Ways To Pray for Japan

Endangered people. Pray for those that are stranded or stuck somewhere. Pray that search and rescue teams would reach them so that they may be given a chance to hear the Gospel in the future, if God wills .

Relief workers. Pray for more workers. Pray for skilled workers. Pray for their strength and safety. Some are working in areas where there are still aftershocks and nuclear danger. Pray for their mental and emotional health. Pray for Christian workers so that their faith in action can shine as bright light of hope in Christ.

Assessment teams are needed to successfully gather information regarding the status of churches and communities hit on the coast. This information will be the starting point for many organizations, including our own work.

Japanese leaders. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they coordinate the country’s efforts and connect needy churches with ministries and churches that are able to assist.

Resources. Pray for food, water, blankets, gasoline, and other supplies to reach those in need. In Tokyo, we have been out of bread, milk, eggs, meat, instant foods, and rice for days.

Energy rationing. The greater Tokyo area has begun energy rationing via rolling blackouts. This may be due to the shutting down of the two Fukushima nuclear plants. This is going to bring hardship on many people and obstruct communication.

Wisdom and discernment. Pray for guidance for all the aid organizations and churches as they consider how they can best serve people.

Faith. Pray that believers everywhere would trust in the Lord, especially during these times. Pray for Japanese Christians so that they would turn to God for comfort and peace, instead of fear and worries. Pray that they will turn to God’s Word for guidance and direction, so that their faith in God’s promises and character will allow them to be stable.

Road restoration. Pray for roads to be fixed so that those who have been stranded without food and fuels can be brought to safer refugee sites. We are preparing to have 15~20 people at our church from Fukushima who have been affected by the potential nuclear meltdown. We are also seeking for ways to transport food for 70 elderly Christians and 50 social workers who are stranded in a Christian elderly care facility in Miyagi. They only have 9 days worth of food left, and we if don’t make the trip, they are not sure how they would survive. But unless God uses people to fix those roads, we cannot help them and they cannot be helped.

Donations. Pray that people around the world would be generous and not abandon those who have both physical and spiritual needs in Japan. Once out of emergency mode, we need to start making decisions based on long-term development and restoration of damaged Christian communities. Without needing to say, feeding, transporting, and caring for potentially 20 people daily for a month or more becomes very taxing financially for small churches like ours. Don’t let your love for earthly wealth and comfort rob you the opportunity to be used by God to accomplish His will on this planet. We have been kept on this planet to love one another. One of the most selfless acts of Christ-driven love is to give financial gifts to enrich the lives of those who cannot repay. We are already here to do the work, but without donations, our work will be significantly limited.

Excerpted from a blog post by Tom Kim of Churches Helping Churches, revised and updated and personalized by Kazuaki Kato

Special Request.I never though it would come down to this but for precautionary measure, we would appreciate it if some of you can start sending us iodine pills for us and our church. If we accept the refugees, we would have 70 members that we would need to protect from potential radiation exposure.  Obviously, we are not suicidal and we believe that we can serve the country of Japan better being alive than dead, so we would evacuate from Tokyo before it is too late. But as long as we are being careful and wise, we want to keep helping people in the city in whatever way possible.