Reflections from My Prayer Journey

AIMS News: Posted 10/1/2005

Editor's Note: In July, "Dorcas" (AIMS Prayer Coordinator) and "Epaphroditus" (an AIMS Associate) embarked on a prayer ministry trip to a country in Southeast Asia. This is the story of their journey.

We stood in a line, about a half mile long. After going through security where water bottles were confiscated and cameras werenít allowed, the crowd was orderly and hushed. As we inched along toward the burial place, we felt the peopleís admiration for this former leader of their country, a reverence akin to worship.

As we walked, we silently prayed for the Lord to break the bondage that kept these people from finding Him and to give them a yearning to know Him. We asked Him to send missionaries to share the Good News with them in a way they could understand. We prayed for government officials to be open to the Gospel and for God to protect new converts from persecution.

As tourists, we visited a cultural museum full of beautiful and informative displays depicting the daily lives and customs of many ethnic groups in this country. We prayed for God to set each group free from the satanic tentacles of animism, to prepare their hearts to hear and respond to the Gospel, and to call individuals to be effective witnesses among them.

Journey Inside a Buddhist Temple

We also visited several Buddhist temples. In many of their courtyards, we saw images of Buddha and various gods with incense sticks and food offerings in front of them.

Inside, altars lined the walls, each with a picture of a departed loved one. Families brought offerings seven times at seven-day intervals and prayed for their departed relative to have favor in the afterlife. After the 49-day ritual, they placed the photo on the wall with hundreds of others.

Before we entered the next room, we took our shoes off. Inside, a very large Buddha loomed over a ledge holding several smaller idols and offerings of food and flowers. We watched as one woman and her small son brought an offering. She knelt and prayed on a prayer mat as a Buddhist Monk stood beside her, offering prayers or incantations.

In a small adjacent room, a monk sat with a young girl at a low table. He called upon the spirits for insight on direction for her life. In another small room, a worshipper prayed and offered money to a Buddha for luck in his finances. In yet another, childless couples took their offerings to two large deities and asked them to grant their requests either for a boy or for a girl.

Hope and Prayer for a Lost People

Upon seeing this, I was overcome with sadness at the futility of their requests and the difficulty of reaching them with the Gospel. We prayed for God to call workers and give them His strategy for penetrating this darkness with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. We prayed for a bountiful harvest, resulting in the planting of strong local churches which in turn would reach out to others of their own ethnic group and across cultural barriers to others.

We believe God's promise in Joshua 1:3, "Every place upon which the sole of your foot shall tread, that have I given you" is applicable in affecting ministry in places where the Gospel has not penetrated. We look forward to seeing harvest in the people there.