Would you like to have “Run For The Nation Singapore 2012″ poster on your church, cell or even book store notice board?
Drop us an email at runforthenation@gmail.com to let us know and we will be more than happy to deliver it to your doorstep!
Do also let us know if you would like us to share about RunNat 2012 in your service or cell group meeting. We would be glad to drop by to do a short presentation and giving out some goodie!
p.s everything is free of charge, even the posters
A cool and breezy late afternoon, drizzle and droplets of rain water rested on your cheeks and arms upon arrival at CCAB, along Bukit Timah Road.
Being a runner and always on the go, it might seemed that a prayer run would be an easy feat for me. However, going for such prayer runs is always a humbling experience.
Running and praying at the same time, is a time where the Lord will help me to wait upon Him, to depend on Him to show me what to pray. Many a times, perhaps there would be a lot of agendas in our head to pray, but nothing beats waiting upon the Lord while running and praying.
The beauty of it would be to see how the Lord inspires the group to run and pray, and how the prayers would lead to another. Maybe sometimes we look back and wonder, “wow, how did we pray so much? It must have been inspiration from the Lord!” I was inspired by the Lord on His love and compassion for His people from all walks of life as we were running and praying along Bukit Timah Road.
A particular memorable segment would be while we were running along the area where there were clubs and people playing sports on a field, and how the Lord reminded us to pray that He will use sports ministry as a platform, teachers and coaches to share His word and values to our younger generation.
Last but not least, the aftermath part where we gather for debrief to hear testimonies from our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ sharing their experiences on the prayer run would be a refreshing time, on what our Lord Jesus is constantly reminding us that He is with us and in us always to the very end of age, that His Spirit is leading us wherever we go (even when we are running and praying).
Hence, prayer is not just restricted to praying in a room, or a church, but God can take you out of the box to hear Him and wait upon Him even when you run and pray. He is really that amazing and awesome! Come join in to hear His call to run and pray for our nation!
For myself, that morning wasn’t the most appropriate, most convenient, or most comfortable morning to go for a run. It had been a busy week, a tiring week but thank God for the great weather. I believe for some of the us, whether is it exercising or praying, there is never a right time or a right place to do it, but it is about putting our foot down and making that choice to do it, knowing that it is the right thing to do. With the busyness of life, a wonderful insight God placed upon my heart prior to the run was that ‘Run & Pray’ is a wonderful practice to develop it into a habitual lifestyle for every individual. God has given us wisdom to integrate our priorities to make the best of our time for Him. Running and praying, both takes up time when we put our heart, soul and strength to it and when both can be done concurrently, that’s a killing 2 birds with one stone! What an amazing habit to build to take care of our physical health as well as communing with God.
Running and praying is a journey for myself which started from ‘Prayer walking’ which many of you might be familiar with this term. It is pretty much the same thing, just that you get a little more tired… you perspire a little more… you need to be a little bit more physically fit to be able to actually run and pray…and lastly you should at least be in a comfortable running attire!! That being said, what is common between both is your heart for God and for Singapore. With a little practice, everyone will be able to run and pray and begin to be a powerful vessel that God can use to impact Singapore. Joshua 1:3 says “Every place upon which the sole of your foot shall tread, that have I given to you….“. What a powerful verse to carry upon our hearts as we run through the the different parts of our little island, declaring the victory of Christ, interceding for our nation and claiming back the land which was lost! The word ‘tread’ also means ‘darak’ in Hebrew and it speaks of warfare and God is ready to give us any territory when we take up our weapons (PRAY PRAY PRAY) and fight the good fight…
Our journey in Christ and becoming more like Christ is like a marathon and the bible has many examples talking about us believers running this race and finishing strong. As believers, one important thing to remember is that we are never lone rangers; we never run alone and we’ll never walk alone! (3 cheers for Liverpool ). God has called us to be a body of Christ, learning to be interdependent among ourselves. Thus, running for me with a partner or in a group has also taught and reminded me about my journey in Christ together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Coach Chew wasn’t in her best condition during the run that morning, with a strain and pain in her shoulders. However, running alongside her, praying and running together, sharing and praying for her, slowing down when necessary, this is a beautiful picture of our long marathon we are all running together as believers. It is never about who is the strongest, fastest or smartest; it is about spurring, supporting and encouraging each other to finish the race together.
Lets all remember as runners and also prayer warriors that we run together and pray together as a body of Christ and we shall Run for our Nation to see Singapore covered by a canopy of prayers. All glory to God.
You may drop us a call at 8125-4344 should you have any questions or you are interested to join us.
How to Get There?
By Train: Nearest MRT station is Botanic Garden Station (CC19)
By Bus: Service 48, 66, 67, 151, 153, 154, 156, 170, 171 & 186 stops @ Bus Stop Number B41011
Prayer Run – The Joy of the Lord shall be your strength
By Pearlyn Chiam (1st row, 2nd from the right)
After a long hiatus from my regular training, I wasn’t in my best fitness to belt out a run without having initial doubt. Nevertheless, I decided to take part in the run, taking comfort in the knowing that I was running for the Lord.
The idea of running and praying was definitely a revelation for me. It felt refreshing and I was amazed at how I could sustain my run longer than my usual initial runs after a long break.
It must have been the Lord, because even when I felt tired, I still had this feeling of joy while running.
Instead of simply running to clock mileage, introducing prayer has brought meaning to this sport. In just a short 5k, thousands of people who reside in the houses we passed have been blessed. It is so comforting to know that He will take care of you when you take care of His people.
On this Sunday, I spent the afternoon trying to partake in the heavy scent of incense.
It was in particular, the memory of incense from events at the field by Industrial estate to the junctions around that area. It’s flowery and sharp. On Sunday, I ran by that field with several runners as we kept pace with each other. Like other places in this corner of Hougang I pass by every day, these are places burned into personal experience.
It was on this run in my neighbourhood, that I learnt how to pray and run.
RunNat 2011 first introduced me to the concept of running and prayer. Not a lot of my friends were convinced. On the surface, there’s nothing competitive or practical in mumbling words and running. And people pray all the time when they’re doing sports. From the pre-match “God is on our side” prayers during my hockey days in JC to the post-run thanksgivings for PBs met, prayer and sport is linked at both ends, but mostly as an afterthought.
However, Sunday’s run with Shuyuan , Kailin , Jac , Alvin and Zhi Yang has helped me to see things a bit differently. For the first time, I’m not just praying at the start or end of some exercise. I was praying and responding with every motion of my body. I’m committing people, communities and places around me for God. Entering that autopilot-like mode, my forehead wiped with sweat, giving my requests to God with each stride, is like pacing God’s desire. As if I’m trying to catch up and understand what to pray for as God’s creation unfolds all around me.
I’ve realised that as I pray, the things around me isn’t simply scenery going by at five minutes per km. They’re places in my community filled with hopes, lives and souls. Places that my memory and prayer has allowed me, in that precious hour of running, to commit to God’s divine will.
This first-time experience of running and praying will take me some time to understand and process. But, just as every run begins with a step, it’s a start for me. In the future, when I do run through many more communities in Singapore, I hope that these prayers might be a different kind of incense, generous and pleasing to God.
Runners – refreshed and taking a photo together after their prayer run.
(From left, Chew Peng, Jerena, Eileen, Zhi Yang and Boon Kian)
Being no sportsman (woman) myself, doing a long-distance run could be considered no easy feat. Naturally, I struggled with the idea, what’s more praying when I am going to pant, and to sacrifice my precious sleep on a Saturday morning.
Yet, I agreed to doing it as a friend reasoned most logically. On that morning, though I did not hear my alarm clock, my pet dog woke me up by tapping on me! I guess one cannot escape from what God has planned in mind?
Well, the story goes, and I did the run with my buddies, Chew Peng and Eileen. The distance of the run was not stated and I just went by faith as I ran. Yet, this was the furthest run I have ever done and I felt recharged. I thoroughly enjoyed the prayer run experience. Yes, this may sound cliché, but it was truly an amazing experience because it brought a new meaning to runs.
It was no longer the boring old runs (at least for me) when I did to keep myself from growing horizontally, but rather, it was about Jesus’ hands in the community where I ran. It was not about the self, but about Jesus and His love for these people. I would love to join in this run again, and I hope that others can take up the challenge to join in it too, to experience Jesus and His love for people.
