The prayer of a young evangelist

by Tony Lambert

In Western churches there is a renewed interest in “spirituality.” This has led some Christians in strange and sometimes unhealthy directions. The spirituality of Chinese Christians is little known to most people. It is the fruit of revival, of deep faith and of a deep love for the Scriptures. Recently we were given the following prayer by a young house-church evangelist in north China. He uses it as a tract to pass on to new converts to teach them how to pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank and praise you! Remain with me. Beloved Jesus, my Savior, I praise you. Remain with me. Lord, protect all my family and all the Christians in the world so we may peacefully pass another day. Gracious Father! Your only Son became flesh and was crucified and shed his blood, bearing the sins of the world. He was buried, and rose on the third day. He ascended into heaven after appearing to his disciples and sits at the right hand of God the Almighty Father. Jesus will come again and receive us into heaven.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I believe His precious blood can save me. God loves me, and he chose me to receive grace and obtain eternal life. May the Holy Spirit lead me to confess my sins and repent. I am a sinner. May God forgive my sins of anger, of hitting and cursing others, of lying, of envy, of hatred, pride, greed, taking advantage of others, of cowardice, of worshiping idols and of dishonoring my parents.

May the precious blood of Jesus cleanse all my sins and my spirit and body, so they are fit for God to use. The Lord Jesus teaches me to love God with all my heart, mind and soul and to love others as myself. Dear God, teach me and grant me love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. God’s Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. God’s Spirit and God’s Word are at work in me. May the Holy Spirit fill me with power and wisdom. May the Spirit of Jesus dwell in my heart taking the first place and absolute control, so my heart is at peace, joyous and untroubled.

Lord, lead me not into temptation nor let worldly people entice me to sin, nor let the flesh tempt me to sin. Give me present help. May the blood of Christ cleanse my thoughts from evil, as well as my eyes, ears, mouths, hands and feet. May I understand God’s will and what I should say and what I should keep quiet about, what I should do and what should be left undone. May my every word and action obey the Lord. I want to take up my cross and follow the Lord. May the Lord Jesus enable me to seek holiness and be guided by the Holy Spirit. I long to rely on his great power and be strong in him.

May the Lord give me the whole armor of God so I can overcome every evil. May I use the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of the gospel of peace, taking the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation as well as the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God so I can extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one.

May God grant me wisdom and knowledge, faith, love, courage and speaking ability to proclaim the gospel and glorify God’s name, to work for Him. May I be well-pleasing to the Lord Jesus, a good citizen, a good servant and an overcoming Christian. May the Spirit of Christ dwell in my home to be Lord of my entire family. May the Lord lead all my family to trust in Jesus, to acknowledge their sin, repent and obtain eternal life. May we all live holy lives so that all Christian homes become places of harmony, mutual help and love. May we live joyful lives on earth as if in heaven. May the Lord protect all my family to and from work. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God.

We go to church to worship God in spirit and in truth, to seek his face and to hear his Word, his truth and his will. We hear the Word in order to put it into practice.

Before I sleep I pray: “I am a child of God. I fall asleep in God’s arms. May he give me sleep. I praise him! May the Lord Jesus bless all China’s leaders and all her people so that they are healthy in both body and spirit. May China be built up as a peaceful country and with a strong economy. May the Lord Jesus cause all Christians throughout the world to love him. This is my prayer – in Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

Our readers may like to use this prayer themselves as a prayer guide.

A CALL TO PRAYER

As we write, the crisis between China and the United States over the American spy plane illegally landed in Hainan appears to have been resolved. The crew have safely returned home.

It is not our purpose here to comment on politics or the rights or wrongs of this incident. However, concerned and praying Christians are aware that this crisis, although resolved, has ongoing serious repercussions for Sino-American relations.

Emotions have been inflamed on both sides with calls for tougher action. The new Bush presidency appears to be taking a harder line on China, seeing it no longer as a “partner” but as an “adversary.” Within China, some ordinary people were calling for the imprisonment, or even execution, of the American crew.

Wiser counsels have prevailed on both sides. However, a sour taste has been left by the affair. An atmosphere of suspicion has been created at the popular level and even between the two governments. However, future conflict between China and the United States over, for example, the Taiwan issue, is by no means inevitable.

Christians everywhere should pray for the leaders of both China and the United States that moderation will continue to prevail. In China, the last two decades of “Open Door” policy and limited religious freedom have provided an environment in which the church, despite pressures and some persecution, has grown and flourished. Christians in the West need to be careful that their concern for the Chinese church is not co-opted by those with a purely political agenda. Generalizations and one-sided statements all contribute to poisoning relations between China and the West. Overseas Christians who work in China or are regular visitors have a particular responsibility to foster friendly relationships.

We believe that the situation is serious enough to warrant ongoing intercessory prayer. Let us pray for the rulers of China and the United States – for the church in China and in the U.S. for deeper mutual understanding – for Westerners working in China that they may be ambassadors of Christ – for Chinese intellectuals overseas that they may turn to Christ and return to their country as strong witnesses – and for ourselves that in our words and actions we, in however small a way, are a blessing to China and bearers of good news about the Prince of Peace.

Copyright OMF International