God worked mightily during the month of March as prayerwalks took place all over Japan-----from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Japanese, volunteers from other countries, and missionaries were involved.

Many blessings have been the result of this grass roots prayer movement. Let me mention some:

THE LORD’S KINGDOM HAS BEEN ADVANCED

As Christians prayed their friends were saved. Prayer meetings went longer but felt shorter. Victory for future spiritual blessing was won! A perfect example was the coming of the film, The Passion of the Christ. For weeks prior to its arrival, there had been doubts about bringing the film to Japan. When the decision for over 100 venues was announced, God answered prayer.

Japan needs more Christian authors to reach the masses. When three young adults told me recently that God wants them to be writers, God answered prayer. The unified prayers of many, around the world and in Japan, have advanced His kingdom for future generations.

GREATER UNITY WAS EXPERIENCED AMONG CHRISTIANS

Many made comments about the sweet fellowship they had with other Christians while prayerwalking. (Someone said before Free Japan started that we should wait for unity to begin. That might have taken a long wait!) As we walked and prayed we experienced a bit of heaven. One pastor with whom I walked expressed his surprise at feeling like brothers and sisters in the Lord. (We had met for the very first time.)

MANY WERE INTRODUCED TO PRAYERWALKING

Many Japanese have never prayerwalked. I found them to be “naturals” at it! One woman with whom I walked said she was going to take her Sunday School class out to prayerwalk on the following Sunday. She was sure it would make a difference in how the youth viewed prayer. An elderly woman promised to continue prayerwalking. She never knew one could pray and walk at the same time. She loves the outdoors and was quite happy to learn that prayer can be taken to the streets. Even some volunteers from other countries were prayerwalking for the first time. They returned home with a greater burden for Japan. Many will continue to prayerwalk as a discipline.

THE SPIRIT OF BOLDNESS AND EXCITEMENT IS FLOURISHING HERE

On a Friday I was talking with two young Japanese ladies in their twenties who had seen The Passion. They had organized a 15-minute noon prayer time by text messaging their friends by cell phone. Afterwards, one said, “I prayed that God would increase the percentage of Christians in Japan to 50%.” “Wow!“ That’s good!” the other exclaimed. “I prayed that He would make Japan 100% Christian!” Both were raised in Buddhist homes. One became a Christian about five years ago and the other has been a believer only a year. Have you heard of such hope recently?

Have you seen such passion for their own? God is indeed freeing the hearts of the Japanese. He is doing amazing things. The vision of a new day in Japan has been “caught”!

How do we judge the impact of FREE JAPAN upon this nation? Perhaps the best way to judge is to ask ourselves some questions: “What impact has it had on me? Was my heart changed? Renewed? How am I different for having participated in the FREE JAPAN prayerwalking movement?”

For twenty years, at God’s request, I have been a prayer warrior “standing on the wall” (in the gap) for the Japanese. It used to be a sad, lonely place. There were times when the burden seemed too great to bear and I grew weary. Now, there are so many standing together with me on “the wall” that it’s getting crowded! And the mood is different now. There is great rejoicing! God is awesome in all of His ways!

God’s promise to His sheep in Ezekiel 34:27b reads, “Then they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their captivity and save them from the power of those who made them slaves.” And, in verse 31 of the same chapter it reads, “You, my human sheep, are the sheep I care for, and I am your God, says the Lord God.”

Our Lord is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 safely in the pen to search for the one that is lost. Will we follow His example? What does He desire from each one of us in order for His perfect will to be accomplished in this land? Should the Christian community’s emphasis on prayerwalking continue? Should our prayers increase so that His will be done in Japan as it is in heaven? One day a great crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language will worship God in heaven. Millions of Japanese will be there praising Him and shouting, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10). His Word says in Revelation 7:17,”…The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them (the Japanese) to springs of water that give life. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” What a glorious day! Let’s keep praying fervently until all of Japan is free to believe in Him and join that great crowd in heaven to praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Until ALL have heard, Karol Whaley for Free Japan

TOKYO PRAYERWALK ON MARCH 16TH

On the morning of March 16th God blessed at the Imperial Palace. Around 50 prayerwalkers showed up to walk and pray. People came from Kawasaki, Shibuya, Higashi Kurume, Yokohama, Machida, Fuchu, Fussa, Itabashi, Hachioji, Yokosuka and a few other areas of the mega city. Volunteers came from Georgia, Texas, California, and Hawaii to participate. Praise the Lord for the wonderful warm weather on that Tuesday. Thank the Lord for the sweet unity we experienced as we also gathered to pray at the Watauga Fountain Park. Seeing the beautiful fountain reminded all of us of the words from John 4:13,14, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life.” Praise Him for all the “gushers” we will see in the days ahead!

In the afternoon we met at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on the 45th floor to pray over the mega city, Tokyo. One volunteer commented (as she looked out over the mass of humanity represented in concrete buildings as far as the eye could see), “Where do you start? How do you reach them?” Someone answered, “We can’t, but God can, and God will!”

NIKKO PRAYERWALK

“Nikko is Nippon,” read the poster as we got off the train at one of the most famous site in Nikko, the Toshogu Shrine. This shrine is Japan’s most lavishly decorated shrine complex and houses the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. He and his grandson are the ones who hated Christians and had them martyred. Nikko has been a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries. Intense and intentional prayer “on-site” was planned for the Buddhist holy day, March 20th, the coming of spring. The following is a report of that day:

Everything was covered in white as we prayerwalked throughout the large grounds of the shrine. The song, “White as snow, white as snow, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow” came to mind. What should have been a crowd of thousands visiting the shrine that holiday had been greatly reduced because of inclement weather.

The prayerwalking team that God raised upon this day was truly special because it was multi-generational and multi-ethnic. About a third were men, the rest were women. Four different mission- sending groups were represented.

Prayerwalkers made their way around the different buildings. They passed by the carving of the three monkeys outside one of the structures. These represent “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.” Some have said that this evil refers to Christianity that it was not to be seen, heard, or spoken of in that day. Arm-in-arm inside the main worship room of the shrine we gathered close together and prayed fervently for God to free His people. No one bothered us. Our prayers were not interrupted. We had freedom to pray as the Holy Spirit led. Many verses came to mind. Amidst the awful dragon images on the walls around us, Revelation 12:9-11a came to mind: “The great dragon was thrown down out of heaven. (He is that old snake called the devil or Satan, who tricks the whole world.” The dragon with his angels was thrown down to earth. Then I heard a voice in heaven saying: “The salvation and the power and kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have now come. The accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accused them day and night before our God, has been thrown down. And our brothers and sisters defeated him by the blood of the Lamb’s death and by the message they preached…” The prayerwalking team walked out of the shrine grounds with joy, praising God for His provisions, and for His plan to bring salvation to the Japanese. Among the choruses we sang as we walked back into town were, “Shine, Jesus, Shine” and “Lord We life Your Name on High”! God’s spiritual army that day was only eight people strong! But, we could see how His plan was perfect in bringing us together. We were truly one in His Spirit and had His power on that day!

“In their misery they cried out to the Lord, and He saved them from their troubles. He brought them out of the gloom and darkness and broke their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His love and for the miracles He does for people” Psalm 107:13-15, FREE JAPAN’S theme verse.