Date: 30-03-25
Preacher: Bro Shyh Dan
Title: Pray Unceasingly – from discouragement to joy

Pray Unceasingly – from discouragement to joy

While listening to Bro Shyh Dan’s message this morning, I felt that it would be great if it could reach a wider audience. It was a great message and his anointing was clear. I think the congregation appreciated it though it was not a short message. The lead-in was a question asking the congregation whether they had ever been disappointed in their prayers. Bro Shyh Dan did not require an answer which was obvious.

Bro Shyh Dan then spelled out three steps that we should adopt when we pray. These are 1) Go to the Lord 2) Believe in prayer and 3) Pray always 

According to Bro Shyh Dan, going to the Lord in prayers means coming to Him as we are, warts and all. Our obstacle of going to Him is our guilt. However, as we come to Him with all our burdens, Matthew 11:28 looms large because of one magical word: rest. Often when we are perturbed, we distract ourselves by going online, shopping and so on but as Christians shouldn’t we go to Him first and last to find that promise of rest? The first step is to go to God to find rest.

In discussing Step 2, Bro Shyh Dan said many Christians do not pray often as they have been disappointed their prayers remain unanswered. Bro Shyh Dan then gave the congregation a hypothetical situation and he said that for the next seven days, whatever prayer request we make each day will be answered. Then what would we do? We would then carry on praying every day after that. However, he brought the congregation to its senses because such a prayer loop is unsustainable as our prayers are often not answered. Rather than seek such an impossible loop, Bro Shyh Dan said as we go to God in prayers, we receive His way in our problems, we receive His truth in our troubles and we receive His life to face the issues. Tying in with Step 2 is doing God’s will in prayer. Here, he quoted a biblical character, Cornelius, who because of his close walk with God, was given a mission by God. Bro Shyh Dan then gave a personal anecdote whereby he obeyed the prompting of God and went ahead to invite his lunch-mate whose nephew was born deaf and mute to the recently held Revival Miracle Meeting organised by the church. Although his lunch-mate did not turn up, he felt at peace because he had done what God wanted him to do.

Step 3 encourages us to wait in prayers as God has His own timing. Bro Shyh Dan then quoted the example of Naomi who was so frustrated with God for her initial failings but it was through her that her daughter-in-law, Ruth, became the great-grandmother of King David. Bro Shyh Dan himself then shared on his quest to find a wife for 30 years and it was 2 years ago that he reached out to God again. God then revealed to him Ps 16:11. Bro Shyh Dan had felt that for him the life with a wife would represent the greatest joy but after Ps 16:11 he knew where his greatest joy lie.

Bro Shyh Dan concluded with Isaiah 40:31 and that is when we keep praying and waiting for Him, He will give us new strength.