We kick-started the Blessings of the Upright movement with this call for Christians in Singapore to stand together in prayer. We were right in the middle of the worst Haze crisis we had ever seen, with PSI levels going above 400. Everyone was feeling the heat. Literally.
The haze was taking a toll on many, and my facebook news feed was filled with laments about the haze, complains about the Singapore government, and lashings against Indonesia.
The massive negativity that I was seeing roused up a sort of… violent indignation within me. I felt this question strongly in my heart, “Where are the sons & daughters who would be like the righteous ones in Proverbs 11?”
There was a sense of urgency in my heart that the words we speak have power to create life or death (Proverbs 18:21) for we are made in the image of the One who spoke life into the galaxies with one word.
So we began with the question, “How about we stand together to pray for God’s intervention?” It was a call to Singaporeans to put our words to good use ~ instead of moaning about the haze, we were going to pray that God would send the rain! We specified 3 prayer slots every day at 10am, 12noon, and 7pm to stop and intercede for a few minutes.
We prayed for the haze to be gone, for rain, and for wisdom upon the Singapore & Indonesian government.
But God also opened our eyes to the bigger picture: We need people who will pray for spiritual rain with the same fervor and faithfulness as we have been praying for physical rain. Everyone knows when we are in need of physical rain, but how many can go dry/barren inside for a long time without realizing the need for spiritual rain? This is the more eternal thing we must cry out for.
By the 2nd day of prayer, haze PSI levels dropped from 400+ to less than 100… and it just kept dropping till we saw blue skies. It started to rain in different parts of Singapore; the winds and rain were so strong that they toppled trees and were covered by the news – some examples here, and here.
We also experienced a phenomena where it hailed ice cubes ~ definitely something that Singapore had never seen before! The Indonesian President also made a public statement which was living proof that “In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.” ~ Proverbs 21:1. We praise God for turning the heart of the President in the right way.
Through this time of prayer, we have seen that the hand of God is not too short to save. And that He responds very quickly when His children call to Him!
Click here to read the prayers and testimonies of our prayer partners.
