By Not Known
On Sun 5 July a historic event took place at our new SportsHub. Over 51,000 Christians gathered to celebrate SG 50 and to pray for our nation. According to the Straits Times the following day: “The Jubilee Day of Prayer is the largest multi-denominational Christian event in Singapore’s history.” The report even explained that the Jubilee year was “a year of great joy and celebration, when people spend time with their families, enjoy the harvest and freely share what they have, especially with the poor.” My wife and I attended this once-in-a-lifetime event and were truly inspired to see so many believers gathered to worship the Lord we love and to pray for the nation we love. Each attendee received a goodie bag containing a mini State flag, a red and white scarf with the words “God Bless Our Nation” and “God Bless Our Home” and the Bible verse “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24.15. There was also a song book and a copy of the New Testament to be given away as well as a “clapper” a piece of cardboard folded up like a fan which was used to clap and they really made a loud noise when all 51,000 participants used them together!
I found myself truly inspired when I saw the crowd as I entered the stadium for the first time. On such an occasion numbers do count as a powerful witness as we sang hymns and contemporary songs, listened to Bible readings, sermons, and prayed with fellow Christians. I was quite moved when our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong arrived to thunderous applause, and even more moved as we all sang a blessing for him. We sang in English and Mandarin, as well as our national hit “One Nation, One People, One Singapore”. I found myself wondering how many ORPC folk were present and wished with all my heart that our whole congregation could have been there. After all, how many times in our lives will we have an opportunity to literally join hands with other believers and intercede for our nation? Surely God is pleased when there is unity, especially for the sake of prayer which moves the hands of God for national concerns. As one sister from ORPC said after the event, “It was like a foretaste of heaven!” I do hope in future when there are similar events that more from ORPC will attend and be inspired. [Watch “Jubilee Day of Prayer 2015” on Youtube.]
Graham Ng