Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2
Pastor Ha’s church in Vietnam grew from twenty-nine to over 5,000 in just a
few years during the communist regime in the late 1970’s. When asked the secret
of this phenomenal church growth, Pastor Ha replied, “I have a very simple
theology. When you have problems, pray! When you have more problems, pray more!”
Every morning this church had a well-attended prayer meeting at six a.m. And the
church grew and grew. Although they were constantly living under pressure, there
was one scripture text chosen for the wall of their sanctuary, “In
everything give thanks.”
And yet after his years of imprisonment, Pastor Ha said, “When I had my
freedom, I worked with prayer sometimes in the background. In prison, I
discovered that prayer is everything. It’s like a pilot using a checklist before
he takes off. If he skips the first item, many lives might be in danger. The
first item on our checklist should always be prayer. If we skip it, the whole
mission is in jeopardy.”
Vietnamese Pastor Cuong also spent over six years in prison. He says this
about prayer:
In my work I was so busy I had no time to pray. But in prison, I was thankful
to God that He gave me time for prayer. I had about six hours of prayer every
day. I had time to recall every member of my congregation to pray for them.
Before that, although I served the church, I didn't have enough time to pray for
them. I learned about the real presence of God in prayer there. When you
kneel down and pray wholeheartedly with the Lord, you feel His answer right
there.
All of the world's major religions emphasize prayer. The Buddhists repeat
their prayers fervently, although they do not believe anyone is listening. The
Hindus pray regularly, believing one of their many Hindu gods may be listening,
but they do not really expect any response to their prayers. The Muslims pray
five times a day. They believe that Allah is listening, but he will not alter
his plans to meet their needs.
Devout Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims consider Christianity a prayerless
faith, because they rarely see Christians praying. Yet we believe—and know—we
have a God who not only hears our prayers, but also will answer them in mighty
power!
RESPONSE: Today I recommit to spending time in communication—prayer—with
my Lord.
PRAYER: Pray that all Christians in prison will experience God’s presence
in a special way today.