Ian has settled from Malaysia. A former Muslim, he found himself lifting his hands and praying spontaneously in the Church, surrounded by many others at prayer.
Ian – Malay Christian
(I’m not perfect person but I want to listen to the words of God because that’s what I’ve been seeking all my life. )
What does prayer mean to you?
To me it’s lifeline with God so if you want to talk to God it’s through prayers. To me I personally think prayer answers everything. The key to everything is prayer. To me it’s very important and I’ve always been seeking God. Ever since I was a kid being through a lot of abuse and stuff like that, a lot of challenges in life that’s the thing that kept me going all those years
Where do you pray?
Sometimes I don’t feel like going to church but every Sunday morning I just get up on time, I don’t know why; I just do that. I feel very content, at peace and it’s a very deep connection.
Has prayer changed for you over the years?
When I was a muslim I used to pray 5 times a day – I was really like that every time I prayed that I might offend God or something like that but I didn’t feel free. I didn’t feel myself. When I went into Christianity you can pray only once a day or twice a day, it’s not like compulsory to pray but when you pray it releases you, it gives you peace and I feel the connection is deeper with me and God when I pray as a Christian.
Tools for prayer
Understanding the bible is very important in order to pray. I study the bible every night about 2 or 3 chapters and try to understand what is it about and I Google if I have any doubts. I just do a screen shot or take it down as a note and remind myself to ask someone about it. Everything is connected – the Bible, Prayers, everything is connected to God so it makes it easier for me to pray when I understand the Bible.
Who taught you to pray ?
When I went to church I see people praying. I don’t’ know it was just automatically I started praying but there was a time that I don’t’ know whether God spoke to me or if it was the Holy Spirit who spoke to me; every time I pray in a church I need to go down on my knees. After the prayers and sermons I go down on my knees for about half an hour. Honestly I feel really contented when I am on my knees and I’m praying to the Lord
Normally I pray the same verse, there’s 3 of them but when I’m in church – I don’t know why – when I’m in church when I start praying. My mouth just goes on and on without stopping especially when they’re praying. It’s not chanting, it’s just my way of talking to God. I’ve never done this before but when I’m in the church I feel like I’m a different person. The words keep coming out of my mouth. I’m surrounded by people who are also into prayers and they play the worship songs, they worship God in that way. Actually it just flows into me and my hands – they get lifted up by on own – and I worship God in a way that I’ve never worshipped God before. It always happens during my Sundays