Source/Author: By Chrisanne Chin

Introduction
This year’s Malaysia Day Prayer Celebration was held on September 16, 2014 at the Calvary Convention Centre in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. This is the second time this event is being held, jointly organized by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) and the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).

It was wonderful to see more than four thousand (4,000) Christians from all denominations filling up the cavernous hall in a charged atmosphere filled with awe and celebration.

Church Leaders and Politicians
Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) Chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng and Executive Secretary, Tan Kong Beng and EXCO member, Canon Andrew Khoo graced the event.

Among the church leaders from CCM present were Bishop Dr Ong Hwai Teik of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Bishop Aaron Yap of the Lutheran Church of Malaysia, Elder Mok Cheh Liang, the General Secretary of Gereja Presbyterian Malaysia, Rev Dr Jeyakumar, the President of Trinity Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Archdeacon Eddie Ong of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia, and Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, General Secretary of CCM.

NECF Council members, Elder Kong Yeng Pooi, Dr Khoo Kay Hup, Rev Elisha Satvinder, Rev Dexter Low, Pastor Chomy Ching, and all the Commission heads and Secretariat staff were also present. Among NECF church leaders present included Rev Richard Toh, Chairman of the Malaysia Baptist Convention and Rev Danil Raut, the President of SIB Semenanjung.

Christian politicians who came included Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Low, Members of Parliament YB Teresa Kok and YB Dato Tan Kee Kwong, together with State ADUNs, YB Hannah Yeoh, YB Yeo Bee Yin and YB Tiew Way Keng.

A Time of Praise and Worship
Josh Yeoh of PenHop and his team led praise and worship. The program kicked off with a flag parade, with flags held by the indigenous Christians of Malaysia – the Orang Asli of Semenanjung, the Sabahans and Sarawakians, displaying the beauty of their traditional costumes.

This was then followed by the honouring of the National Anthem. Sandra Tagal of DUMC led the prophetic dance team, Hadassah, which comprised of Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputera Christians from DUMC and SIB KL Central.

Key Addresses from NECF and CCM Leaders
CFM and NECF Chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng delivered the NECF Address entitled, “Contending for the Soul of the Nation”, based on 1 Kings chapter 18. In his address, he said now was the time for the following to be done:

• Prophets to be released;
• People to be revived;
• Promises to be claimed;
• Prayers to be prayed;
• Power to be obtained.

He also challenged churches to commit to 24-7 prayer, which was necessary for the nation – it was not an option, but mandatory, for such a time as this.

Bishop Dr Ong Hwai Teik then followed with his CCM address entitled, “A God Incomparable, A Role Remarkable.” He shared from Isaiah chapter 46 and Ephesians chapter 3. In his message, he shared that God had a plan for His church from eternity, and in His manifold wisdom, he encouraged everyone that through the Malaysian Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known in this land. He too, concurred that a nationwide 24-7 prayer for the next 2 years was necessary, so, as a united response called on everyone present to take up this call so that the church can be a blessing to Malaysia through sincerely “doing” 2 Chronicles 7:14.

A Time of Intercession
Right after the addresses came a time of intercession broken into 5 main themes:-

• Pastor Edwin Agong from SIB KL Metropolitan Community led the intercession by praying in Bahasa Malaysia on the theme of Nation: praying for national leaders, the people of Malaysia, the wealth of the nation and the next generation;

• Rev Johnson Chua from Beacon Presbyterian Church prayed in English, praying for the Church: focusing on unity, growth in spiritual maturity, and for the church to play a strategic role in nation building;

• Pastor Chomy Ching of Philadelphia Church then followed by praying in Chinese, and he focused on the theme of Family: praying for restoration of the family and for the setting up of family prayer altars;

• Rev Justin Clarance of Tamil Methodist Church prayed in Tamil, and led the intercession focusing on the theme of Government: praying for Christian politicians, for the judiciary system and for the civil service.

• Chrisanne Chin, coordinator for 24-7 Prayer Malaysia, then closed the intercession session by leading on the theme of Migrants and Refugees. The Malaysian Catholic Church had extended an invitation to join them, as a universal church, to celebrate the “100th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.” The theme of Pope Francis’ letter was “Migrants and Refugees: Towards a Better World,” and he reminded that “Each individual is a part of humanity and, with the entire family of peoples, shares the hope of a better future.”

There were almost 5.8 million foreign workers in the country but only 2.9 million were documented. These foreign workers form a critical employment force – and because they were undocumented, they were easily exploited and marginalized. Since non-Malaysians accounted for 8.6% of the total number of Christians in the country, she reminded all present to follow up prayer with action.

After a time of small group intercession, everyone read out the prayer for refugees together.

Launching of Nationwide 24-7 Prayer
Then came the time to launch the nationwide 24-7 Prayer initiative. Prayer United - a collaborative network of key umbrella bodies such as CCM and NECF, denominations such as Methodist, Assemblies of God, SIB Sabah, SIB Sarawak and SIB Semenanjung, prayer networks such as MNPN and 24-7 Prayer Malaysia, and pastors fellowships such as the Kuching Ministers’ Fellowship and the Kota Kinabalu Pastors’ Fellowship – came together to moot this initiative to mobilize all Malaysian Christians to uphold the country in 24-7 prayer for 2 years commencing 16 September, 2014.

The Declaration
The climax of the prayer celebration was when Rev Danil Raut, President of SIB Semenanjung, led the declaration in Bahasa Malaysia. The call was made for everyone to read together the declaration. The framework of the declaration was based on the Prophet Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9.

It was a heartfelt and powerful moment when everyone came together with one voice to repent and renew our commitment to the Lord to obedience and holy living, and entrust ourselves to His will, and for His glory and fame. As many eyes welled up, and many more choking back tears, everyone raised their broken voices boldly with conviction, having a sense of God’s Spirit stirring deeply in our hearts and inspiring us as we all cried out to God for our people and our land.

Benediction
Finally, the prayer celebration came to an end. We began at 9:30am and now it was 12:30pm. Bishop Aaron Yap of the Lutheran Church of Malaysia blessed everyone, and commanded all to live out boldly for the Lord to be a blessing to the nation.

Conclusion
It was truly a time of rejoicing and celebration, being reminded of our Father’s love for us, and our destiny as children of the Lord living in this nation. Many came forward and shared with us how they were so blessed. It is good to see churches set aside their differences and come together in unity before the Lord, which is very edifying for the flock. It was indeed a joy to be able to work together and to encourage and inspire Malaysians to pray together. We thank God for the opportunity to declare His name over the nation, and to be reminded yet again this year: to be blessed and be a blessing.

Written by:
Chrisanne Chin
October 13, 2014