(The unofficial) Day 41 Devotion: What now?

We have come to the end of our annual prayer season for Singapore, the 40.Days of Prayer. Congratulations! Whether you joined in for 1 day, or 1 week, or all 40 days, you were part of a national prayer movement.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the spirit of the season – hearing voices from all denominations, church and parachurch, male and female, young and young at heart.

What do you do at the end of every great endeavour?

Once you graduate, what do you do? You work. The real work begins. School was just preparation for the work.

Once you finish a marathon, what do you do? You build on it. You have reached a certain level of speed and fitness – so that the next time, you will be faster and fitter.

So what do we do, now that we’ve hit Day 41? There are 325 days to go until 40.Days 2025. We can’t down tools till then. Now the work begins; now we build on what we have come through.

Here are four things for you to prayerfully consider as we reach the end of this season of united prayer:

1. Don’t just pray about Turning Singapore Godward. Evangelise.

The late, great evangelist Reinhard Bonnke – founder of Christ for all Nations, which just celebrated its 50th year – said: “Praying for God to work is fine, but praying for Him to do what we should be doing is pointless.”

Another great evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, said: “Prayer is the battle in the spiritual realm. It must be followed by action in the physical realm.”

When it comes to evangelism, yes, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict a sinner to salvation. But it is the work of the sinner’s friend to share the Gospel. How can anyone believe in one of whom they have not heard? How can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)

Church, we heard from many speakers over the 40 Days emphasise that the fields in Singapore are ripe for the harvest. Don’t just talk and pray about evangelism. It is time to do the work. Get out there and share the Gospel!

2. Don’t just pray about Winning the Youth. Engage.

We heard about how churches must form healthy communities for the next generation.

We heard about how they are in need of mentors and role models in the faith.

We heard about how winning the youth starts at home here, here and here. 

My wife and I have learnt that, as parents, the best thing we can do for our children is to pray for them – but that alone won’t win their hearts. Same goes for the church. 

To keep our youth in church, the church must engage them in a manner that excites them about the faith. To win the youth beyond church walls, the church must adapt to become loving and lively communities where children and youths want to come and want to stay.

Without engaging the youth – be it through conversations, friendship, sports, recreation, whatever it takes! – we will never win the youth. Pray for the opportunity, then do it.

3. Don’t just pray about Blessing the Nations. Explore.

Singapore used to be a missionary-sending nation. In the early 1990s, we were the number one missionary-sending nation in the world! 

We sent out more than a thousand missionaries across all the continents. But by 2020, however, the number of missionaries had dropped by half, to about 516. And many of these are now in their 50s or older.

Two famous passages often cited in church remind us that we are called to bring our work of evangelism not just to our nation, but to the nations – to every people group.

In Mark 16:15, we are told to “go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creation”. 

In Matthew 28:19-20, we are told to “go and make disciples of all nations”. 

So … go! And you don’t have to wait until God downloads a specific nation. As Pastor Bill Wilson, who runs the global Metro World Child ministry reminds us, “the need is the call”. Find out where the needs are and explore the possibilities. 

Let the Antioch church arise! 

4. Don’t just pray for 40 days. Endure.

Honest confession: My monthly church prayer meetings were in a sad state up to a couple of years ago. Less than 5% of our adult congregation would show up to pray.

Aggrieved, we were stirred to do whatever we could, whatever it took to help church members make personal and corporate prayer a priority. We pleaded from Scripture; we shook up the prayer format to make the idea of prayer less daunting. Fan the flames! 

After more than a year of investing in equipping church members to pray, we’re seeing it bear fruit. During this past 40.Day 2024 season of prayer, we held weekly prayer meetings in which, for the first time ever, we had to open our extra section of seats for a prayer meeting.

We don’t want numbers for numbers’ sake. But we know that everyone attending chose, at least for that evening, to make prayer – our connection with God – their top priority.

But what happens at the next prayer meeting? After the rush, after this season? We’re hoping for more.

Because we have come to learn that everything else we do as Christians and as the Church is of secondary importance to prayer. Without prayer, we are essentially telling God that we want to do church and do life without Him in the picture.

The famed evangelist John Sung died 80 years ago, in 1944. In the 1930s, he came through Singapore 7 times, seeing thousands saved. 

He was known as an evangelist, but this is what he said about prayer in his last years:

“I deemed evangelism the most important work, but now I see that prayer is more important than anything. If there were 100 evangelistic teams in Southeast Asia that have tasted of the sweetness of prayer, the whole of Southeast Asia would turn to the Lord. If every church could have one of these teams, it would receive revival.” 

Prayer precedes the revival!

Don’t stop at Day 40 of prayer, said Ps Edric. Let Day 41 be the first day of a new, lifelong season of prayer.

So, to recap, this is what the 40 Days of prayer have taught me:

Pray. But don’t just pray. On top of prayer, we must:

• Evangelise right where we are, in Singapore.
• Engage the youth.
• Explore how to bring the Gospel to the nations.
• And finally, Endure – Persist – Devote yourself to prayer.

Don’t stop at Day 40. Let Day 41 be the first day of a new, lifelong season of prayer for you. And as you see God moving in prayer – may it move you to action, too. 

Dear God,

This is our prayer, just as it was the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ: To do the work of Him who sends me.

In prayer, we speak to You, and You speak to us. You tell us not just about ourselves, but also about others – especially the many others who have yet to know You as Lord and Saviour.

We hear You, God. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Help us to not merely be hearers of the word, but doers also.

Here I am – send me, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

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