To put things in perspective, a 7 magnitude quake would equal the rumble that devastated Haiti in 2010 and could do irreparable damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Plant that has already seeing radiation levels exceed legal limits.
While the international response does everything possible in the natural, many leaders in the Body of Christ are crying out for supernatural intervention.
Charisma magazine caught up with Mary Alice Isleib over the weekend to discuss a prayer strategy for Japan. Isleib is the director of Christian Outreach International (COI), a world-wide, faith-based, humanitarian, mission and outreach organization, and the author of Effective Fervent Prayer.
COI has a missionary, Marc, on the ground in Japan since 2002 and has been in close contact with him since the killer quake. After consulting Marc, Isleib is asking for prayer in the following areas.
1. Pray for those that are trapped and still alive to be found and rescued quickly. Fires are still breaking out around the country. The biggest concern is nuclear power plant. Engineers need wisdom to fix the coolant system.
2. Pray for all first-response personnel to be filled with wisdom, grace, strength and peace as they work hard to find the lost, help the injured, comfort the traumatized, and serve the survivors with food, housing and supplies.
3. Pray that faith-based relief organizations and Japanese churches will have wisdom as they access the situation and the damage, etc.—and that they have wisdom as to the areas and ways they can be most effective in outreach, relief and impact.
4. Pray that the Church and believers, though small in number, will be strong in their witness for Christ. Pray that new doors will open for the Kingdom of God to be revealed and the hearts of the Japanese people will be open to the sharing of the Gospel.
5. Pray that the government leaders will lead effectively with wisdom and courage in the time of crisis.
6. Pray for continued protection for all as aftershocks continue to rock the nation. Pray that they will not hamper the relief efforts.
7. Pray for the quick restoration of basic vital necessities so some semblance of daily life can be restored to the people, avoiding frustration and chaos, and those that need to be reached can be contacted.
“COI is prayerfully pursuing a plan to provide aid to churches, believers and the needy in Japan through the work of our COI missionary and his team in Tokyo,” says Isleib. “Marc will be traveling to the affected area in Northern Japan as soon as transportation resumes.”
