Prayer is one of the most important disciplines God’s people can engage in. Jesus prayed and fasted regularly (Luke 4:1ff, 5:16, 6:12), and taught us to be people of prayer (Matt. 5:5ff; 26:41). We are also told to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) and to be “constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). Prayer really does matter to God, and it impacts the outcomes of events in the world. We believe this, and that is why our family has been praying frequently about our upcoming work in Japan. However, we both want and need others to be in prayer with us. We believe God listens to his people, and that even…
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A Prayer For The Reiwa Era
One week from now, the emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito, will officially abdicate and the new emperor, soon-to-be Emperor Naruhito, will take his place. Much like England’s royal family, the emperor of Japan has no legal authority in the country, but that does not mean the status is unimportant. The change of the emperor is a major event in the nation’s life, marking not only the literal end of an era, but also an important change to the nation’s calendar. While Japan uses the Western year system (e.g. 2019), it also uses its own system based upon the year of the Emperor’s reign. The current era is called Heisei, and…
