A prayer for north China and Manchuria

  Date:June 3, 1948Place:Customs Lane, Foochow

  Watchman Nee: Lord, we believe that nothing is too difficult for You, though to us it may be impossible. You have Your people in Ch’ang-ch’un, Shen-yang (in Manchuria), and Tsinan. Do not allow them to go through more trials than they can bear. Give them days of peace that they may live in godliness and serve You. The great tribulation is not yet here, so we ask You to prevent the evil one from running loose on a rampage. We pray that the gospel will not be hindered in any way. Thank and praise You. You are the God who answers prayers. Thank and praise You. You are the victorious Lord. We ask that every inch and parcel of land be preserved and that Your children can serve You. The tribulation is not here yet. Now is not Satan’s time; it is still our time. Satan may want to initiate something, but he will not succeed. We need Your help. During the past twenty or more years, we have not had much result in the work. But if You will give us another twenty years, we will fully give ourselves to the work. In the past the war prevented us from meeting together. After the war we thought that the days of trials were over, but now Satan has stirred up another war. Lord, grant us wisdom, and grant us a free and open way. All political powers are in Your hand. The victory is Yours, the victory is the church’s, and the victory is ours.

  Lord, the crumbs from Your table are better than the richest portions on our table. Be merciful to us and grant us more of Your crumbs.

A sharing at the end of the prayer

  Victory and loss in political power are of little concern to us. We should change our attitude. We should not criticize, curse, or slander. As long as a regime does not forbid us from worshipping our God, we should bless it. Brother Witness Lee said that if a government is a hundred times worse, we should still pray for it.