was fully an intercessory prayer for her recovery from the wounds of the past, by taking Christ as her grace and her forgiveness and love. Besides texting her of Bible verses, I called her on Skype for fellowship. She opened up all her heart, pouring out all the bitterness she had within. I simply encouraged her to turn to the Lord for restitution with the said sister once and for all, and take Christ's love and forgiveness as her won. We then prayed together over the phone, though there were interruptions in between due to phone network problems. An hour was spent shepherding a saint in specific need at a crucial time when she, out of bitterness, decided to be frank and keep away from the church meeting to avoid pretending. A timely medicine was needed to apply in such serious situation, so I did. 

The other hour was on the usual burden the Lord has been burdening me to pray for, ranging from praying for the world leaders, Indian political leaders, famous personalities that impacts the societies including celebrity in the silver screen industry, sports personnel, and entrepreneurs. Theses burdens are also clubbed with the local burdens of families and new ones in my locality and in the North East. 

One new burden the Lord gave me to pray is for the salvation of a Muslim cleric who is an excellent preacher and a theologian in multi religious faith, mostly of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. He is Dr. ZN. I am blessed to pray for his salvation. May the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God, be his Saviour subjectively one day. 

In all my prayer, the Lord taught me, I am not fighting a spiritual battle, for the battle was already won at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. My responsibility is simply to declare that Christ indeed is the Victor and Jesus is the Lord! 

Similar time of prayer I was able to enjoy the following week. Burdens after burdens were released in a span of three hours. This time, the Lord gave me new burden to pray for Bhutan and Tibet for the spread of the gospel truth and the high peak truths of the ministry of the age for the Lord's testimony all over these two religious lands of Buddhism. In the Lord’s timing, He will send me to preach the gospel and teach the truth.

Another matter the Lord confirmed with me in my prayer was to genuinely receive my elder sister's daughter as my own daughter, and my step mother and brother as my own mother and brother. He also confirmed to me of being a shepherd for those that I have been burdened to pray for and shepherd. The list includes the church in Gurugram, the church in Shillong, the Rongmeis who are yet to be evangelised, my family members for which I even created a WhatsApp "Our Family" group, and my official responsibility of the gospel book room in India. I am graced and blessed to receive such prayer burdens from the Lord. The grace of the Lord increases as the burdens increases. To pray all these prayer burden, three hours is a good time.

Praise the Lord for such sweet hours of prayer! And the grace of the Lord be upon me to continue to enjoy such sweet hours of prayer all the days of my life. 

Silence, the Best Answer

Sometimes, silence is the best answer. When there is no clarity nor enlightenment from the Lord concerning a matter that needs my intervention but I have no clear cut leading from the Lord, the best reply is, no reply at all. Simply be silent. Silence is the best answer. 

Recently, in my official service involving four serving ones at three different times and for different matters, tricky matters were brought to me. After they had done what all they could, they referred the matter to me to take the final call. These situations put me in a spot. I had nothing to reply back. I simply considered the matters before the Lord. And since I did not have any specific leading from the Lord, my best reply was not to reply at all, and just be silent. In fact till date, I have no answer and did not reply yet. Silence, is my answer.

Each of these servings ones have to do with their character in the way they carry out their official duties. Basically, it was a case of coordination. Since the coordination could not happen as each one expected, issues were raised. When the balls were passed to my court I realised that I need to tread it carefully. Any reaction from me must be something that shepherds and perfects them in their service. Only the Lord knows how to shepherd these ones. Since the Lord did not lead me specifically, I dared not react even though I have the official position and authority to do so. Such official authority I would exercise only when needed and in the Lord's peaceful leading. I am afraid to assume any authority even if I have the right to. I would rather turn all authority back to the Lord. 

Another matter passed to me in the church in my locality was to negotiate with our meeting hall owner of possible sharing of expenses as we plan to upgrade the hall by renovating it. In that case too, I did not have the peace to go ahead, so the case is still in silent mode. I was told that a brother presented the same case to the owner and his reaction was not positive nor peaceful. Even in this case, I still remain silent.

Sometimes, silence is the best answer.

USA North Korea Summit

I vividly remember the time when there was an intense verbal war of words between the president of the USA and the chairman of North Korea. The whole world was on its toes, watching worriedly the barbs trading between these two leaders. Some fearing and wondering what the world might turned up to be, a global mushrooming nuclear blasts and total shattering of the world peace? Some even dared to declare that World War Three has begun? I was no mute spectator. Nor was I silent reader of the world news. The Lord brought me to my knees to pray for the peace between these two countries, especially to pray for North Korea, that the country would be opened up for the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Since then, I have been praying for world leaders, of the likes of Trump, Kim, Abe, Putin, Xi, Modi, Moon, May, Merkel, etc. Especially, for Trump and Kim with North Korea as my main burden. I simply prayed, not knowing what would transpire. But as I followed the world news, things sounded worse and worse until the duo declared a threat of nuclear shower. But I ceased not praying.

One day, I read a good news about the meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea. Later, the possible meeting between Trump and Kim. And suddenly the cancellation of the same, and revival of the probable, perhaps, possible meeting again. And finally the confirmation that the duo would meet up for Peace Summit in Singapore on June 12. Since that confirmation, my prayer was all for this meeting. 

Then came 12 June 2018. That day as I woke up in Taipei, and when on my knees for my morning prayer, I could pray nothing else but for the successful meeting. My prayer was very intense, and fully focused on the summit between the two verbal warring leaders. Even after the morning prayer, throughout the day, I prayed for the meeting as I knew the meeting would have been going on according to the time schedule. Later, when I saw on news that the meeting went well, the peace summit signed, with the applause from all men alike world wide, I felt a deep relieve and gratitude to the Lord for this answered prayer. I believe this is very much in the Lord's heart for His move on the earth.

Diplomatically and formally, peace summit had been signed. Now what? I still continue to pray for the Lord's hand to move to execute whatever were agreed upon. Well, politically, I am not as interested in what would eventually transpire. But my main burden is for the country of North Korea. Many of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are under persecution and threat of livelihood may now be released to enjoy their Christian life and church life. Much more, the country be gospelized, truthized, and churchized.

When a decade ago I visited South Korea, the brothers there informed a prayer burden for North Korea to be opened up; and that they had prepared 300 Gideon's army for the gospelization of their brothers in the North; and for the printing of a million Bible(RecVer) for distribution to the North, the seed of prayer burden was sown since then. Only this year, the burden blossomed into full fledge prayer burden. Now the Lord is answering the prayer of His many children for this nation. May God bless North Korea. 

Fellowship with a Brother

Twelve years ago, a brother from Taiwan noticed me being in a Serving Ones Training held at Pune in India when I was still single and began to serve the Lord full time. Few weeks later, that brother enquired about me from another brother serving the Lord in India. The message conveyed to me was that, he, on learning who I was and where I am from, considered a Taiwanese sister who was serving the Lord full time in India as a possible match for me. Meanwhile, I had been intensely praying for my marriage and even told the Lord that I would settle for nothing short of the Lord’s perfect will. When the time was ripe and when the proposal came to me, my simple and one word innate reply was, "Amen!" That's how I got married to my wife, and we have been experiencing and enjoying the Lord's abundant blessing in the Body since then. Sincerely, I owe a deep gratitude to this Taiwan brother through whom my marriage proposal came. He became an instrument in initiating the fulfillment of the Lord's perfect will for my marriage life. And I am glad that we, as a family, could meet him this time for fellowship.

When he first met me, I was at the back seat in a training, a single brother. Now this time, he met us as a family with three wonderful children face to face in his office, in a span of twelve years. Life grows and life multiplies. Praise the Lord!

Meeting this brother gave me a sense of an aura of the presence of God. He spoke no word of advise nor message to me. But just by being with him, the grace and the presence of the Lord was so rich and easily felt. No wonder, he has been very useful to the Lord for the Lord's testimony and move in Taiwan, in Asia, and in the Lord's move worldwide. What a grace to grace his presence! It made me feel as though I met the Lord as a member of His Body. I believe brother Witness Lee himself must have had this kind of maturity though I personally never met him physically. The ministry of the word through the ministry of the age is indeed the unique ministry. To be in this ministry in His recovery is itself the Lord's mercy and blessing. May the Lord preserve me to be faithful to His recovery all the days of my life. 

I thank and worship the Lord for such a mature brother as he is. I pray that I can also pursue the growth in life and follow the pattern set before me; to be a channel of blessing, even a dispensational instrument in the present age for God's move on the earth. The Lord in His recovery has reserved many remnants, pure and mature, for His move and for His testimony. What a blessing to be in His recovery indeed! Especially, meeting with a brother like this brother confirms the ministry of the age I am in. Praise the Lord! 

Family Reunion at Taipei

Four years have elapsed since we last visited our family at Taipei city. This time the Lord gave us the provision to be able to visit again. Our mom and dad, though they are aged, are still very active and healthy, serving us as their own children. We really enjoyed their love and care. Though our visit was supposed to be a vacation, we found ourselves even more busy, as usual. Especially for me, it was a good time together with my children. Besides the daily spiritual chore of morning revival, Bible study and prayer, and the different outdoor activities, I could spend time with my children in an intimate way; praying with them, and eating with them, going out with them, and giving them bath. My elder daughter and son told me to give them bath every night as this was the time I could give them bath. I was more than glad to do that though they are mature enough to take bath by themselves. 

Family life is so wonderful. Now that the Lord has been training us to take care of our family, and even as we are learning, deep within I feel my children are very blessed compared to my childhood. They enjoyed all the love and care, including outings and children recreation. Many things I wished as a child but still remained as a wish are now all a reality to my children. Blessed are they indeed. And in their blessing, we, the parent are blessed too. 

One thing we pray for every day is for a normal and proper God-man family life. That our children may grow in grace, in the reverential fear of God, and grow up loving the Lord and would even serve the Lord all the days of their lives. To me, this is the best way my children can live their lives on this earth.

Nevertheless, how they all will grow up to be, all depends on the Lord’s mercy. As parent, we have done our best and are trying to do our best, to nurture them and shepherd them, to be proper and useful vessel unto to the Lord. All depends on the Lord's blessing and His mercy.

Lord, have mercy on our family, and bless our family to be a family according to Your heart's desire. 

This family reunion is very enjoyable and we learned a lot experientially. May the Lord continue to grace us and bless us. And I declare as Joshua did in the Bible in Joshua 24:15b, "But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah."

A Visit to Hong Kong

In our plan to go home to Taiwan during the children's summer vacation, we planned to go churching and sightseeing to Malaysia and Singapore, but nothing worked out from our side though the churches there are ready to receive us. We really did not have peace to schedule our flight for some reasons. Finally, when we realized that it was not the proper time for now, we changed our plan and informed our brothers. But we were led to visit Hong Kong instead, and got a flight ticket that gave us enough hours of transit to visit some saints and enjoy a city tour.

As soon as we arrived the city, we were taken to the training center and met the trainees who came to our locality for the two weeks propagation recently. This trip was more of a family trip in nature and our interest was more inclined to our children. The brothers who took care of us knew exactly what our children would enjoy. So be it food, or places of visit, all were in line with our children's interest. As parent, we, my wife and I, just joined ourselves to what our children enjoyed and loved. It was fun and real family time. This had been due from my side as a father. Back home, I hardly get time to spend with my children. Now, the Lord has granted me amply time to spend with them, blend with them and enjoy being with them. It was indeed a great family time, driving around the city of Hong Kong. We also visited the Peak, the highest altitude of the city where the president used to reside. It was a beautiful peak overlooking the sky scrapper, surrounded by scenic beauty with lush greens all around, a beautiful deep blue water beneath, and a backwater from the south pacific ocean teeming with ships. An enjoyable family trip indeed. 

I have heard about Hong Kong and have seen in videos this commercial city booming in business. This was the first time I could visit in person. Besides the city being a business city, I was especially thankful to the Lord that He has the church in Hong Kong as the testimony to the mammon loving world. Though I did not yet attend any church meeting, from what I heard, the church had gone through tough times against opposers and turmoils, and came out gloriously. And a number of brothers who have been very much useful to the Lord today grew up in the church in this city. What a grace to be able to visit such a church! Perhaps, one day I will be able to join the meeting and fellowship with the saints.

As we depart for our destination city from Hong Kong airport, I was simply in awe to what the Lord just arranged for us. I had no word enough to thank the Lord and the brothers who took care of us. Once we landed in Taipei, I texted the brothers of my gratitude. Praise the Lord! 

Blending by Painting

These days the Lord has been blending us together in all possible ways, either by gospel preaching or shepherding or fellowship or even by doing some physical work. It was one Saturday after our prayer meeting that the matter of paining our meeting hall came up. Some saints felt that we need to present ourselves in the most dignified way spiritually with a proper God-man living and also with a proper ambience of the meeting hall. Since our last painting was a few years ago, the painting of the meeting hall was definitely due and needed. In past, we simply used to hire painters to do the painting and paid them off. But this time, not merely to save money but also to exercise ourselves in physical activities and be blended all the while grasping every opportunity for blending. Thus, the decision was made in one accord.

I personally was very glad to see the saints working together in one accord. Whoever was available came together. Though I myself could not participate as I had to finish my official works before I leave for Taiwan for over three weeks. 

The painting began the day we were scheduled to depart. It was indeed a beautiful sight to see what the Lord has been doing in the church in Gurugram. We are a score and a half who are regular in the meeting and a hundred or so who are all in contact. The church life we have been enjoying is very sweet and shepherding. The fellowship and blending among us is very intimate and dearer by the week. Praise the Lord for the church life! Praise the Lord for the blending even by painting.

By the way, this painting reminds me of the illustration of an anointing by the Holy Spirit. I pray that the Spirit may anoint each member day by day, and layer after layer, until we are fully immersed in the paint, the Spirit, and be fully one with the Spirit. This is also the only way to be one in the Lord and one in His Body. For oneness is only of the divine life and divine nature transmitted through the anointing Spirit.

More blending, more painting, more anointing, and more oneness!