As athletes from around the world begin arriving in Japan for the Tokyo Olympic Games, please join with YWAM in prayer for the nation of Japan. For the Olympic outreach, YWAM in Japan has joined with the Japan International Sports Partnership. Prior to the pandemic, they did outreaches and provided evangelism training in churches. Now that Japan is facing many Covid-related restrictions the focus has turned primarily to prayer. The partnership hopes to mobilize one million hours of prayer for Japan. The Olympic Games begin July 23. Please take a moment right now to pray for Japan and please pray with us on the YWAM prayer day called The Invitation on July 8.
Topic suggested by Jose Diaz, in Japan.
Prayer content by Marty Woods, in Japan.
Photo credit: YWAM Olympic outreach in Oita, Japan; by Jose Diaz.
Pray for unity of the Spirit amongst Japanese believers. According to YWAM Tokyo there appears to be a new level of openness in the hearts of the people, churches are uniting and supporting each other and ministry pioneers are rising up all over Japan.
Ask God for a spiritual awakening among the Japanese people. It is estimated that fewer than one percent of the people are evangelical Christians. The national religions of Buddhism and Shintoism are closely tied to the Japanese identity, so choosing to follow a different religion can be perceived as rejecting your family.
Pray for more discipleship and church planting initiatives in Japan. There is believed to be only one missionary for every 64,000 people in Japan.
Ask God to guide the Japan-wide sports outreach through the work of the Japan International Sports Partnership. Within the national Covid-related restrictions some outreaches are still taking place.
Take Action
Participate in 50 minutes of bilingual prayer and worship in English and Japanese each day leading up to and including the Tokyo Olympics July 23-August 8 and Paralympic Games August 24-September 5. Go to: www.youtube.com/user/onfirejapan.
How We Prayed
June 2021 – Covid in South Asia
An intercession group in Perth, Australia reported that they prayed 2 Chron 7:14 for the poor and needy, they prayed against death, they asked for miracles in the hospitals, and sensed God leading them to Isaiah 40:31, that YWAMers and others would not grow weary but would reap a harvest.
Join The Invitation
Learn more about this YWAM prayer day, called The Invitation, at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please let us know how you prayed at prayer@ywam.org. Please also tell us if you would like to recommend a prayer topic for The Invitation.
Please pray with YWAM as we focus on the suffering of countries in South Asia that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Recently India reached a peak of cases (400,000 per day) and deaths (4,000 per day). Other countries in South Asia such as Nepal and Sri Lanka are now facing Covid outbreaks. YWAM South Asia has lost more than ten staff and family members to this disease and over 100 YWAM staff and family members have been infected at any given time. Several are still hospitalized. Please join the prayer day called The Invitation as we pray for healing. Please take a moment to pray right now or join us on our prayer day, June 10.
Topic suggested by: J.T. in India.
Prayer content by: Elisabeth Cochrane in USA. Photo credit: Firos-NV on Unsplash
Pray for our YWAM family to be ministered to by the Lord as there has been so much loss and pain. A couple of locations have lost two leaders and staff and many have lost at least one relative. Pray for the kids and spouses of those who have passed away. Pray against a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).
Pray for God to give wisdom and strength to the healthcare workers treating people with Covid. Pray for the doctors treating YWAMers who are in the hospital.
Pray for protection for all the YWAMers out ministering to the poor during this crisis. Many of the poor are daily wage earners and have lost their funds for food. Some people have had to use food money for medicine. We have so many YWAMers involved daily helping others. One or two locations have started Covid relief homes. They’ve also been getting oxygen cylinders out to people. Pray for basic needs of medicine and food for all.
Pray for this surge to end.
Suggestions for Groups or Individuals
Read 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 and seek wisdom from the Lord regarding sins that need to be confessed. Allow God to show multiple layers of sin. When all sins have been confessed, pray as above or as God leads.
Take Action
Donate for YWAM’s basic provisions of food, medicine and medical equipment. If you would like to help you can go to ACEDevelopmentfund.org.
How We Prayed
May 2021 – Human Trafficking
A survivor of human trafficking who is in an emergency shelter reported that she prayed for the people involved to do unto others as they would have done unto them.
A woman from Canada was led to pray for very young children who are trafficked. She met some of these in Cambodia during her YWAM Discipleship Training School outreach. She sensed God prompting her to pray daily for the children’s freedom and she felt led to Luke 17:1-3.
Leaders from a new anti-trafficking organization called Recover Hope were encouraged to know that others were praying for this topic. They prayed for every single person to fulfill his or her role in God’s kingdom, that no one would look away from another person’s suffering.
Multiple people thanked us for inviting them to pray and committed to pray regularly during The Invitation.
Join The Invitation
Learn more about this YWAM prayer day, called The Invitation, at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please let us know how you prayed at prayer@ywam.org. Please also tell us if you would like to recommend a prayer topic for The Invitation.
By any measure, the trafficking in men and women for forced labour or sexual exploitation is an enormous and increasing tragedy. The extent of the problem can feel overwhelming. According to Polaris Project, there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally. A United Nations study showed that sex trafficking is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. Many individuals are passionately opposed to human trafficking and would love to help in some way but have no idea how. This month, you can take action against human trafficking by joining a YWAM prayer day called The Invitation. On May 13 we will pray along with Isaiah 61:1: “To proclaim freedom for the captives….”
Photo credit: Hermes Rivera
Topic suggested by: Matt Peterson in USA.
Prayer content by: G.K. Pierce in Poland (ankyrapublications.com).
Pray for survivors of trafficking. Pray that those caught up in trafficking would be freed from the chains that bind them and that they would encounter God’s love. Pray that they would heal, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Pray for fair and honest employers to offer them jobs and training. Pray that they would find hope for their futures and strength and grace to forgive.
Pray for traffickers. Pray that traffickers and pimps would have a profound, life-changing Damascus-road type of encounter with God (Acts 22:6-10). Pray they would repent and leave the sex trade and would use their knowledge of the industry to fight for freedom of people caught in slavery (John 8:32).
Pray for those battling against trafficking. Pray Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Pray for supernatural protection from evil. Pray for courage, wisdom from God, and a passionate heart for God and people. Pray that they would see the fruit of their labour.
Pray for the Church and society. Pray against the use of pornography. According to the organization Rescue:Freedom, in nine countries 49 percent of sexually exploited women said that pornography was made of them while they were being sold for sex. If Christians at large would stop using porn, it would have a significant impact on both the pornography and trafficking industries. Consider the following statistics: 57 percent of pastors say porn addiction is the most damaging issue in their congregation (a Barna survey, 2016); 76 percent of 18 to 24-year-old Christians actively seek out porn (Barna, 2016); 68 percent of church-going men and over 50 percent of pastors view porn on a regular basis (Pure Desire Ministries); and only seven percent of pastors say their church has a program to help people struggling with pornography (Barna, 2016). Pray for anti-porn programs to be set up. Pray for a re-dedication to biblical marriages. Pray Leviticus 20:26: “You are to be holy to me, because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Also pray for a commitment to “remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners” (Hebrews 13:3).
Suggestions for Group Prayer:
Divide the group into four subgroups, one for each of the categories mentioned in the prayer points: survivors, traffickers, those battling against trafficking, and the church and society. For a moment, put yourselves into the shoes of the people you represent. Note what might motivate them and the challenges they face. Note what God is saying to you about who you represent. Pray as you are led, using the prayer points from above and what you hear from God.
Take Action
Spread awareness. Invite a specialist to speak at your church, school, or organization. Share information about human trafficking on social media, a blog, or YouTube.
Volunteer, support, or fundraise for an anti-trafficking organization you have researched. Shop for products made by exploited people (one example is kairostraders.com). Help exactly where you are. Businesses can provide internships, training, and jobs to trafficking survivors. Attorneys can offer free services. Medical professionals can get educated on how to spot and help trafficked victims.
Consider prevention. Traffickers typically target vulnerable populations (for example, homeless youth, foster kids, persons in abusive situations or poverty, etc.). Mentor and support these sorts of at-risk individuals.
Recommend the use of anti-porn programs in your church. Covenant Eyes is one such program.
A former YWAMer of the Shan people group was deeply moved to hear that YWAM was praying for Myanmar.
YWAM Bangkok, Thailand prayed for those isolated by Covid and God led them to make phone calls to those in isolated/remote areas.
YWAM Yverdon, Switzerland gathered via zoom to stand in the gap for the nation of Myanmar. They sensed God leading them as they prayed.
A Korean message was received regarding prayer for stability in Myanmar.
Join The Invitation
Learn more about this YWAM prayer day, called The Invitation, at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please let us know how you prayed at prayer@ywam.org. Please also tell us if you would like to recommend a prayer topic for The Invitation.
This month, please join the YWAM prayer day called The Invitation, as we pray for the country of Myanmar. Mass protests have been taking place since the military seized control on February 1, following the election of Aung San Suu Kyi. Civil unrest continues and over 500 protestors have been killed.
Myanmar is in southeast Asia and borders Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China, and India and has a population of about 54 million people. The main religion is Buddhism.
Topic suggested by: J.H. in SE Asia.
Prayer points from: B.K. in Myanmar
Prayer Points:
For the powers of darkness to be defeated by the blood of Jesus, so that truth, justice, and love can reign in Myanmar. That the resistance movement will continue to operate in the opposite Spirit to the violence.
For God’s protection of all our YWAM workers and the peaceful protesters. Pray for protection for men, who are being picked up from their homes and drafted into the military. Pray for safety for ethnic minorities who are fleeing air strikes.
Pray for believers and Christian leaders to not lose hope, but to continue to do good by providing help, comfort, and safety, and to be a positive witness in their grieving communities and in the jails. Pray for simple forms of Christian worship to mushroom into multiplying movements all over the country and among the Myanmar diaspora.
Pray for a political solution that will not end in civil war.
Suggestions for Group Prayer:
Find Myanmar on a map, noting surrounding countries. Review recent news from a trusted source.
Identify people that might be impacted by this conflict. Discuss what it would be like to live there during this unrest. Discuss how God might be working in the midst of the conflict.
Listen to the Holy Spirit and share as a group what His message is regarding Myanmar.
Take Action
Follow news updates on Myanmar and continue to pray for Myanmar as a group or individually.
This month, please join YWAM’s prayer day, called The Invitation, as we lift up the city of Tripoli, Libya. In Tripoli, cafes are places where the elderly and the young meet to socialize, gossip, argue and plan. Hassan is one of Tripoli’s 1,165,000 Muslim residents, and he goes to a café to visit a group of friends, international students he met at university. They talk about politics, sports, and religion. Several of them are Christians and Hassan is interested in their beliefs, having never met a Christian before. Please pray for the Muslims in Tripoli, and for the growing number of Christians.
Islam is the state religion in Libya. Pray for greater freedom, socially and legally, to talk about different faiths so people can learn about Jesus (John 16:33).
Tripoli remains always on the edge of conflict, with ongoing violence from civil war. Extremist groups surround the city. Pray for peace (Psalm 2).
Pray for cafes to become centres of discipleship, with many more Muslims coming to follow Jesus (John 8:31-32). Cafes are a place people go to exchange ideas and get to know new people. This makes them an ideal environment for discipleship.
Suggestions for Group Prayer:
Before praying, discuss the things you would want your Muslim friends to know about Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you who to share this with.
Set up an area for prayer that mimics a café that might be found in a large city like Tripoli. Have people sit 2 or more at various tables. Before you pray, discuss what it might be like to be a Christian sitting among friends sharing your faith. Discuss what it might be like to be a Muslim hearing about your Christian friend’s faith.
Assign a small group to conduct basic research on Tripoli including facts, statistics, maps, pictures and to present this information to the group before praying.
Take Action
Find out more about YWAM in North Africa.
Find out more about the region around Tripoli at gosahara.org.
Participate in 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World April 13 – May 12, 2021. The information about Tripoli was adapted from the upcoming 30 Days guide. This prayer movement began at a YWAM meeting in 1992. This year, the guide focuses on a different city every day. You can go to pray30days.org and get prayer guides in 40 different languages.
How We Prayed
February 2021 – Loneliness
An individual from Jeju, South Korea was led to pray for single male ministers.
YWAM Bangkok, Thailand prayed for those isolated by Covid and God led them to make phone calls to those in isolated/remote areas.
