PRAY FOR THE STATE OF TERENGGANU

I        SCRIPTURES:           

“Please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.” (Neh. 1:6-7)

“O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.” (Ezra 9:6-7)

II       LIST OF CURRENT MAJOR CONCERNS FOR THE STATE OF TERENGGANU

  • 9 % of the about one million of the population of the state of Terengganu are non-Christians. Only 0.1 % are Christians. Of the 99.9%, 97.0 % are Malay Muslims, 2.6% are Chinese, 0.2% are Indians and the rest of approximately 0.2% are others.
  • The state is presently ruled by the PAS government. The development of the state is currently stagnant.
  • Drug addiction, drug trafficking, HIV, LGBT, incest, divorce rate, poverty, school drop-out, illegal logging and bribery are social and economic problems of the state.
  • There are eight administrative districts in Terengganu. In the Kuala Terengganu district alone, there are 120 mosques besides many suraus and madrasahs. With the discovery of the Terengganu Inscription Stone (Batu Bersurat) in 1887, it is believed that Terengganu is the first state in Malaysia to receive Islam in the 13th Worshipping idols in Chinese and Siamese temples and witchcraft are also practied here.

III      HEALING THE SINS OF THE LAND

On 10th January 2022, Terengganu news spread over the nation: “Police have arrested a doctor from a private clinic who is suspected of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates.” It is believed that 1,900 individuals were found to be dealing with this clinic. These patrons needed to pay between RM400 to RM600 for a fake certificate. It is believed that there were also individuals from Kuala Lumpur and Kedah who went to the doctor to obtain fake vaccination certificates.

God’s heart is broken over the sins of the land. This has been described through the prophecy of Jeremiah: “… ‘Why have they provoked Me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idol?’ I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people. Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.” (Jer. 8:19, 21-22; 9:1).

In response to the broken heart of God, now is the time for us to identify with the sins of the land of Terengganu in personal and corporate repentance. Even though Nehemiah, Ezra and Jeremiah were apparently very righteous men, but when they prayed for the restoration of Israel, they prayed as the guilty parties, identifying with their sins.

You may be a righteous and innocent person who is not directly related to the vices present in Terengganu, but you can identify with the roots of these exposed sins. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23).

Let us pray: “Lord, break our hearts for what breaks Yours.”

Consider, for example, the sinful acts of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates. You may not be the person who had participated in this sinful activity but all of us have been guilty of the root sins which have given place to such an activity. Here are a few common roots that lead to the criminal act of the doctor and the patrons of the clinic.

The Doctor’s sins: Greed, love of money, cheating, law breaking

The Patrons’ sins: Impatience, unbelief, fear, lying.

These are struggles common to all of us and illustrate the need for honest identification with the sins of this land when we stand in the gap for Terengganu, asking God for mercy and compassion.

Nehemiah and the remnant with him assembled themselves before the Lord with fasting, in sackcloth and with dust on their heads. Though they were not many, they completely identified with their nation.

When we ask for God’s intervention on the land of Terengganu, we should never ask “How could they do such a thing?” We know very well how they could do it because the potential for the worst evil lies within each one of us. Apart from God’s grace, we are nothing.  May we come to intercede on behalf of the land with humility and honesty. God cannot use an unclean vessel in the place of intercession. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Ps. 66:18)

Our hope for the land of Terengganu lies in God’s compassion and mercy. He wants us to be His instruments of compassion and mercy to this dark and lost world. He looks for individuals to stand in the gap just as He spoke through Ezekiel: “I look for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Eze. 22:30).

The Lord is looking for a person who would stand in the breach for the land. Thank you for you are that person willing to be in His ministry of intercession. Thank you for living out the biblical practice of identification repentance that brings healing and revival to the land of Terengganu.

IV      KEY AREAS TO PRAY FOR TERENGGANU

  • Prayer of identification repentance.

“Heavenly Father, we are ashamed to hear the sins committed by the people of Terengganu. We have sinned against You. We ask for forgiveness and have mercy on us.”

  • Pray for God’s people in Terengganu that they will:
  • Live biblically based lives.
  • Build strong godly marriages and families.
  • Serve one another in the church, and also engage in community outreaches.
  • Model Christ in the marketplace and neighborhoods.
  • Be a people of prayer, worship and witness for Christ.
  • Be united as a Body of Christ in this land.
  • Pray for God’s moving and salvation of Ishmael’s descendants in this land. “Ishmael” means “God hears”.
  • Pray that God will reveal Himself as the Triune God to them: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit through dreams and visions.
  • Pray like Abraham: Abraham said to God “May Ishmael live under Your special blessing.” (Gen 17:18)
  • Pray against strongholds of fraudulent conversion, cult (e.g. Jehovah Witness) and false religious teaching.
  • Pray against favoritism, prejudice and discrimination in the land.
  • Pray for freedom of religion, especially to freely choose and believe Jesus to be their Savior.
  • Pray for peace and prosperity of the towns (Kuala Terengganu, Dungun, Cukai and Jerteh) and villages of Terengganu. Pray to the Lord for them, because if they prosper, God’s people too will prosper (Jer. 29:7).