Prayers for Japan and a Hurting World

There’s been another huge natural disaster. The 8.6 earthquake and tsunami in Japan is all over the news. Close to a thousand people have been killed and many more are missing. The tsunami has put the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan in danger of a meltdown. People everywhere are now praying for the people of Japan, and I am no exception. I actually have a friend who is from Fukushima who still has his mother, sister, and nieces there.

But it doesn’t take knowing someone in Japan to be concerned. Just a few minutes of watching the devastation on the news — the video of buildings swaying and office furniture being tossed around, of cars being pushed along by a tsunami wave like they are toys (are there people in those cars?) and farm buildings being flooded by the water — and you can’t help but be concerned.

So I decided to use my blog today to post a prayer for the people of Japan and for those who know and love them in other parts of the world.

Heavenly Father, I pray all who are impacted by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan will be able to cast their fears and anxieties on You. Protect the aid workers who travel to Japan to help with clean up and to minister to those who have lost their homes and loved ones. I lift up those who have loved ones in Japan, that You would provide them comfort and peace, knowing that You are in control. Open lines of communication so that information about loved ones can get through. Provide the resources necessary for continued cooling of the reactors at the nuclear power plant so that further disaster from a meltdown will be averted. Provide healing, peace, and comfort to the people of Japan. In Jesus name, Amen

As with other natural disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti, I begin to wonder why it takes a natural disaster for the world — and Christians in particular — to be concerned about and pray for a nation. With Haiti, there was extreme poverty long before the earthquake that devastated that island nation. Why did we not pray for them and show concern before the earthquake, and why have we forgotten them again a year later (which is a whole other post for another day).

Japan, on the other hand, is a nation of fairly well-to-do nation. They are not regularly in our prayers because they don’t seem to need our prayers. But Japan is a nation in which some statistics indicate less than half of the population is religious in any way. Of those who are religious, the  predominant religions are Buddhism and Shintoism. Less than 2% of the population are Christian. Which means that less than 2% know the peace offered by our Lord Jesus.

So I want to add another prayer for Japan today, one that I want to suggest we continue to pray long after the brunt of the current natural disaster has passed and the lives of the people of Japan get back to normal.

Oh Lord, I pray that You would use this natural disaster and the memory of it to draw the people of Japan closer to Your Son Jesus. I pray that they would see Your greatness and their weakness, Your majesty and their unworthiness. I pray that they would call upon Your mercy and compassion, and that You would reveal to them their own sin and pride and call them to repentance and humility. I pray for the growth of true Christianity and knowledge of Your saving grace among the people of Japan. I pray that You would lay upon the hearts of Christians everywhere the desire to pray for the people of Japan long after the physical effects of the earthquake and tsunami are but a memory. In Jesus name, Amen

Let’s not forget to pray for Japan after this natural disaster. And let us not wait for the next natural disaster to remember to pray for those in need of Jesus’ saving grace throughout the world.