Join us in a Tsunami of Prayer for the Heart & Soul and of Japan!
By Carlton and Joshua Walker
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing 30-foot tsunami on March 11 were the worst in Japan’s recorded history. The devastation they wreaked, along with the continuing dire threat of escaping radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plants, has led both Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Naoto Kan to call this Japan’s worst crisis since World War II.
The disaster struck an area unknown to most foreigners and Japanese; visitors and locals alike tend to gravitate to the southern half of Honshu Island, where the metropolises of Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama are concentrated. In the worst hit areas near the northern town of Sendai, close to the epicenter of the earthquake, harsh geography and icy temperatures are still complicating the rescue and relief efforts—and continue to produce stories of singular heroism.
The northern Japanese have been patiently enduring a chaotic response from their national government, freezing weather and a continuing threat of dangerous radiation. All the missionaries are safe, but souls of millions of Japanese still hang in the balance.
The power of moving water is greater than most of us can imagine. Nothing stands before it. We are driven to our knees. But the Spring of Living Water is even more powerful! All will bow down to Him and all nations will serve Him.
The power of an earthquake is more frightening than many of us can comprehend. The force of the quake was so strong that it literally moved the entire island of Honshu 8 feet to the east. But the Unshakable One is even more powerful! He is the Rock of Ages and will reject no one who comes to Him.
The prospect of a nuclear meltdown is more terrifying than all of us can fathom. It could poison life on our entire fragile planet! How can we respond? In times like these, we avail ourselves of prayer because the power of prayer is stronger than the combination of an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear crisis. In moments like these, we are almost instinctively drawn, if not driven, to prayer.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)
Prayer is the gentle whisper. Prayer is the presence of the Father in these perilous times!