Pray big, pray BOLD!

One of the most memorable messages from Urbana for me, was undoubtedly Sunder Krishnan's "Pray Big and Pray Bold". And since we set goals for our chapter on Friday, I decided to use his model to pray for our chapter. I do realize that it's one of the scariest things I have done because things will actually happen!

Praying to the sovereign God of creation means that He is sovereign over all creation, over all obstacles like our lack of confidence, over academics, self-worth, even parents. His sovereignty puts Him in control of all these factors and He intervenes. It also means that we, however hard we try, are not going to be able to change these circumstances -- only God can. God the Creator has give us this thing called prayer as His way to "infer upon us the dignity of causality", which means God lets us partner with Him in His creative activities through my prayers! Things happen when I pray! Praying to the God of creation also means that He has the power to "unleash all His creative abilities". So I prayed that God would do that for AAIV, that our LG SG NINJAs and even smaller things like games and fellowship events would become irresistibly attractive to seekers and visitors, that I would have fresh ways to testify His love and love people.

To the God who speaks and acts even today, I did not pray for comfort or safety, but for boldness, for risks, for uncomfortable opportunities, to love radically and to testify boldly. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would be so at work and evident in my life that people will see and put their faith in God, that He would speak through the speakers who will be coming to LGs messages of peace, hope, love and mercy. I also prayed for the rising leaders in our community, that after a semester and an Urbana of plugging in, they would be eager and thirst for the Spirit just as Elisha asked that of Elijah. And I prayed for the transformative power of the Spirit to be in our members, that as we continue to serve, AAIV will be transformed into a community that is welcoming, God-centered and outward-focused.

So I'm challenging myself -- and all of us -- that God will open our eyes to really see the people around us -- their needs, their gifts, and God's image in their lives. And from there, that AAIV will become the strongest spiritual leader and pillar in the Asian American student body, because we are filled with God's sovereignty, God's creative powers, and His word and truth, overflowing with compassion and love for His world and His people. So as we pray, as we lead GIGs, as we lead SGs, as we run LGs, as we run meetings, let us pray that we will die to ourselves -- not seeing any purpose in glorifying ourselves or hiding our inadequacies. Instead, with full confidence in a sovereign God, we will march forth in prayer and in deed, and we'll see what happens!

"Intercessors have an essential role to play in creating a better future for our world, because intercession is spiritual defiance of what is in the name of what God has promised. The shape of the future will be determined by those who can survey all its various possibilities and who, by faith, latch on to one as inevitable. History belongs to the intercessors who thus believe the future into being." (Walter Wink, Sojourners Magazine, quoted by Sunder Krishnan)