It started as one video of a group of friends praying their way down the Purple Line. Weeks into LoveSingapore’s 40.Day Prayer Season, that video has grown into “Ride & Pray“: a warm, organic invitation for believers from every church to ride all six MRT lines together, praying station by station for the regions of Singapore.

We spoke to Ethan Goh, 21, a member of Living Sanctuary Brethren Church, about how it started, what these rides have shown him, and what he hopes it stirs in young believers still working out what it means to pray boldly.

Trained up in prayer

The idea began with a simple conviction: that this year’s 40.Day Prayer Season was not just a call to pray for the nation in the abstract, but to go into its regions and pray there, with faith that God would move.

“What better way to cover Singapore in prayer than to ride every MRT line?” Ethan says.

He gathered a few friends for the first ride, on the North-East Line, because, as he puts it, he knew he “wasn’t meant to do this alone.”

But something shifted after that first line was done. “I felt God expanding the vision. It wasn’t just about praying with my own friends anymore. I felt He was inviting the wider Church in Singapore to pray together.”

That conviction comes from Scripture itself. “Throughout Scripture, we see God move when His people gather in unity to seek Him,” Ethan says.

It led him to a question: what if Christians from different churches came together to pray across Singapore, on the MRT lines, together? “Not because we all attend the same church, but because we all belong to the same Kingdom.”

Ethan’s hope for Ride & Pray is simple: “That it becomes a simple way for believers from different churches to build friendships, pray together, and seek God as one Church for our nation.”

Praying stop by stop

Ask what the rides are actually like, and the answer is not about long train journeys. “Honestly, sitting on an MRT line from one end to the other is not as long as I thought it would be,” Ethan says. It is about seeing Singapore differently.

Passing through neighbourhoods many had never visited, the group found their prayers becoming sharper and more specific.

Sometimes we think [evangelism] starts with having all the right words to say, but I think it first starts with the way we live.

“As we travelled, I learnt so much about the different neighbourhoods, communities, schools, businesses, hospitals, and landmarks across Singapore,” Ethan says. “The more I understood what each area was known for, the more specific and intentional my prayers became.”

At Tuas Link, surrounded by factories and dormitories, the prayers turned toward the people who work there. “I found myself praying for the workers who have left their families behind, for their safety, strength and that they would encounter God’s love while they are here in Singapore,” Ethan says.

One encounter has stayed with him. Praying at the last stop on the Circle Line, a woman and her son asked what the group was doing. The group explained they were riding all the MRT lines and “praying for each region of Singapore.”

For Ethan, that small exchange said something bigger about how faith spreads. “Sometimes we think it starts with having all the right words to say, but I think it first starts with the way we live. When we choose to live boldly for Jesus, people become curious about Him.”

Real talk for young believers

Ethan is candid that boldness has not come naturally to him either. “I think one of the biggest struggles young people face when it comes to praying boldly is fear,” he says. “We’re afraid of what people might think of us.”

His answer is not a formula for overcoming fear, but a reminder of identity. “But I’ve realised that before we can step up, we first have to step out, step out of our fear, our comfort and our need for people’s approval. And the only way we can do that is by knowing our identity in Christ.”

“When you truly believe that, you stop living for the opinions of people and start living for the One who created you,” he says. “Boldness isn’t about having no fear. It’s about knowing who you belong to.”

His word to young believers is direct: “Don’t wait until you feel ready before stepping out for God, you probably never will.” Singapore’s Church, he says, does not need more comfortable Christians.

“It needs Christians who are willing to live boldly and unashamed for Jesus.”

Join a ride this week

Ride & Pray continues through the 40.Day Prayer Season, no sign-up needed:

• East-West Line: Sat 25 Jul, 8.30-10.30am, meet at Tuas Link
• Thomson-East Coast Line: Wed 29 Jul, 8-10pm, meet at Woodlands North
• Downtown Line: Sat 1 Aug, 10am-12pm, meet at Bukit Panjang
• North-South Line: Sun 2 Aug, 3.30-5.30pm, meet at Jurong East

Bring your EZ-Link card, water and a heart to pray. Meet at the first station 15 minutes before start time.