Hello friends and family who have been praying over Japan, I thank you so much for all the hours you have been pouring into prayer and intercession. Upon hearing all of your eagerness to to be on the spiritual frontlines by bringing every single request to God on behalf of the Japanese community, I was so encouraged; words can’t even express the kind of joy my heart was lifted up with. It has been a great source of strength for me (as I write from CO) and for my parents who are ministering in Fukuoka, Japan.
Today, as I kept watching events slowly unfold over television, I started feeling very strongly that we need to change the tone of our prayers. I’m sure many of you have been praying comfort, peace, and strength over the people, and that is a very good thing; but like me, you may have been praying with a rather heavy heart, as the only kind of footage we have been seeing (at least in the US) are those of total devastation, hopelessness, immense fear, and uncertainty.
Though I believe God weighs our hearts with empathy and compassion for these people, I believe it’s time to stand up from our mourning place and begin proclaiming life, hope, freedom, and deliverance for the people of Japan. It’s time to shrug off the sack-cloth and put on the armor of God so that we can pray with a newfound energy.
I shared this over Twitter/Facebook last night; but tears come to my eyes even now when I look back on it. As I was praying on the way home from a meeting, I saw a vision of Jesus standing amidst the rubble that is scattered across Japan’s northeast coast. He was next to a young Japanese man who was caught in the rubble, unable to escape, awaiting rescue. I heard Jesus say to the man, “I am here.” And even in such a horrible place to be, I could sense that the man trapped under the rubble had a sense of peace about him.
On a similar note, I just received this Facebook message from a friend in Cordova, Alaska:
“As I have told you, Japan has been on my heart – praying for a nationwide revival. Well tonight during prayer meeting I had a vision!! I saw Jesus come out of the rubble, and then He walked down the coast and around the whole country, passing through each city – Looking for who he can save.”
Friends, Jesus is there. His presence is in Japan, He is walking in their very midst. And I am sure He poured out a lot of sorrow and mourning as He witnessed the thousands of lives that have been lost. I’m sure He has sat in somber silence next to those who have mourned the lives that were crushed under buildings or swept into the waves. But I am strongly feeling that He is moving on from the place of sorrow – and calling us as His Bride to move on, too – so that He can reach people in Japan to give them hope, strength, and a reason to continue living even when they don’t know what tomorrow brings.
So as you faithfully continue praying for Japan, please pray for the people – but this time, that their hearts will be lifted up with a supernatural joy and peace. That hope will fill their hearts each time that they hear of a miraculous story of reunification or rescue after days of being buried in rubble. That hope will lift their heads into believing that yes, this too shall pass. Even if it’s a disaster, they can overcome.
Pray that people will begin to have encounters with Jesus. Pray for revival! And as I said before, pray that Japanese believers will share the gospel with family and friends – with the boldness of a lion, but the gentleness of a lamb. With truth that is driven with love and freedom, not fear and condemnation.
And as you spend time praying, keep up with current events, but please be careful not to be distracted by the media’s hype. Yes, it is a rather catastrophic situation they are facing; but God is bigger than that. God can control even a man-made nuclear plant. God can still the earth and the waves. God can still hearts that are shaking with fear and anxiety. All things are possible with God, and our God is a God who saves!
Thank you. As before, please feel free to pass this on to people you know so that they can pray in agreement on these things. God bless.
-Caroline
Twitter username: CareSpinny
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CaroMae
Diana
March 16, 2011
Thank you so much Caroline for sharing this wonderful and very inspiring message. When I read the story of a four month old baby being found alive in the rubble, right then, I knew it was because God was there all the time as that terrible storm was hitting Japan. And as I read your message here, I was SURE of it! (I had, just minutes before, read about the rescue of the baby when I came back to my FB and read your story.) My heart rejoices in God my Savior…