Pray for Asia

[typed 2 days ago]

In less than 14 days, two nations have been ravaged by natural disasters of catastrophic scale.

First, the tropical cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11332728):

Second, the earthquake in the Sichuan province of China (http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/44219/10-000-feared-dead-in-China-quake):

The death tolls for both are heartbreaking: 20,000+ and 10,000 respectively.

The Lord stirred a deep concern in my heart today. I was in the midst of preparing my message on "The Sukkot" this Sunday and all of a sudden this stirring caused me to stop. I couldn’t go on preparing, so I began to pray and cry out to God for Myanmar and China.

And I believe God’s heart aches for Asia. Many of us do not realize the colossal significance this region holds at this “time of year”. The Scriptures tell us that “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. God does not view time as humans do. If we were to see the entire sum of ages since Creation ‘til today as if it were a year, we recognize there are seasons in a year, like there are seasons in the Hebrew calendar. And this “time of year” we pray for the gathering-in of the harvest of souls. And the Day is approaching (2 Peter 3:8-10) when Jesus returns. Like a thief in the night, those who are not alert will be caught unawares. But may we not be ignorant.

1. Pray for the nations in Asia, particularly for our neighbors Myanmar and China at this time so that such national crises will not slow down but speed up the preaching of the Gospel to those in darkness (declare healing and salvation)

2. Intercede for mercy as Abraham did, that God’s judgment be stayed as His righteous ones stand in the gap. These 2 nations are not that far from home

3. Ask God for a burning passion in the hearts of Christians to ‘go’, and apostolic vision to see all nations worship Him