A story of persevering prayer from the early days of the gospel in Burma
Before the gospel took root in Burma the Karen tribe worshipped nats – evil spirits.
But this idolatry was broken in the Brec Karen village of Letcho through the American missionary Alonzo Bunker and his family who worked among the hill tribes of Burma from 1860 to 1905.
Letcho became home to a church of strong, baptised Christians and many other villages heard the gospel through Su Yah who worked with the Bunkers.
Destroy Christian villages
Letcho village prospered. But eight years after the Bunkers had moved on, Tippeh, chief of a village which had not been touched by the gospel, became envious. Some said Letcho prospered because they had forsaken the nats and had begun to worship the LORD. ‘Let us not be afraid to attack’, growled the chief. ‘But the Christian God protects his people!’ argued one of his warriors. But another said: ‘We can attack the village that first turned to this new way. If we win, we’ll know that the Christian God is a dead God. Then we will attack others’. So an assault was decided on.
Somehow word came to Letcho that a raid was planned against them. ‘What will we do?’ asked Ho Wi, the Letcho chief. ‘If we fight with weapons, we’re saying we believe the LORD isn’t strong enough to defend us.’ ‘Yes’, agreed pastor Su Yah. ‘And if we kill them, they’ll die in their sins and have no chance to believe in Jesus Christ.’
Gathering to pray
Instead of preparing for battle, they wrote letters to all the pastors of the surrounding hill tribes to pray. ‘This is a battle of the spirits. It must be fought with weapons of the Spirit’, they said.
Every day, the village of Letcho gathered for prayer. ‘O Lord’, they cried, ‘show yourself strong to the other villages of the Brecs’. They wanted to pray in faith, but there was fear too.
Then it happened. Two little boys were kidnapped. The Christians could see the enemy tribesmen running down the hill to the rushing river. They were quickly over and away. The battle of the spirits had begun. Who would win? The two mothers were sobbing. The two fathers looked grim and reached for their spears. But Su Yah said: ‘With weapons we could get those little boys back. But now we must just be still and pray and love our enemies’. This was a trying time. Again letters were written to the pastors of the hill tribes: ‘Please come to Letcho and pray with us for God to bring back these two boys and show himself strong’. In response, hundreds of Christians gathered for prayer in Letcho. For days they prayed.
Let them go!
Finally they knew what to do. A group of men would walk the day’s journey to the enemy village and demand the boys’ release. They would be like Moses telling Pharoah to let God’s people go. Several men volunteered. They walked the miles and went into the enemy camp trusting God. ‘In the Name of the great God, the LORD,’ they said, ‘the living God, the God over all, we demand the return of the boys you stole!’ But just like Pharoah, Chief Tippeh refused. ‘You didn’t bring ransom money’, he sneered, ‘why should I let them go?’. But many people in Chief Tippeh’s village heard the demand with quaking hearts. The fear of God was coming.
The men of Letcho returned to their village, heavy-hearted, not knowing what was happening in the enemy village. What should they do? They couldn’t pay a ransom. That would show the LORD to be weak. They couldn’t go to war.
‘How many times?’
Some of the Letcho Christians became discouraged at the news. But one old man arose. He asked: ‘How many times did the Israelites march around Jericho before its walls fell?’. The others looked at him as if this were a new thought. ‘Seven times’, said one. ‘And how many times did Elijah pray for rain before it came?’ ‘Seven times’, they answered. ‘And Moses had to go to Pharaoh many times too!’ added another, ‘and we’ve demanded the return of our captives only once!’.
A murmur of excitement moved through the crowd. Everyone knew they were engaged in a spiritual battle just as important for them as the battles of the Spirit had been for Israel or the early church.
‘Who will go?’ asked Su Yah. A group volunteered. They set off and trekked to the enemy village. ‘In the Name of the great LORD, the living God’, they cried out, ‘we demand that you give us the boys you stole!’. Once again Chief Tippeh refused. ‘Let the LORD come himself and we will give them up. If you come again without ransom money we will kill you!’ But this time the Letcho men weren’t downcast. They said not a word, and left.
The chief’s wife came out of her hut. ‘Give them the children!’ she insisted. ‘Their LORD will destroy us all. I fear him.’ But like Pharaoh, the chief’s heart was hard.
Praying on
The Christians were not discouraged. Strengthened in the Spirit, they decided to move their prayer meeting a day’s journey to a spot just outside the enemy village. Scores and scores of Christians settled there. For three days they prayed.
On the third day Tippeh sent a message that if Chief Ho Wi and the parents of the boys would come into the village he would return the boys. But Ho Wi suspected it was a trap. They talked and discussed. ‘Who will go?’ Su Yah and another man Su Aw said they would go. Then a father of one of the boys said he would join them. Then a deacon from another Christian village arose saying, ‘I will go’. Though it was still dark the four set off. Tippeh had said he would kill them if they came without money, but they pressed on.
At daylight the Christian men entered the village. Dogs howled. Women ran off into the jungle fearing a fight. Tippeh’s men gathered quickly with their spears. But they trembled. The four had no weapons. All they held were books. Tippeh and his men stared.
Singing to victory
Calmly, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, Su Yah said, ‘Let us sing hymn number 124.’ They opened their books and began to sing their translation of a great hymn by Charles Wesley.
Father, I stretch my hands to you! No other help I know;
If you withdraw Yourself from me, ah, where then shall I go?
They sang for their lives. Tippeh’s men stared at them.
What did Your only Son endure, before I drew my breath?
What pain, what labour, to secure my soul from endless death?
Now the women and children edged back from the jungle at this strange and beautiful sound.
O Jesus, if I could believe, now I would feel Your power;
Now my poor soul You would retrieve, nor let me wait one hour.
Soon the enemy warriors laid their spears on the ground. Some squatted to listen, spellbound. The last notes of the beautiful song echoed through the village. Then Su Yah spoke. ‘Let us pray.’ His companions fell to their knees. They cried out in prayer for God to soften the hearts of their enemies. Su Yah opened his eyes and stood gazing at the trembling warriors. ‘Sit down, all of you’, he commanded. The warriors sat and Su Yah preached the gospel to them. Tippeh, the hard-faced chief, crept closer. His face began to soften with longing. When Su Yah ceased speaking, Tippeh said quietly: ‘Take your boys’.
At these words, some women came out of a hut with the two little boys who quickly ran to the men. What joy! The news spread rapidly to all the villages. Surely the God of the Christians is a mighty God. Tippeh’s village and over 20 other villages sent messages to the Christians. ‘Send us teachers. We want to become followers of Jesus Christ.’
