PROPHETIC WORDS

NGATI TOREHINA’S ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

by Te Hurihanga Rihari
courtesy of NZ Bible Society

September 2021

God doesn't just talk to people who are already Christians. He talks to anyone who has the heart to hear Him. Way before missionaries came to New Zealand God was at work already, speaking to Maori prophets and preparing the Maori people to receive the good news the missionaries would bring. It was Maori who invited the first missionaries to come because of the preparatory work the Holy Spirit had already been doing in the hearts and minds of Maori who had an ear to hear and a responsive heart. The video below is one of the many stories of the preparatory work God did even before missionaries came. – Lyn Packer

Many know the story of Christmas Day, 1814, when Rev Samuel Marsden stepped ashore at Oihi and shared the Gospel message with an estimated 300 Māori. But, in this powerful video, Te Hurihanga Rihari, a direct descendant of Māori that invited Marsden to Aotearoa, shares the little-known story that this wasn’t the first time Ngāti Torehina had encountered God. Some 500 years prior to the arrival of the Bible, his people lived at Rangihioua under the blessing of God.

PRAYER POINTS

• Thank the Lord for the historic work of revealing Himself that He did amongst Maori before the missionaries came – New Zealand’s greatest revival took place because Maori received divinely-given revelation of Christ, and because of that they invited missionaries to come and teach them the ways of Christ.

• Pray for a new wave of revelation of Christ and the Kingdom of God for Maori.

• Pray for a fresh revival in sharing the Good News amongst Maori – tribe to tribe and person to person.

• Pray for Maori prophets (Poropiti) to be heard throughout the land, proclaiming revelation of Christ and His Kingdom.

• Pray for an unearthing/revealing of other Maori prophecies that show the work Christ had been doing in our country, even before the European Missionaries and settlers came. We need these to come to light, they are part of the history of Christ working in our country.

• Pray for many more Maori evangelists, teachers, pastors, apostles, business leaders, influencers and cultural architects to be raised up. 

BIO