Today’s Faith Message
Prayer Warrior Bro. BAKHT SINGH
Opening Prayer : 14 May 1941
God’s Seal on Coonoor Hills Prayers
It has now been 84 years. when Bro. Bakht Singh led the special prayer at Nilgiri, Coonoor ?
Bro Bakht Singh received from the Lord of the “New Testament Church Manifestation.” While in prayer at Nilgiri-Coonoor, let us reflect on the Lord Jesus Christ’s seal of approval to restore the same “Manifestation” — along with the prayers that undergirded this move and the divine leading that followed.
Bro. Bakht Singh had been waiting upon the Lord for His guidance on where to establish the Lord’s work. Especially since the beginning of 1938, he had been praying for a place to be established in North India, as the Lord had shown him a vision of His new work in India and other countries. Moreover, even before his birth and afterward, believers around the world were fervently praying for the awakening of India and the spreading of the gospel. God uses individuals, events, and circumstances to fulfill His plan. By the time Bro. Bakht Singh was born (1903), the Lord had placed the burden of spiritual awakening prayers in the hearts of the saints.
As part of this prayer ministry, let us see how the worldwide church’s prayers are connected to Bro. Bakht Singh and his ministry :
1. From 1898, every Saturday night at the Moody Bible Institute in America, all-night prayers were held for the global awakening, and as a result, the prayer burden has increased worldwide.
2. From 1898, specifically through the Keswick Convention in England, prayer circles have been holding India in their prayers.
3. From 1898, women missionaries like Pandita Ramabai and Amy Beatrice Carmichael, who began their missionary work in India at the same time, fervently prayed for the country.
4. In 1904, during the Welsh Revival, Evan John Roberts and his prayer team fervently prayed for the global spiritual awakening.
5. In 1904, in the above manner, a great revival broke out in Punjab, resulting in the establishment of the Sialkot Convention and the Prayer & Praise Fellowship. Across India, camps were established where people prayed for revival. Notably, John Hyde (known as ‘Praying Hyde’) and his prayer team played a key role.
6. From 1910 to 1925, burdened missionaries gathered in Kodaikanal during the summer to earnestly pray for the salvation of India, the establishment of indigenous churches, and new missionary strategies, while sending prayer requests to the Christian world so that these needs should be met.
7. From 1930, the Honor Oak Christian Fellowship in London recognized the urgent need for the gospel in India and fervently prayed for a strong evangelist to be raised up. Among the most prominent members were Theodore Austin-Sparks, George Paterson, Lady Daisy Ogle, Miss Sinclair, etc. From this fellowship, young men like Bro. Fred Flack and Bro. Raymond Goldsworthy were sent as missionaries to India in 1937.
8-a. Between 1926 and 1929, while Bro. Bakht Singh was in London for his mechanical engineering studies, a Christian believer, Miss Kemp, prayed earnestly for him.
b. In 1928, during his sea voyage to Canada, he experienced a divine encounter through the preaching of God’s Word in an Anglican church.
c. Between 1929 and 1933, while he was in Canada for agricultural engineering studies, Mr. Hansen, John, and Edith Haywards led him to the Lord, and his friends continued to pray fervently for his ministry.
9. The unceasing prayers of many burdened believers, evangelists, missionaries, and others around the world.
10. Since 1933, Wilf Durham, who came to India as a young missionary, became a spiritual prayer partner to Bro. Bakht Singh. Wilf Durham was also the founder of the GLS in Bombay. In 1944, they established elders in Jehovah-Shammah. Similarly, from 1933 onward, Bro. Bakht Singh, along with his prayer partners, spent weeks in fasting and prayer.”
11. Bro. Bakht Singh, especially from the beginning of 1938 to 1941, established prayer camps at various locations across the country (like Praying Hyde) and prayed for the future ministry and revival. As part of this, he visited Madras for the first time and led prayers for three weeks in August 1938.
12. From May 14, 1941, a special prayer meeting for the manifestation of the Church was held at Nilgiri Coonoor. As a result, with one mind and one spirit, under God’s guidance, the New Testament Church was re-established in Madras on June 22, 1941, according to the principles of the New Testament Church, through Bro. Bakht Singh.
Revival in India : The Role of Bro. Bakht Singh :
As a result of the fervent prayers of many saints and God’s divine arrangement, as Bro. Bakht Singh was chosen before the foundation of the world, the Lord chose him to serve the body of Christ. The revival that began in Martinpur, British India, in 1936, spread throughout the country. Such a powerful revival had never been seen in India before or after. Leaders and pastors from all denominations warmly invited and welcomed Bro. Bakht Singh, taking care of all the arrangements for the gatherings. This was because, as a great revivalist, Bro. Bakht Singh played a pivotal role in strengthening indigenous Christianity for a decade, marking a major and significant turning point in India’s Christian history.
How the Lord used Sis. Lady Daisy Ogle :
Bro. Bakht Singh’s most vital anchor for the beginning of his ministry and for daily guidance in his service was his constant and unwavering prayer life. From the day he was saved, he maintained a living bond with the Lord through prayer, speaking with Him daily and carrying out every task according to His will. In March 1941, while praying in a state of exhaustion, the Lord spoke to him through 1 Kings 17:9 : ‘I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.’ Just a few days later, he received a letter from Lady Daisy Ogle, a noblewoman from England. Like Philemon in the Bible, she too was filled with generosity. Lady Ogle at that time was in charge of the Missionary Guest House.
She invited him to rest at her Silver Dale estate in Coonoor, and on May 14, 1941, he traveled there via Madras. Her residence, Silver Dale, was a large bungalow nestled in the beautiful mountainous region of the Nilgiris. When Bro. Bakht Singh arrived, she welcomed him warmly and, instead of delegating the task to her servants, she personally served him meals. Lady Daisy Ogle was one of the founding believers of the Honor Oak Christian Fellowship, established by Austin Sparks in 1926. Since 1930, she had been praying fervently with a deep burden that the Lord would raise up a vessel chosen by Him and restore His glory in the Church. In prayer, she discerned that Bro. Bakht Singh was the one specially appointed by the Lord for this purpose. She firmly believed that God’s blessing rested upon him. Through her faithful prayers and practical support, the Lord used her in an extraordinary way in Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry.
Establishment of the Indegenious Church : Final Special Prayer in Coonoor, Nilgiris :
Bro. Bakht Singh, with a deep burden to discern God’s will concerning the future ministry, spent 40 days in prayer. As part of this, he and a few fellow brothers fasted and prayed without any break for 21 days. Among these brothers, the key ones were: 1.Bro.Bakht Singh, 2.Bro.Sam Chacko, 3.Bro.Don Moses, 4.Bro.Noel Barrow, 4.Bro.Raymond Goldsworthy, 5.Bro.Fred Flack, and 6.Bro.Williams. All of them, based on the Scriptures, and according to the New Testament Church order, agreed with one accord under the manifestation of the Lord. And, They understood that this order must be carried out through local assemblies as below.
1. They understood the principle that not only the salvation of the people but also the responsibility for the spiritual growth of the saved must be taken on.
2. They reformed the controversial practice of baptism by introducing immersion baptism followed by the laying on of hands.
3. According to one body and one Spirit, no believer lives in isolation; rather, they are to be added to the church, maintain church order, worship on the Lord’s Day, and partake in the Lord’s Table.
According to the Lord’s leading and in answer to long-standing prayers, the Lord gave His seal of approval during the special fasting and prayer meetings held in Coonoor concerning these matters. When these developments were shared with the elders of the Honor Oak Fellowship in London, they also prayed and rejoiced in how the Lord had chosen and was guiding Bro. Bakht Singh to restore the New Testament church pattern, and they expressed their full support.
While in Coonoor, the Lord revealed His will to begin the ministry in Madras, and As a result of many prayers, and according to the New Testament Church order as revealed by the Lord, the indigenous church was established in Madras on June 22, 1941, through Bro. Bakht Singh.
— John Michael, Rajahmundry