Prayer Guide – Week 25 (April 29-May 05)

Pray for all those students returning to Japan after studying abroad. Many Japanese students have a very positive experience of Christianity away from Japan. A good number become Christians there. Pray for them as they return and find a church and integrate back to life in Japan as a new believer.
Pray for spiritual thirst among non-Christian returnee contacts.

There are some Japanese people who have an impression that Christianity is difficult to understand or is old-fashioned. Other people may not know enough to have any opinion at all. Further misunderstandings can emerge through contacts with Jehovah's Witnesses or cults that seem Christian.

There are positive impressions too. Some Japanese people see Christians as caring or kind. Others see the Bible as a source of wisdom. Despite being a tiny percentage of the population, many Christians have had a positive influence on society.

• Give thanks that many Christians are respected, and pray for open hearts toward Christ through them.
• Pray that negative stereotypes or false ideas about Christianity will be changed through positive interactions with Christians.

Out of the 99% of Japan’s population who are non-Christian, let us ask for an increase in the number of seekers throughout the country. May they eagerly accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

• Pray for an increase of seekers in Japan in near vicinity to believers and churches that are able to help guide them to Christ.
• Pray for energy, protection, and joy as seekers commit to learning more about Jesus through Bible study and the church. Some stumbling blocks include the busyness and weariness of daily life and confusion about where to start.

Ethnic churches have been planted among Brazilian, Filipino, Korean, and Chinese communities. International churches can be found in the major cities. The body of Christ in Japan has an opportunity to testify that God is a God of all nations.

• Pray that churches in Japan have an opportunity to show both the diversity and the unity of the body of Christ – the diversity of languages and ways in which God can be worshipped; and the unity of churches blessing and serving alongside each other.
• Pray that Japanese churches will find good opportunities to work together with international and ethnic churches to reach out to their local communities.