History of Shan Churches in Burma 1861-2001 - Khamkoo

Analysis 260
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
45. Prayer Life
Past
Rev. Bixby asking questions in October 1862,”Who will water it with their tears? Who will pray
for the Shan without intermission, at least twice every day, during the year, which you will enter about
the time this reaches you? 160 It was a challenge from Bixby to Churches in America to pray twice a day
for the Shan mission. “The preparations for the meeting on the part of these rude people were most
ample and pleasing. Near the zayat, which by the way is one of the best I have ever seen made wholly
by natives they had constructed a large booth of bamboo and grass, which would convene at least a
thousand natives. On one side a broad platform was made several feet above ground with a nice
bamboo floor and a very pretty balustrade quite encircling it except the door. On three sides very
comfortable seats were made a desk or bench all of bamboo. Fifty or more of the Christians assembled
at different times for prayer. We spent the evening in special prayer for the descent of the Holy
Spirit.” 161 The missionaries prayed for the anointing of the Holy Spirit at large evangelistic meeting.
“We need more native help to carry on the work with any advantage. Our only resource is to pray the
Lord of the harvest to advantage laborer.” 162 Dr. Kirkpatrick reported in May 1893, “At the chapel we
have a sunrise prayer meeting every day.” 163 Sunrise prayer meeting every day!
Present
Prayer is power. We are always taught and asked to pray. But sometimes we don’t know how to
pray. Professor J. Herbert Kane said, “Christian missions have not been very successful on the great
continent of Asia. After 250 years of Protestant missionary work, slightly less than 3% of the
population is professing Christians.” 164
The great revival takes place in Korea in 1907 because of the power of prayer. Today the world
largest Church is in Korea. How many Shan leaders and believers pray every day in the early morning?
A survey shows that a Shan believer only pray three minutes a day including prayer for the meal. Pray
for the meal is just like a routine or Christian ritual. The prayer life of the Shan believers need to be
improved. Some Shan believers don’t know how to pray. Some may be praying for many years
everyday but still do not know how to pray. Some pray very short and some pray very long. Some
actually not praying to God but indirectly saying something to the people who are listening. I have
heard a pastor pray for 45 minutes in Church service making many people falling asleep. They call it
“complete prayer.” A member said “prayer time” is “sleeping time.” At one occasion, a pastor reminds
me not to ask a certain pastor to pray for the meal because he would pray “from Genesis to Revelation”
and the meal will get cold by the end of his prayer.
Prayer is the communication with the Lord. There will be no light if the bulb is not connected to
the source of light. There will be no spiritual input if we don’t communicate with the Lord in prayer.
When I attended Sunday worship in a Shan Church I heard a pastor prayed in a very strange, artificial,
hysterically long voice, not with his own natural voice. Quite interesting. Why did he pray in such
artificial hysterical voice? Imitating the voice of an angel? More holy? Fasting and prayer are seldom
organized by Churches or done by individual. They think that fasting and prayer is not Baptist practice.
But some Baptists believe in fasting and prayer and they do it. “Chain Prayer” is popular in Baptist
Churches. In some Churches the prayer time is only on Sunday service and Wednesday prayer meeting.
160 Letter From Mr. Bixby, Toungoo, British Burma, October 25, 1862.
161 The Baptist Missionary Magazine, August 1865, p309
162 55th Annual Report, July 1869. American Baptist Missionary Union
163 79th Annual Report, 1893. American Baptist Missionary Union
164 Christian missions in Biblical perspective by J. Herbert Kane, Baker Book House, Michigan, 1979, p321