I. Brief Biography of Fr. M.

Devadas :
Father M. Devadas is the founder of The Bible Mission, one of the
largest and fast growing denominations in South India. Father Devadas remained as a bachelor throughout his life of 120 yrs. He is a mystic with many
spiritual experiences which are very peculiar to common Christianity.
Father Devadas grew up in the humble and rustic surroundings of
the Godavari delta region of Andhra Pradesh. His parents are evangelists.
They are not very rich in worldly matters. But they are far wealthier in many
spiritual aspects who used to spend their time in prayer and intercession
every day till late night. As they did not beget children after many years of
their marriage, in their oldage God gave them the glorious gift i.e. a boy
child, whom they named as Devadas which means Servant of God

1. Birth and Childhood :

Fr. Devadas was born in 1840 to Jonah and Satyavatamma, in
Jegurupadu, a small village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
He grew up in the best spiritual atmosphere which his parents provided.
He was always contemplative while his young mates engulfed themselves
in playing and making merry.
He used to follow his parents, in their evangelistic tours and strictly
observe their meditative line up by being straight on his kneels. He received Gods special calling during these times.

2. Schooling and Education :

He was sent to a small school in Jegurupadu by his parents for his
primary Education. He is a clever child and a spontaneous learner. After
coming from school he used to help his parents in their ministry and day to
day life. He was very active in school and had inculcated a sense of profound love for the nature and care for the living creatures.
When he was 6 years old, his parents took him to a pastors gettogether. When a missionary asked him to pray there he prayed: Lord Jesus,
, Let me be like Thee when you are in my age. From then onwards the
missionaries had a special impression on child Devadas.

3. Missionary Patronage:
After completing his primary education, his parents took him to the
Lutheran Missionaries at (N.M.E.L.C) Nigam Memorial Evangelical
Lutheran Church, at Dhavaleswaram on the banks of river Godavari, and
left him under their patronage for further education and spiritual growth.
There he finished his 8th standard and qualified to be a Higher grade
teacher. Having closely watched his innate zeal and strong sense of determination to serve the Lord, the Lutheran missionaries immediately absorbed him in the teaching faculty of their mission schools.
He is always loyal to his authorities and is of excellent disposition
towards his superiors. His ideal life is a serene acme for the growing children to be punctual, sincere and humble. He marvelled his authorities in all
the challenging responsibilities that were entrusted to him.

4. Meditative Solitude :
Wether at home or in missionary boarding, he inculcated the habit of
making his mind quiet and silent, only to converse with his Father. He believed in these verses and strictly observed them. I am the Teacher
Jn.13:13; And Learn from Me Mt. 11:28. To realize his objective, he spent
hours of solitude both day and night. This kind of habit later, paved the way
for his mysterious life of ecstasy. It also resulted in the visible experience of
communing with the Lord, face to face, with naked eyes. All his meditative
practices made him a perfect seer. This is the internal dimension of his life
which remained obscure to most of his collegues and superiors. Heavenly
saints, holy angels, earthly saints and sages from Himalayas are his regular visitors in his meditative life of solitude.

5. Meek Mentor :
Under the patronage of Lutheran missionaries, Father Devadas developed his bodily, spiritual and mental faculties. There he was in the process of becoming a great spiritual giant. His personal fellowship with Jesus
Christ increased day after day with mysterious experiences concerning
heaven, earth and the nether world, resulting in an unequivocal understanding and analysis of the Scriptures in general and the deep meaning
for the tough passages in particular. Thus he was ready as a perfect Bible
teacher, trainer and mentor to humbly discharge his duties at various levels to various sections of people in India.

6. Spiritual Life of St. M. Devadas:

St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians in the 12th Chapter gives
a list of all the spiritual gifts and virtues. St. M. Devadas possessed all
these gifts and virtues. He was endowed with the gifts of healing, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues etc. He even had the experience
of receiving the communion directly from the Lord. This event happened
on the 24th of April 1938 when he went to attend the communion service in
the Lutheran Church. As the local pastor declined to serve the Lords
communion St. M. Devadas stayed behind in the pews and prayed. Later
the Lord Himself appeared to him and served the communion to him i.e.
His own blood and body which he named as Internal Holy Communion.
Dr. Nina Ottman a Scottish lady doctor established a prayer fellowship
in Berhampur, Orissa State. St. M. Devadas used to attend this prayer
fellowship . The members of this prayer group experienced the fellowship
of Heavenly Saints, Holy angels and the Lord Himself. One day the Lord
revealed to the members of the prayer group that He will ordain St. M.
Devadas on a particular day. On the revealed day the Triune God laid His
hands on St. M. Devadas and ordained him. As a result of this he was
considered as an ordained minister. Later St. M. Devadas ordained his
disciple Mr. Vijayaratnam.

II. The Bible Mission : A Revelation of God

(1) Founding of The Bible Mission:

On 31st of January 1938 while he was meditating in his room in

Luthergiri which is nearby Rajahmundry there appeared to him the golden
words in Telugu 'THE BIBLE MISSION.' These words were written by the
Lord Himself in the mid air in broad daylight. On seeing this vision St. M.
Devadas hesitated in himself to leave his mother church (that is the
Lutheran mission). Later, in the month of February the same year the Lord
showed him the writing 'Leave Lutheran mission.' In the month of March
the Lord again showed him the words 'Come out as the prince of an army.'
Eventhough St. M. Devadas was disinclined to leave Lutheran Mission, he
had to do so in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. After resigning from the Lutheran Mission he said "I am leaving my 'mother mission' to
join my father's mission (that is the Bible Mission). On 5th of May 1938 he
finally established The Bible Mission which emerged to be one of the larg-

est Indian Indigenous Missions. This is the time Lord is looking for, to reveal His Bible Mission to this great man of God. Father
Devadas
founded the Bible Mission on the priniciples of absolute faith on God and
believing in Him as the sole provider and sustainer.
Creating faith in the Bible Mission among the Christians and the fresh
converts was the challenge, the mission had faced. The following lines are
the only answer for all the challenges and woes of the Bible Mission.
1) Lord Jesus Christ has established - Lord Jesus Christ will provide
2) Lord Jesus Christ has established - Lord Jesus Christ will Prosper
3) Lord Jesus Christ has established - Lord Jesus Christ will bring name

(2) Turning Points :

In course of asserting itself in the main stream of Christianity, the
Bible Mission has witnessed many turning points. The peculiar principles
introduced by Fr. Devadas, formed majority of them. Since there are no
fixed salaries for the workers, they always looked to Jesus for any small
help they are at need. This formed the solid base for their life of faith which
anchored them to the Lord against all tempests of this world. This was led
to the futher mission expansion.
The special Bible clases conducted by him gathered all the workers
and enriched their understanding and experience on the themes of faith,
hope, witness, endurance and so on. Since the Biblical teaching had its
deep penetration into the mindset of the workers, their commitment to ministry became solid and lasting. The special meetings for the anointment of
the Holy Spirit are very crucial in the early history of the mission. The healing campaigns paved the way for the people to come in, and the Holy Spirit
anointment meetings established them in the mission as staunch believers and later turned them into faithful workers.

(3) Rajahmundry to Guntur :

Due to the separatist turmoil at Rajahmundry, he had to leave that
place. In that sojournment, he came to prathipadu and started a healing
centre. From there he came to Eluru, West Godavari district and finally to
Guntur on 15th February 1949.

This event had turned the course of Bible Missions history. In Guntur
he came to Bethel House, the residence of Rao Bahadur J. Raja Rao
who voluntarily invited him to be there. Here Fr. Devadas saw a written
vision on which was mentioned: Lord, Jehova had brought you to this
place. This vision was fulfilled in course of 12 years, which he spent there,
explaining the meaning of The Song of Songs and The Book of Revelation. This place witnessed the growth of the mission and the fulfillment of
Fr. Devadas vision.

(4) Proper registration :

Guntur became the centre of the Bible Mission and its main network.
The fulness of the mission is slowly seen here. Here, Fr. Devadas started
his famous healing centre at Kakani, near Guntur on Monday the 16th of
May 1949. Since then he concentrated on the ecumenical character of the
mission and published at least 40 new books on various new themes,
concepts and practices of Christian life in the Bible Mission. At last, nearly
after a full decade of growth and stability of the mission at Guntur, he registered his God revealed mission, according to His original revelation, as
The Bible Mission in 1959, July 22nd. Then he praised God saying, Lord,
by now, I could able to set up your mission in the manner. Thou hast revealed me.

III. The vision and mission of the Bible Mission

1) Stability and growth :
Because of the unitary command of Fr. Devadas and his teachings,
though the mission expanded in terms of its number of branches and multiplicity of membership, since majority of them primarily came from the traditional Hindu Communities, it was stable and free from all types of internal
tumults and external cleavages.
Presently, the Bible Mission had its own place and rank among the
other denominations of the Christendom. It was estimated as the first, fast
growing Church in the Indian Sub continent. The Annual Convention of the
mission is the main attraction and prime source of its growth. Nearly, 5
lakhs of people have gathered this year and were fed for three full days on
every 27th, 28th and 29th of January. These are the fixed dates of the Annual
Conventions.

2) Missionary Campaigns :
Chiefly, the growth was observed from the various missionary campaigns organized and arranged by Rev. S. Samuel, the former president of
the mission, to many capitals and important cities of India. People who are
interested in Gospel work and tract distribution were taken by him in three
to four tourist buses, depending on the number, to various cities only to fill
them with the Gospel messages that are typical of the Bible Mission. Most
of the visited places now bear fruit for the Bible Mission. It is he that sought
after the missions development, after the departure of Fr. Devadas. Here, it
is note worthy to mention the prayerful support of Smt. P.J. Graceamma to
Rev. S. Samuel, in tune with the missions growth and progress.

3) Widening Horizons :
With these missionary camps the Bible Mission has made known its
existence, work and vision to the rest of the Christian world in India and
abroad. Now its network has expanded even to other countries. Due to his
selfless services in the mission, Rev. S. Samuel was asked to the 1984
world Christian leaders conference held at Amsterdam under the leadership of Billy Graham. But he sent Rev. P. Sajeeva Rao, the present Joint
Secretary of the mission, in his place, to voice the message of the Bible
Mission. That was the first Inter national appearance of the Mission.
From then on wards, it never looked back. Many Gulf countries invited the mission speakers to conduct meetings there. Most of the African
countries witnessed the glory of the Bible Mission. Now the doors are
opened for the Bible mission and they shall never be shut.

4) The Executive Body :

The Bible Mission has four executive members i.e. The President,
The Vice-President, The Secretary and The Joint Secretary as the overseers of the mission activities. They are Rev. Dr. A. John, Rev. N.
Satyanandam, Rev. J. Samuel Kiran, Rev. P. Sajeeva Rao, respectively.
They are assisted by nine Governing Body members elected from the mission workers. At present there are 44 Reverends, 211 Pastors, 312 male
evangelists and 110 women evangelists in the Bible Mission, working in
various states of India. Primarily, much work is being done in Andhra
Pradesh. All these servants of God under the supervision and guidance of
the four executive members.

5) Beyond the Boundaries :

Hence, the Bible Mission was the focus of many christian leaders
and researchers, who tried to observe and analze its activities and developments from various dimensions such theological, religious and empirical models. This Paved the way for others to study and reflect upon the
mission. The Rainbow Team from the United States of America visited the
Head Office, at Guntur and specially watched the healing programmes
conducted there in. Delegates from the Mauritius Islands and Netherlands
visited various healing centres of the Bible Mission and glorified the work
of the mission. A Doctoral thesis has been submitted by Dr. D.R.V. Dinakar
to the University of Hyderabad, on one of the premier topics of the mission
i.e. The meaning of The Song of Songs.

6) The Clarion Call :

The Bible Mission with all its fulfledged state and outlook, now stands
at the cross roads of the Universe and invites its inmates to come to the
redemptive cross of Christ. It warmly welcomes the present day Christendom
to get united at His feet and listen to His voice only to do according to what
He says in evangelizing the whole world, and preparing the universal church
as the spotless Bride.
This was was the small prayer offered by Fr. Devadas to realize this
mission :
O Lord! appear unto me
appear unto all.
O Lord! Speak unto me
Speak unto all.
Having Christ as its chief Tutor and Modulator the Bible Mission with
His revealed universal expositions, principles and practices, invites the rest
of the Christian world to be prepared as His raptured Bride Church having
put on the form and nature of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

7) The Legacy :
Now, the Bible Mission leaves behind it a great legacy from its varied
and excellent spiritual traditions which epitomized the Rapture preparation
and the pure state of the young Bride. Nearly, after 68 years of its inception, the mission had become truly mature and strong enough to influence
the world in general and the Christian world in particular towards one par-

ticular goal i.e. is the Rapture (The second coming of Jesus Christ). It unfolds the path way to the Brides line and encourages the Churches to
practice the silent hour (Sannidhi) so as to transform their shape and nature to the likeness of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ.

IV . The Precepts of the Bible Mission as expounded by Fr. M. Devadas

1. Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Through the water baptism, believer
gets membership in a Church. But through the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
one will get heavenly membership. This baptism of the Holy Spirit is given
by Lord Jesus Christ. It is the chief instrument for the development of the
spiritual life of a believer and the key factor for the spread of the gospel. In
John 3:5 it is written Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Hence, the baptism of the Holy
Spirit is vital in the life of every Christian.
2. Washing of the Feet: Our Lord washed the feet of His disciples
before the last supper and administered His body and blood to them. John
13:1-5. In John 13:15 Jesus said for I have given you an example, that ye
should do as I had done to you. He had set an example and commanded
His disciples to follow. In obedience to this word the ordined of the Bible
Mission pastors wash the feet of the believers before administering communion to them for the first time.
3. The Lords Supper: By observing the Lords Supper the believer
will receive the body and blood of Christ inwardly. It is desirable to observe
the Lords supper as often as possible. Some sick people will be healed of
their diseases if they observe the Lords supper. (I Cor 11: 23-34). It is the
special precept of the Bible Mission that believer should Iron to the extent
of receiving the communion directly from the Lord.
4. Word of God: The Holy Bible was written by the inspiration of
God. It is the basis for Christianity. This book reveals the mind of God. God
may reveal new things through creation, the conscience, divine revelation,
good deeds and some times even through troubles, in addition to the
written word. When we show the word of God to Satan he will become
dumb. It is the special observation of the Bible Mission that the believers
are to wait in his presence ad know the meaning of the word of God from
God Himself according to manifestation heprovides at that time.
5. Tithes: God commanded the Jews to offer a tenth portion of their

income in the temple. The Lord said to prophet Malachi that if they offered
tithes they will prosper (Mal 3:10). Apostle Paul also mentioned that the
Macedonians offered beyond their power. Hence, every believer should
sincerely contribute their tithes to the church and if possible try to offer
amounts in excess of their tithes.

On faith and Healing:

1. Divine Healing: Divine Healing means healing experienced
through the faithful prayers, without the use of medicine. God has put the
healing powers in herbs and plants also. Hence, it is not wrong to use
medicines. But it is better to get healing through prayer of faith.
2. Leading a life based on faith: To believe that salvation is available
only through Jesus Christ, its nourishment only available through Jesus Christ,
and to believe that all the necessary things for physical and spiritual life are
available with Christ is Faith. In Philippians 4:19 it is written that God shall
supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
3. Castingout Demons: Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples in Matt 10:8 to cast out devils and has given his disciples the power
to do so. Even today the Lord is giving this gift to his believers to rebuke
devils and cast them away.

Prayer and Meditation:

1. Waiting upon the Lord: Every believer should practise the habit
of waiting upon the Lord for an hour everyday. Distinction should be made
between prayer and waiting upon the Lord. After we pray we should wait for
sometime in His presence inorder to hear Gods voice. Hence, this practise
of waiting upon the Lord should be observed by all the believers.
2. Gods Presence: After finding a convenient time and place and
having cleanliness of heart, body and clothes if we gather together, sing a
song, read the word of God one by one, conduct prayers according to
prayer steps and if we question the Lord about our doubts and inquiries
the Lord will appear and speak to us and will answer all our questions.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

At one time God will appear and speak.

Sometimes, He will send His angels.
He may send the spirit of the Heavenly saints.
He may send the spirit of a saint on the earth.
He may send the spirits of the ungodly people of this world.

f. He may send the spirit of ungodly people who were dead.

g. God will send whomsoever we request. They will appear to us, talk to
us and give replies to our queries.
h. He may also allow a demon to appear to us. After the demon has gone,
He will comfort us saying that we should not believe the word of the
demon and not fear.
Even if we possess all the riches, fame, education etc. nothing can
be equalled to the privilege of waiting upon the Lord. Because of meditation all our privileges will prosper.

Revelations:
a) Revelation by Vision: In the revelations by vision everything may
appear to believers. The places such as the earth, the heaven, the hell,
upper air region and all things in them may appear in due time. This is called
vision. We will feel happy if God, angels and the glory of God appear to us.
We also must feel happy if things such as filthy places, horrible places and
dangerous places etc. appear to us for these thongs are there so let them
appear to us. Ref: Isa Chapter 6; Num 12:28; Acts 9:27; Eph 3:3; Acts 10:3,4;
Mt 17:3; Acts 9:12; 16:9-10.
b) Revelation by Voice: In this revelation the words of our Lord and
the words of the Holy people will be heard. It reminds of the words that the
Lord had told in John 10:27 My sheep will hear my voice.
c) Revelation by Writing: In this revelation the message or the words
that were written in the air will appear. Sometimes these words may appear like the printed letters. It was written in the I Chronicles that God had
shown to David the way of construction of the temple through writing. Sometimes handwriting also will be seen. Sometimes a cardboard will appear
from heaven and someone will write on it and show to us. We can read
and write them down on our note books. (Exo 31:18; I Chronicles 28:19;
Dan 5:5; Jn 8:6.
d) Revelation by Dreams: The angel of the appeared to Joseph in a
dream and informed he matter. Likewise our Lord would appear to the
believer and speak to him. If the things that are seen in our daily lives
appear in dreams it cannot be called as a revelation. The revelation in
dreams indeed is a divine revelation. (Exo 37:7-10; Num12:6; I Kin 3:5: Mt.
1:20; 2:12,13; 27:19.).
e) Revelation by Thought (perception): It is also one of the meth-

ods of divine revelation. It was recorded in Acts 15:28,29 For it seemed

good to the Holy Ghost, and to us...
f) Revelation by Knowledge and Wisdom: This is the understanding power given by Gods knowledge and wisdom. Was it not through
wisdom that King Solomon had judged the harlots? (I Kin 3:11,12). Invention of latest machines, steamers, aeroplanes, computers etc are the result of knowledge. God by His universal love is bestowing this knowledge
to the unbelievers also. This is not spiritual wisdom. God gives this spiritual
wisdom to the believers only. It was recorded in the Bible that knowledge
and wisdom are Gods gifts. (Acts 6:10 ; I Cor 1:6 ; 12:8).
g) Revelation by the Word of God: After praying when we search
the Bible carefully using our knowledge duly, we will get proper word for our
prayers. Luke 4:17,18. If searched with ignorance and folly, proper word
cannot be found. To illustrate, a Christian prayed the Lord to show from His
word what he had to do. After praying he opened the Bible and found the
words Judas committed suicide. It did not seem good to him. So he
opened the Bible again. Now the sentence which he came across was
Go and do likewise. Ashamed of this he did not open the Bible again.
This is the ignorant and foolish type of devotion. There is no knowledge in
it.
h) Speaking in Heavenly Tongue: This is a gift of the Holy Spirit to a
believer. Hence, this cannot be forbidden. Interpretation of this heavenly
tongue is also a gift. Those who are destined to go to heave will learn this
tongue. No other gift was written in the Bible as explicitly as the gift of
Heavenly tongue. (I Cor 12:10; 13:1; 14:2, 39,40; Mark 16:17).
i) Prophecy: By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophets of the
Bible period prophesied to the people about the things of present, past
and the future. They recorded their prophecies in their writings. God is
bestowing this gift of prophecy on some people nowadays also. Interpretation of the written prophecies with inspiration of the Holy Spirit is another
kind of gift bestowed on some by God. God is giving this gift to some in
these days also. Some people say that today there are no such prophets
as there were during the Bible period. They think that this gift has been
stopped at the end of the Bible period but it is not true. God continues to
bestow this gift till today. (I Cor 12:10; 14:39,40; I Peter 1:10,11).

j) Communion with the saints: In the apostles creed, it is mentioned that we believe in the communion with the saints. Saints are those
who are saints in this world and he saints in Heaven. It is easier to have
communion with the saints who are in Heaven. They will come to us when
we pray. In this context we recall the events of the past which read about
Moses and Elijah descending on the Mount of Transfiguration; the event of
the holy people coming on the day of the death of our Lord and the event of
coming of two men on the day of the Ascension are some examples regarding the communion of the saints.

V. The PRAYER STEPS of The Bible Mission

WAITING UPON GOD

PRAISE TO GOD

SUBJECTS OF PRAYER

SURRENDER

PROMISE TO GOD TO
LEAD A NEW LIFE

CONFESSION OF OUR
SINS TO GOD

CONCENTRATION
OF MIND

'PRAYER STEPS' means the method of praying to God or the order

of using prayer climbing from one step to another.

1. CONCENTRATION OF MIND:
(a) When we are in prayer and meditation, we should not allow any evil
thoughts to come into our minds. Thoughts of filth and dreadful things
should not be allowed to come into the mind. We should drive them out by
force.
(b) We should not allow what sins we have committed and what evil nature
we have, to come into our minds. We should keep them out by force.
(c) The sins that others have committed and evil nature of others should
not be allowed to come into our minds. We should drive them out by force.

(d) Even good things should not come into our minds as long as we are in
meditation though they are not bad, because they divert our attention while
we are meditating. So we should also drive them out by force.
(e) Concentration of mind must be continued during every step of prayer.
(f) Faith that God would answer prayer, should be exercised during every
step of prayer.
(g) Praise to God also should be continued during each step of prayer.
(h) The thought of God alone should occupy our minds during the meditation. While some people exercise concentration of mind their brain becomes weak and they get mental disease. We must beware of it.
Some people spend their time in meditation by fasting. Cold water
does not agree with some people. Hot water does not agree with some
other people. So also, fasting does not agree with some other people.
Why should you fast when you cannot stand? My suggestion is that you
can have prayer and meditation on any convenient day between 7 P.M.
and 10 P.M. after which you can have your meal or early in the morning of
the next day.
When the concentration of our mind is accomplished, we will certainly think of God and we will have an imaginary picture of God. Instead of an
imaginary picture of God some people feel the very presence of God.
When we have the imaginary picture of God or when we feel the
presence of God, we will be filled with the perfect peace of God.
(i) The very thought of God convinces us that He is with us.
(j) Because we have a form, we desire to see God, who is formless, in the
form of man, if not, we will not be satisfied. So we have to think of Him in
human form.
(k) When we have an imaginary picture of God, we should not think it is a
pigment of our imagination because it is supported by the fact that God is
omni-present.
After firmly fixing our mind on God, we should prostrate before Him with all
reverence at our command and worship Him.
The hard work of the first step is now over; let us climb up to the second
step.

II CONFESSION OF OUR SINS TO GOD

a. We are now in the presence of God and before we make our requests to
Him we should confess our unworthiness to Him. by thought, word and
deed we are sinful and so we should confess our sins, feel sorry for them
and ask God for His forgiveness.
b. Before we do this, we should confess our offences against others and
seek forgiveness.
Prayer for forgiveness may be given as follows:
Our Heavenly Father...
Forgive me all the sins I committed unwittingly against Thee.
Forgive me all the sins I committed against Thee willfully.
Forgive the sins I have committed against others.
Forgive me the sins I committed against myself.
Forgive me the sins I committed on account of others compulsion.
Forgive me the sins I committed to please others.
Pardon me for misusing my wisdom, conscience and other gifts of Thine.
Forgive me for the feeling of disgust toward others.
Forgive me for the feeling of disgust towards Thee not understanding Thy
dealing with me.
Forgive me because many times I was inclined to forget Thee in doing my
life-work.
Now we climb to the third step.

III. PROMISE TO GOD TO LEAD A NEW LIFE

We should first make a promise to God in the following manner:
a. O God I promise not to commit the sins that I already committed.
b. I promise not to commit any new sins.
c. I promise to lead a new life completely trusting in Thee.
Now we climb to the fourth step.

IV. Surrender:
O Creator now I surrender unto Thy keeping and protection my body,
mind and spirit with my whole life as well as my house and everything in it.
Now we climb to the fifth step.
V. Subjects of prayer;
a. Here the readers may pour out all their needs before God such as small
and great needs for body, mind and soul.

b. They may also pour out their hearts before God for others.
c. They may also put before God all their requests for the whole creation.
d. Then we have to offer the following prayer:
O Lord I beseech Thee to grant all other petitions which I have committed
in my prayers through forgetfulness and ignorance.
e. O Lord, I did not pray for certain items thinking that they are too small to
pray for and that they may displease Thee. So, forgive ommission and
grant all those requests in the way Thou pleasest.
f. I beseech Thee to correct me if I have any unworthy request.
Now we climb to the sixth step.

Vi. Praise to God:

O Creator, I praise Thee for enabling me to climb up the first five steps and
to reach the sixth step.
a. I believe that Thou hast heard all my previous prayers and I praise Thee
for the same.
b. I beg Thee to confirm my prayers.
c. I beseech Thee to confirm my faith.
d. I pray Thee to confirm my praise.
e. O God, vouchsafe to hear my humble prayers because of Thy glorious
manifestation of Thyself i.e. revelation of Thyself through the whole creation through Thy holy attributes, through the conscience implanted in me
by Thee and in the most precious names such as God, Creator, Father,
Saviour, Redeemer, Sustainer, Protector, Revealer, Supreme Being, Preserver of the world etc.
Now we climb to the seventh step.

Vii. Waiting upon God:

We now climb to the throne of God.
We should wait upon God to know what God would tell us about the six
steps of prayer, we have just now completed.
When we approach an authority or a higher officer to make our requests,
we wait at the office to receive answers to our petitions. In the same way,
we should wait upon our Heavenly Father to know what He would say
about our six steps of prayer. After He had heard our prayers, our Creator
would appear to us and answer our questions of ours. What a glorious

step this is! I call this step heaven on earth. Every individual very often
should adopt this method.
N.B.: Exercise implicit faith and praise on every step of prayer.
Notice that the first step is on earth and we gradually climb up to the throne
of God; our spiritual life will gradually grow as we climb up step by step the
most sinful, the wicked, the ignorant, the stubborn and even the atheist will
derive great benefit by frequently adopting these seven steps of prayer.
A minister once asked an atheist to repeat several times the following prayer:
"O God have mercy upon me." The atheist said " I cannot do it because I
don't believe in the existence of God. Then the minister told him to repeat
the prayer to test whether there is God or not, irrespective of his belief in
His existance. After he repeated the prayer several times, the godless
man cried out " O God, I believe that Thou art here with me."

VI. The Philosophy of The Bible Mission

The Philosophy of the Bible Mission includes various things concerning God, man and nature. It is sceintific, enlightening and liberal
even to the eyes of a modern critic. The philosophy of the Bible Mission
is based on the views of Fr. Devadas. He followed the path of non-intervention in the freedom of the human will and considered all the human
beings as the beloved children of God irrespective of their social divisions.
His philosophy of Christian practice can be understood in his following
statement. Do not hate or despise any man or any religion but ask
God the things that you do not know. He firmly believed that man
has established the institution called `religion, only to reach God. And all
religions were striving hard to reach that goal, with various degrees of
intensity, in different directions. He affirmatively said that there is only one
reliable way to reach God and i.e. the early morning waiting hour. This
concept of `waiting hour was adopted by him from the ancient Hindu
Rishis or sages who left everything and went to the Himalayas and forests
for solemn meditation. The Father advocated that one can practice this
waiting hour, even without going to the forests, if all hisattention and
thinking rests on God. And the best time for this practice was between 3
a.m. to 5 a.m.
He was of the opinion that, primitive man lost sight of his creator,
due to his own fallibility. He mistook the creation for the creator and

started worshipping Nature which was more powerful than, and useful to
him, to satisfy his inner quest. His approach towards God was more
pragmatic, as he experienced face to face communion with God and
advocated it even for heretics or persons of other faiths.

1) Father Devadas literary contribution through the Bible Mission

Father Devadas keen observation and unruffled emotional attachment to Christ has paved him the way to be a good poet, short story writer,
dramatist and an itinerant Christian writer and thinker. As he experienced
the various states of human status in civil society, he could explicate his
themes in beautiful rhymes by taking examples from real-life situations.
Thus his poems and books reflect his rustic surroundings and are effectively used to explain Christian morals and principles. There were also,
some unpublished language learning writings of Father Devadas, reflecting his desire to learn many languages.
His works, on various aspects of the Christian thought, has addressed both the commoner and the learned, according to their mode of
interest in reading. For commoner he wrote burrakathalu (a type of lyrical
folk narration), and daMDakamulu (a sort of continuous prose written in
small verses with an easy style) and nativized stories from the Bible. His
outstanding contribution to the Christian literature was The rules to resist
Satan. RakshaNa padyamulu (Poems of Salvation) was a collection of
several poems written by Father Devadas on various themes and subjects, concerning the inter-relationships of human beings and their relationship with the Creator. He has also covered certain aspects of Andhra
social life like caste, untouchablity, superstition, etc., in his poems and
advocated the overall betterment of mankind by taking recourse to
the true God, as the central theme of his writings. Most of his songs were
composed and tuned to Carnatic classical raagas and the intended message was well incorporated within the musical grammatology.
The songs of Father Devadas were composed on special occasions like marriages, Baptisms, Offerings, New Year Ceremonies, Annual
Thanksgivings, etc. Their themes include - heavenly anticipation, Second
Advent, Bridal Church, joy in suffering, Heavenly adoration and worship,
confession of sins, total commitment to God, exalting the Lord, the way of
Salvation and so on. He wrote about one hundred and twenty hymns, out
of which, as it was believed, many were revealed by God in detail down to

their raaga and metre. The song manoovicaarama kuuDadu niiku, you
should not be disturbed in mind had one hundred and thirty six verses.

2) Father M. Devadas: A Bibliography

1. Vimalaatma ProokshaNamu (the pouring of the Holy Spirit),
2. PrakaTanagraMdha vivaramu ( a detailed explanation of the
Book of Revelation),
3. Paramagiitaardhamu (An explanation of the Song of Songs),
4. Dwitiiyaagamanamu (the Second Advent),
5. Sannidhi saMpada (the treasure of Waiting Hour),
6. Manasaakshi (conscience),
7. Daivika Swastata (divine healing),
8. Praardhana meTlu (the steps of prayer)
9. Upavasa prardhana diiksha (the determination for fasting prayer)
10. Upavaasa praardhana prakaraNamu (the guide lines for the fasting
prayer),
11. Samarpana praardhanalu stutulu (consecrating prayers and
praises),
12. SaMghaaraadhanalu (the worships of the church).
13. RaakaDa praardhanalu stutulu (prayers and praises for the second
advent),
14. DaivalakshaNamulu stuti (praising Gods

divine attributes),

15. Immaanuyeelu (Emmanuel),

16. Suvisseshana dhoraNi (the way of good teaching),
17. Abhayaani (Apologetic), etc.

VII. The Healing Centres of The Bible Mission

The Bible Mission is known for its healing centres. Divine Healing is
one of its premier areas of spreading the gospel. Swasthisala is the term
given by Fr. Devadas to refer to healing centre and he asked every Bible
Mission worker to start a healing centre inorder to expand his ministry.
Miraculous healings and wonders are taking place in these centres.
Most of the incurable diseases find proper and immediate cure in these
centres, such as AIDS, Cancer, Deaf & Dumb, Ulcers & Tumors and so on.
In almost every District head quarter, the Bible Mission has a healing cen-

tre. In a way, it is the doorway for the rapid expansion of the mission. Many
non-Christians come to Christ through these healing centres. Their lifetransforming experiences have been attracting many more people in thousands and lakhs who throng these centres on the day of healing.
Among these healing centres Kakani Swasthisala, Mudunuru healing centre, Gooty healing centre, Kakinada healing centre, Rajahmundry
healing centre, Narsapuram healing centre, Mirthipadu healing centre are
very famous. Now we will briefly discuss Kakani Swasthisala, located near
Guntur founded by Fr. Devadas in 1949.
Kakani Swasthisala was first started with six members at Sri Raja
Rao's Thota at Pedakakani which is 7 k.m. from Guntur on 16th May 1949.
On that day Fr. Devadas spoke on Ecclesiastes 11:1 "Cast thy bread upon
the waters : for thou shalt find it after many days" and laid the foundation.
Fr. Devadas laid the work at the healing centre on the shoulders of
Sri Raja Rao. Under the supervision of Fr. Devadas 1. Rev. B. Elisha of
T.P.Gudem; 2. Rev. B. Charles of Guntur; 3. Rev. G. Samuel of Eluru; 4.
Rev. P. Jacob of Bhimavaram were appointed to carry out the work at the
healing centre. These four pastors helped in healing centre programme on
Mondays and they spent their time in prayer on Tuesdays at Bethel House.
The rest of the days in the week these pastors looked after God's work in
their own parishes.
For 12 years, Fr. Devadas who stayed at Bethel House prayed for
Kakani healing centre. In 1960 Fr. Devadas left for his heavenly home.
Every one thought the work at the centre would come to close. But as
written in Acts 5:38,39 "for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come
to nought : But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it ;". The work at Kakani
never stopped but it has prospered. Sri Raja Rao carried out the work till
his death in 1962. Afterwards Sri Japa Ratnam carried out this work till his
death in 1974. Smt. Chellamma Raja Rao carried out this work till her
death in 1988.
During the time of Fr. Devadas many miracles were performed. After
his death, many thought that the work at this centre would come to close.
But Fr. Devadas said, "Even after my death I will be with you", so we believe that he is the moving spirit behind this healing work. Many gave
witness that Fr. Devadas guided them to visit this healing centre which is
now known as "Christhu Thota". We firmly believe that Fr. Devadas has

been working right from the beginning in this centre and been helping us to
carry out this work. Many long-standing and terrible diseases including
AIDS are getting cured at this centre. People possessed by evil spirits and
witchcraft, and those who gave up hope of their lives get cured here.

The various programmes that are being carried on at this centre are
as follows :1. Every Monday healing prayers from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
2. Every Sunday Worship programme from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
3. Every Tuesday prayers for welfare of The Bible Mission from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
4. Every 2nd Saturday fasting prayers for the sick and for the problems
that are faced by the congregation.
5. Four times a year worker's meetings for the workers in the Mission.
6. Bible classes twice a year.
7. Three days meetings every year in April.
8. Every year, meetings for women in September.
9. Throughout the year printing of books, pamphlets and booklets is being carried on in the printing press which is situated in the campus of
the healing centre.
10. Three days conventions in January every year which are known as
Maha Sabhalu.
11. "Streela samajam" (Women's wing) on first Saturday of every month.
Solely by the abundant grace of our Lord, there has been great and
rapid progress all these 55 years from its starting in 1949.

VIII. The Recent Developments of The Bible Mission

1) The General conventions of The Bible Mission :
The Bible Mission is significant for its annual conventions conducted
under the vast Pendals erected before the vacant lands of the Nagarjuna
University. Nearly, seven to eight lakhs of pilgrims attend those Conventions and stay there for three days. Every year the number continues to
increase and the mission organigers take every care to cater to the needs
of the people. This annual celebration held during January 27,28 & 29 of
every year has become so significant, symbolic and spiritual in the lives of

the members of the Bible Mission, that they feel short of Gods blessings if
they fail to attend these conventions, conducted at the beginning every
year. These meetings have not only captured the attention of the various
other Christian denominations but also the non Christians and the Government officials as well who are more concerned of the public safety and
convenience interms of making arrangements for sanitation, security, firstaid, transportation and the other related amenities. The railway authorities
provide special stoppage at the University halt to all passenger and express trains. The A.P.S.R.T.C. arrange special buses to the various places
in Andhra pradesh particularly to the twin Godavari districts. People receive material and spiritual benefits from the conventions with the facilities
provided around the site of the conventions along with the food served
free for three full days. In a way, these conventions enhances the glory of
the overgrowing Bible mission.

2) The Bethel Bible College:

The idea of systematic imparting of the knowledge of the Word was
very much seen in the mindset of Fr. Devadas. As a result, in those days
itself, he conducted regular Bible classes to interested and selected candidates, inorder to equip them thoroughly and systematically with the Biblical
knowledge. Later, after the death of Fr. Devadas, his disciples continuted
the same tradition of their guru. Now in its very recent developments, the
Bible Mission has constructed a huge Bible College before the Nagarjuna
University, with all the modern amenities to accommodate as many as 80
students. Its a two storey building with a series of rooms. The Ground floor
is meant for the common prayer room, combined class room and individual
Lecture hall. The first floor provide the residential accommodation to the
students and the stationed faculty members.
Its main objective is to fulfill the spiritual ethos of Fr. M. Devadas, the
founder of the Bible Mission. He envisaged the School of learning from
God and accordingly designed the art of talking to God in form of Sannidhi.
It is his vision that students who wish to obtain theological education in the
Bible Mission should undergo formal training and experience the ecstatic
experiences of the prophets. Accordingly this college, stands out to establish the dreams of Fr. Devadas by in- corporating the typical concepts and
precepts of the Bible Mission as its main subjects apart from the other
relevant theological subjects. Its main focus is to spread the Gospel to the

whole world through the God-revealed Bible Missions able and trained
evangelists and missionaries. It paves the way for inter-continental and
inter-denominational studies in Christianity to know more about the Bible
Mission, by involving foreign students and researchers to freely probe into
its vision and mission and the directionality it takes in course of time. The
native Bible Mission teachers form the majority of the teaching staff assisted by a group of theological experts outside the Bible Mission.

3) Present publications:
The Bible Mission is on a big way to develop its literary resources by
collecting the old archives written during the time of Fr. Devadas. Those
were the records maintained when Devadas gave the oral lectures. He
also conducted Bible classes to impart practical knowledge of the various
Books of the Bible and asked the participants to record them in a careful
manner. These records date back to some sixty to sevently years, now
almost in bad condition, some are in rags spoiled by moth, silver fish and
poor preservation. Some people failed to know its value and lost them and
some others left them to decay. Hence, the Bible Mission authorities are
now on a massive team effort to collect those written documents noted
from the oral teachings of Fr. Devadas in order to develop their literature
and equip their members with the full teachings of Fr. Devadas. First, they
are collected from the various parts of Andhra Pradesh. Secondly they are
cleaned, unfolded and neatly arranged. Thirdly, they are xeroxed and
bounded. This is possible only when the book material is in good condition. If the book is not conducive for photocopying, then it is manually
copied in a separate notebook from cover to cover, closely and correctly
bridging the gaps with appropriate expressions, whereever the book is
spoiled or eaten away. Fourthly, such a prepared photocopy book is
thoroghly checked with its original and indexed according to the content of
the message. Now the book is given for typing according to the preferred
material from that text, and proof-read throughly. After the initial and over-all
editing of the message, the book is given for printing. Initially all this process is done in Telugu, later the Telugu text is translated into English and
the other Indian and non-Indian languages with manual and machine translations. Thats howthe Bible Mission is expanding its literary works on a
large scale. All the work is done under the personal supervision of a research Doctorate in Linguistics of the Bible Mission.

Conclusions
The Bible Mission of Fr. M. Devadas as per its Divine Revelation is
slowly and steadily progressing to establish itself on par with the mainstream Churches. Father Devadas made it self-sufficient having catered to
all its requirements to sustain and flourish on its own with his divine guidance, modest principles, Biblical precepts and practices. It is the vision
and prayer of Fr. Devadas that the Bible Mission should reach all remote
corners of the globe in preaching the gospel for which India is the centre.
The recent development of the Bible Mission is much closer to the truth
value of the above statement. The Bethel Bible College of the Bible mission opens the doors for the researchers from other countries and denominations to work upon the unique principles, structures, teachings and growth
of the Bible mission from various dimensions.

To
The Honourable Sri Anwarji I.A.S.,
Special Chief Secretary to the Governor of Andhra Pradesh,
Raj Bhavan, HYDERABAD.
Honourable Sir,
Ref : The Meeting at your office we had on 13.1.05 - Your request to send the Brief History of The Bible
Mission and other relevant information.
Sub : Invitation to His Excellency the Governor of A. P. to
attend the Bible Mission Annual Conventions -- Relevant
information herewith enclosing -- Requesting to kindly
arrange for the programme of the Governor -- Regarding.
Greetings and warm wishes to you respected sir,
We wish you thankyou for the audience you had given us on the 13th January,
2005, when we met you in your office at Raj Bhavan. We were very pleased at the
favourable and positive response you had given us saying that you would be arranging for the programme of the Governor for the Convention. We are eagerly and anxiously awaiting for your confirmation of the programme.
As required by you we are enclosing the brief history of the Bible Mission, the
seating arrangement, the arrival plan etc, along with this letter. Please receive the
same and kindly confirm the programme. Sir, the schedule herewith enclosed is flexible and would be adjusted as per your suggestions and guidelines.
We, the members of the Bible Mission are eagerly awaiting for your arrival
along with the Governor to inagurate our Convention on the 27th of January at 11:00
a.m. We are changing inaguration time to 11:00 a.m. from 10:00a.m. because we felt
that 11:00a.m. would be the best time as the congregation would gather to the maximum by 11:00a.m. Please note this slight change sir and arrange for the programme
at 11:00a.m.
Thank you for all the efforts you are taking to make the Governors visit posible.
His Excellencys visit to the Convention would be highly appreciated by the lakhs of
devotees attending the Convention. Our due respects to you sir and to His Excellency.
Thanking you Sir,
Yours faithfully,

Rev. J. Samuel Kiran

Secretary, The Bible Mission.

 THE BIBLE MISSION :

GRO
ITS ORIGIN AND GR
OW T H

.
I

Brief Biograph
y of Fr
. M. De
vadas
Biography
Fr.
Dev

II
.

The Bible Mission : A Revelation of God

III.

The vision and mission of the Bible Mission

. The precepts of the Bible Mission as expounded

IV
V.
by Father M. Devadas
V.

The prayer steps of the Bible Mission

VI.

The philosophy of the Bible Mission

VII. The Healing Centres of the Bible Mission

VIII. The recent de
velopments of The Bib
le Mission
developments
Bible
IX.

Conclusions

THE BIBLE MISSION CONVENTIONS

2005 January 27 - 29.
INAGURATION PROGRAMME

CHIEF GUEST : His Excellency SRI SUSHIL KUMAR SHINDE

Honourable Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
11:00 AM

: Receving His Excellency at the Pendal as the Convention

Congregation stands and sings the Welcome Song.

11:00 - 11:05

: His Excellency is Received by the dignitaries of the Bible

Mission and other distinguished guests and escorted to the dias.

11:06 - 00:07

: Opening Benediction -- by Rev. Dr. A. John,

President, Bible Mission.

11:08 - 11:09

: Felicitation to His Excellency by the Executive Body of the

Bible Mission.

11:10 - 11:14

: Welcome Address -- Rev. J. Samuel Kiran ,

Secretary, Bible Mission.

11:15 - 11:35

: Inaguration of the Convention & His Excellencys address.

11:36 - 11:40

: Brief Prayer invoking Gods choicest blessings on His Excellency -Rev. Dr. A. John, President, Bible Mission.

11:41 - 11:42

: Vote of Thanks -- Rev. P. Sajeeva Rao,

Joint Secretary, Bible Mission.

11:42 : 11:44

: Closing Prayer -- Rev. N. Satyanandam,

Vice-President, Bible Mission.

11:45

: Closing Benediction -- by Rev. Dr. A. John,

President, Bible Mission.

THE BIBLE MISSION CONVENTION

2005, JANUARY 27 - 29.

Approach road, Drive

way of His Excellency

Alighting
point

Pendal

passage
to the
Dias

Convention
Dias

Pendal

Pendal

THE

BIBLE

MISSION

CONVENTION

2005, JANUARY 27,28,29.

SEATING ARRANGEMENT OF
THE DIGNITARIES

His Excellency, The Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

resident, The Bible Mission.

ecretary, The Bible Mission.

Vice President, The Bible Mission.

oint Secretary, The Bible Mission.

pecial Chief Secretary to the Governor.

DIAS

Member of Parliament, Guntur.

Guntur District Collector.

Mayor, Guntur Corporation.

Dy. Inspector General of Police, Guntur.

District Congress Chief.

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

B6

B7

....................................................................
Member of Legislative Assembly, Guntur-1.
Member of Legislative Assembly, Tadikonda.
Member of Legislative Assembly, Guntur-2.

Member of Legislative Assembly, Sattenapalli

Superintendent of Police, Guntur.
District Medical and Health Officer.
District Supplies Officers.
Reserved for any other Dignitary.

10