Prayer Elsewhere
Prayer meetings in the U.S. often focus on illnesses and
requests for healing. Not so elsewhere.
I asked a man who visits unregistered house churches in
China whether Christians there pray for a change in harsh
government policies. After thinking for a moment, he replied
that not once had he heard a Chinese Christian pray for
relief. "They assume they'll face opposition," he said.
"They can't imagine anything else." He then gave some
examples.
One pastor had served a term of twenty-seven years at hard
labour for holding unauthorized church meetings. When he
emerged from prison and returned to church, he thanked the
congregation for praying. Assigned a dangerous prison job,
he had managed to couple together one million railroad cars
without an injury. "God answered your prayers for my
safety!" he proudly announced.
Another imprisoned pastor heard that his wife was going
blind. Desperate to rejoin her, he informed the warden that
he was renouncing his faith. He was released, but soon felt
so guilty that he turned himself in again to the police. He
spent the next thirty years in prison.
Yancey, Philip. Rumours of Another World". Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Zondervan, 2003, p. 212-213.