I realize now that we (or at least I) cannot pray with perseverance for specific niches of the Kingdom of God in a place without also praying for the larger picture and maintaining connection with it. As I’ll describe in a future post, I believe that’s because, as Paul teaches, the church is founded on the ministry of the apostles and the prophets, not simply the evangelists and the teachers, as we can often think.
Through the encouragement of a dear friend, I’ve been reminded recently of this vision from five years ago of praying for the entire city of Bangkok to be comprehensively transformed. I’m back again to crying out to God for the salvation and redemption of every inch of Bangkok, even as it drains me of all energy in the process. I invite you to join with me in praying for this city. Its like climbing a mountain, taking everything out of you. But yet so rewarding also as when you come to beautiful vistas and understand God’s heart for a place and are infected with the knowledge of his character and faith in what he’s going to bring about.
Again, I invite you to join with me in praying for this city. Let’s pray for the knowledge of God’s goodness to spread to every corner and nook and cranny of this city….
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November 15, 2007 at 5:51 am
Debbie Chang
Thanks, Dave. That really makes me appreciate the faith Jesus had in us, knowing that the Holy Spirit would remind his disciples of everything He said and did.
December 28, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Albert Ruiz
Wow! this is good stuff. My wife is Buddhist we’ve been married for little more than six years. I was Catholic at the time, so in didn’t really bother me about her religion and all, besides she never really talks about it. It’s been about a year now since I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior but sharing the good news with a Buddhist!, I never thought it would be so difficult. For one thing I had no idea they do not believe in God or that sin wasn’t an issue for them. Now, by some act of God, I am living with my sister-in-law’s house, with their mom and to little girls all whom are from Thailand. I’m still growing in my faith but one thing I am sure of is that Jesus Lives and that God is real. I’m looking for Thai-Christian stuff (books,videos,etc.). That would help me for the Glory of God, How to bring the Gospel to Thais who don’t believe in God. If you could help me that would be so wonderful. As of now what you wrote is tremendously inspiring and I want to Thank You from the bottom of my heart for helping to bring a nation caught in Idolatry to the Truth. God Bless You Always. Peace
January 4, 2008 at 3:19 pm
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March 13, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Anonymous
Thank you for this entry, which was introduced to me by my home church lay ministry staff for missions, Andre de Winne. My wife and I have been in Japan since 2002, and we are also committed to communicating the Gospel in a relevant way to our Japanese friends. Unsurprisingly, we too have faced similar questions about the danger of syncretism in our endeavours to contextualise the faith here, so this article is a breath of fresh air for us.
May 20, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Melanie Currie
I met you while you were speaking at Urbana Missions Conference a year and a half ago. You gave me your card, and I was hoping to meet up with you now that I’m also working in Bangkok. If you could, give me a email.
May 27, 2008 at 11:12 am
Dave W
Thankyou, very helpful and much to ponder,
I’d be interested to know if there were any valid
alternatives to using the Thai word ‘Prajaw’ for
God. It seems to be loaded with too much baggage, suggesting distance, hierarchy, polytheism etc
Maybe there a Thai word for ‘love’ , or a new combination could be created, joining together two words (language is always being created) to suggest a transcendent source of love. As John 1:4:8 proclaims, ‘God is love’. Maybe this would resonate better with the average Thai layperson.
like the blog, God bless
November 6, 2008 at 9:47 am
Vilen
And you do not accidentally from Moscow?