FLAMES OF FIRE

Ps Jiwan Rai-AO coordinator Glory Place Prayer Tower Siliguri

Acts 2:3-4

And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Twelve years ago, God called my brother, Ps Joel to preach the Gospel in the most remote places in the Eastern part of Nepal where they have never heard about Jesus Christ. The Eastern part of Nepal is an untamed frontier, surrounded by the majestic Himalayan Mountains.

Joel loved the Lord but he had been there and knew that area to be a poor area. How was he going to support his wife and two children? He worried about this and prayed to the Lord one day while walking home. Right there on the road Joel heard God speak to him clearly, asking him to read Matthew 6:25-33 “Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life………” He had his answer.

Obedient to his calling, Joel and his wife went to Llam, a small district in Eastern Nepal near the mountains and there he planted his first church with just four believers. He had no financial support but trusting God completely to provide for him and his wife he continued to preach the Gospel. He faced many challenges in the rural villages as people here were set in their ways and eyed him with suspicion.  But Joel persevered and God blessed him. After four years he had planted three churches with a total of 150 believers and another church in the neighbouring village of Jhapa which today has 110 believers. What would have happened to these souls if Joel had not been obedient to God’s call?

Due to the remoteness of this place, Joel had to leave his two children behind with their grandmother in India.  It was a heart wrenching decision for any parent to make and a sacrifice many would be unwilling to make. But they knew they had to be obedient to the Lord. If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be because God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end.

Four years later God called Joel into the Prayer Ministry. Prayer is so essential in the life of a Christian. Without prayer your witness will be far less effective and you will be far more vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Prayer brings the blessing and support of the Lord. You need to be in fellowship with Him. Prayer makes all this possible. Starting with nine believers in a small cramped rented room, the ministry quickly grew to a larger group. It was amazing to see 30 to 40 prayer intercessors coming from the towns, villages and mountains to mobilize prayers for their nation. As the group grew and the room became too small the local pastors got together and raised funds to buy a small piece of land and a Prayer House was built.    

                                                          It was a simple bamboo building on the outside but a powerhouse of prayer and intercession inside. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit all around us, such a powerful anointing and I was excited in my spirit. As we stood outside the Prayer House ready to dedicate it to the Lord, we began to pray and some of us started praying in ‘tongues’.  Suddenly someone shouted for us to look and as we looked up we saw a flame of fire shoot down and rest above the heads of the pastors. Everyone there was shaken by the strong presence of the Holy Spirit. Never in my 21 years serving God have I ever seen such an awesome sight.  One hundred and fity over believers witnessed this and I praise and thank God for sending us the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen us.

When you share the Gospel you plant the seeds of the Gospel, but it is only God who can cause the seed to take root and grow.

 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”