Worldwide Day of Prayer 2022

 

It was with great joy that EAST faculty and students were able to gather in person with Cru SG for the Worldwide Day of Prayer on October 4, 2022 after meeting on zoom for the past two years.  With the theme of “Seek My Face” taken from Psalm 27:8 and 1 Chronicles 16:11, we came together to seek God and intercede for our ministries, Singapore, and the nations around us.

While it would have been easy to focus on the excitement of being together, we also wanted to take time to remember the difficulties caused by the pandemic and to lament that in the past three years, this was the first time we could meet in person to pray. So, we began our time with a focus on lament, walking through a four-step process of seeking God, offering our complaint, asking Him to respond, and reaffirming our trust in Him. It was a sweet and deep time to pause and reflect on the brokenness of the world that we live in. We also reflected on how that brokenness affects each of us in different ways, yet affirmed that because of God’s unchanging character in that He is both good and powerful, we can move forward in hope and trust that “we shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! (Psalm 27:13).” What a gift that we can come honestly as whole people to our great high priest who is full of mercy and grace!

After opening with this time of lament, we turned our focus to praying for the nations. In particular, we received prayer requests from Cru ministries in many nations throughout Asia, as well as our partner region of the US, Australia, and New Zealand. We met in groups and prayed for the specific needs of Cru ministries that were unique to their context. Some ministry contexts are dealing with deep division and are in need of healing, while other ministry contexts are suffering under significant persecution for their ministry and faith. It was a privilege to be able to pray for many people we did not know in groups with both long-time friends as well as people we were meeting for the first time.

After this prayer time, we split into groups again where we broke our fasts together over lunch. We had the opportunity to share and get to know each other better over lunch while reflecting on Psalm 27 and then to prayer walk around the area where we were eating. Many groups selected to eat at a food from a different culture from theirs and then to prayer walk, choosing to pray for the many lost peoples from those cultural contexts.

After three years apart, it was a privilege to get to finally be back together again post-pandemic, to lament together the time that was lost and the difficulties that each of us face individually and corporately in our lives and ministries, and to intercede for one another and  the nations around us. What an amazing truth and gift that through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself and He invites us to Seek His Face!

The above reflection on Worldwide Day of Prayer 2022 is written by Shelley Jung. She is married to EAST resident faculty Jarred Jung. Prior to moving to Singapore, Shelley served for more than 10 years with Cru in East Asia, the last few years focused on staff women’s care and development. Her greatest joy in life is being mom to TJ (9), Hannah (6), and Ryn (2). She loves building community with new and old friends alike over dinner at her dining room table, connecting with women over coffee and the Bible, playing sports, laughing, and making memories with her four favourite people (and others brave enough to join in the chaos).