“No Other Weapon We Know”

“Pray because there is no other weapon we know to combat the powers of this world,” said Dr. K.P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia (GFA) founder and president, in a special presentation for the AiG staff on the National Day of Prayer.

We are often blessed during our morning staff meetings to hear and learn from leaders in other ministries around the world. Well, recently K.P. shared with us about his passion for prayer, which is fueled by his own testimony, a direct result of his mother’s prayers for him.

K.P. grew up in India, blessed to be born into a Christian home (today, India is one of the world’s least-reached nations with the gospel). As he told our staff, growing up, K.P. was puzzled by his mother because she would wake up practically in the middle of the night to pray for several hours before the sun rose. K.P.’s mother led him to the Lord and he received Christ at eight years old. At the age of sixteen, he responded to the Lord’s call to “go” and be a missionary. When he told his mom, K.P. recalled that she jumped for joy in excitement that he would be leaving the home for two years. As confused as he was by her response, and thinking she perhaps hated him, K.P. still left his family to do the work he believed the Lord had called him to. It wasn’t until he returned home that he learned why his mom was so ecstatic about his decision to be a missionary.

“I prayed all my life that one of my sons would be called to preach,” his mom told K.P. when he returned home. She had watched each of his older brothers enter the workforce and had begun to lose hope. She fasted and prayed every Friday that one of her six children would go on to serve the Lord as their vocation, and that day when K.P. announced his plans to “go,” her prayer had been answered.

Today, K.P. and Gospel for Asia are bringing hope and the love of Christ to people in more than 14 Asian nations, including the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal. Because Gospel for Asia's heart is to raise up believers in South Asia to reach people in their home countries where many westerners cannot go, GFA had a unique position to provide aid and practically show the love of Jesus to those who are hurting in Nepal.

K.P. finished his devotional presentation during our morning meeting with some encouragement for our staff about the power of prayer. He said, “God is not looking for workers, he is looking for worshippers.” Would you pray with us for the victims of the Nepal earthquake, the ministry of Gospel for Asia (and please consider a donation to the GFA relief effort), and the many missionaries around the world facing increasing persecution for their Christian faith? Would you also continue to pray for the ministry of Answers in Genesis as we too face a degree of persecution in the US, especially in relation to our religious freedom lawsuit with the state of Kentucky over the coming Ark Encounter? We need to pray that the state of Kentucky will decide to preserve and protect religious freedom. And please pray that we will continue to stand solidly on the authority of God’s Word from the very beginning and boldly proclaim that truth to our increasingly hostile culture.

During their stay with us, I gave GFA leaders an update on the Ark Encounter. This large bay, which will go into the Ark, stands near the entrance of the Creation Museum. (L-R: John Beers of GFA; K. P. Yohannon; me, K. P.’s son Danny; David Chakranarayan of AiG.)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.