Pray for Japan - Day 8 - Openness to the Gospel
Thanks for embarking on this journey of 10 days of prayer for Japan with us! We know that God needs to be at the center of all we do. He is the reason we are going to Japan in the first place! We want to cover the nation of Japan in prayer. Although sometimes it's hard to ask for it ourselves, our family also needs prayer as we begin to make final preparations for our move to Japan.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:23
For our eighth day, we'd like to pray for openness to the Gospel for the Japanese people. On our first day, we mentioned that Japan has historically been tough soil for the Gospel to take root. Japan is largely considered unreached, with only about 0.5% of the population professing faith in Jesus. The history of Christianity in Japan includes the brutal persecution of the 16th and 17th centuries. Nowadays, Japan is open politically to Christianity, but closed spiritually. Shinto and Buddhism are tightly woven into Japanese culture, and Christianity is very much viewed as a foreign, Western religion. Many Japanese do not even think anything about religion in their day-to-day lives (besides traditions from Shinto and Buddhism, which can be more cultural than religious), and see no need for religion at all.
We pray for good soil for the seeds of the Gospel. Please pray for the hearts and minds of the Japanese to be open and receptive to exploring a new faith.
We pray for the removal of weeds and thorns in the lives of the Japanese, so that barriers to them choosing to follow Jesus will be stripped away.
We pray for family and friends of believers to become curious about Christianity, rather than skeptical or disapproving. We pray for reconciliation and healing, rather than division.
We pray for God to reveal Himself in Japan, that the people would come to know Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Please pray for our family to humbly come alongside those in Japan, to walk with them, and for opportunities to share the Gospel in a culturally sensitive way.
Find the rest of our 10 Days of Prayer on our website: walkersinjapan.com/blog
Thanks and blessings,
The Walkers
Jeff, Malia, Mason & Kaili