How to Pray for Japan

The Need in Japan

Japan has been, and remains, one of the most orderly and admirable societies in the world. However, Japan is also at a point in its history where it is experiencing unprecedented social upheaval, which creates anxiety and uncertainty throughout the culture. Every segment of the population is impacted.

An Overview for How to Pray for Japan

The Lord is raising up intercessors all over the world to spearhead the advance of the church into unreached and resistant areas. The fact that you are reading this article indicates that the Lord is establishing watchmen on the walls to petition the Lord for His people in Japan. You are part of a growing stream that will ultimately turn into a river of revival for the nation of Japan. This prayer guide is

1. Rise and fall of religious cults

In the past ten years or more Japan has seen a rise in the number of "New Religion" cults especially attracting Japanese young people (college through young career age). A common draw is the promise of inner fulfillment through a variety of techniques of meditation, yoga, mind control and asceticism. In 1995 the exposure of the Supreme Truth (AUM) cult behind the sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway and other parts of Japan shocked the nation. Mind control methods used by the cults have received wide attention from the media. This is an opportunity for the church to declare the Truth of God's Word...

Here are some of the sociological needs, bearing pressure upon Japanese society:

Aging Population

Japan has the oldest and the most rapidly aging population of any country in the world (27.4% over age 65 by 2005). This means that there will be more and more people living on pensions, with fewer and fewer people in the work force to support them. Sadly, the suicide rate among the elderly is on the rise.

Temple

Leaders in Japan have characterized their own nation as "a super power without a moral compass." This is a relatively new phenomena in a country that was guided, for centuries, by a moral and religious ethic that came out of Shintoism, Confucianism, and the discipline of a samurai warrior. All of this ended following World War II, when the emperor disavowed any claim to deity. This shattered the notion, widely held among Japanese, that they were a sacred people by virtue of being a part of the Japanese family headed by the emperor.

As a result of the military defeat... 

Login