Today I’d like to speak to you about the way Father prayed in the city of Taegu back in the time of a lot of difficulties in that city. I think this was in 1954. There is a neighborhood in Taegu called Suseong-dong. This era of Taegu was a place where a lot of poor people lived. And even in that neighborhood, Mrs. Ok and I – Father also – were living in a room that was among the poorest in that poor era.
Father would rise at 3 o’clock every morning and pray. As I think back on how Father prayed back then, I remember that he prayed in a very desperate and urgent way, and he was actually weeping, shedding tears throughout his prayers.
He would say in his prayer, “God, my Father, I remember that I made a promise to You and I remember that moment when I made this promise.” Father would say, “God I promised You that I would accomplish your will by a certain time, but it is taking longer than I had anticipated. The time is coming pass and I have not yet been able to accomplish your will, and I am deeply sorry for that.” He would pray and he would weep as he prayed this way.
This was a neighborhood where people who lived there were poorer than the rest of the city. Even in that neighborhood we had only one room and we were all living in that single room. So our situation was difficult beyond description. Father had only one blanket or piece of bedding. There was no mattress, so he would use half of the blanket as a mattress and the other half as a cover so it would sort of fold over him. We were in such difficulty, and God understood our difficulty so He was forced to take pity and to help us.
The situation was so desperate that really the only One that we could depend on and rely on was God. I remember Father’s voice and the way he prayed, and really I remember that Father was seeking after God with such sincerity, such desperation that truly God would have to help us in accomplishing his will. At that time I also wept as I listened to Father’s prayers. It was a very tearful time as we prayed then. Father was praying for the spirit of people who were spiritually dead to be resurrected, to be given life again so that God’s will could be done.
I remembered Father’s prayers as I was praying for the Japanese members later on and I also wept a great deal for the Japanese members. I asked Father once, “You know Father, when I pray for the Korean members I really do not cry so much; tears don’t come. But when I pray for the Japanese members I shed a lot of tears. Why do you think that is?”
Father said, “This is because when the Japanese live their life of faith, they have no self; they are living for the Will, and only for the Will, and they do not think of themselves.” Sometimes the Japanese families would not have anything to eat for the next meal, but even in such times of difficulty they would always come through with their donations.
When I was in Japan, I saw how Japanese would sacrifice their own meals, and would wear old clothing so they could devote more of their funds to the providence. When I saw this I really thought that Japan’s future would be a bright one. I saw how the Japanese would donate not only the funds that they had but even if they did not have any funds, they would still borrow money in order to make their donations.
I remember at that time that Korean members would laugh at the Japanese members, “What are they doing borrowing money in order to make donations? Who does that?” I realized then that this was something that the Koreans were not capable of, this idea of borrowing money in order to make donations. It was something that only the Japanese were capable of doing. I saw that the faith of the Japanese members was not ordinary faith. It was faith that welled up from the marrow of their bones and from the flesh of their bodies. I saw that directly when I was in Japan.
