Author: MaryBeth Hall

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. A feature of the app used to map our progress through Tokyo is that 360° streetviews are available. In looking around full circle at our current location, and zooming in on business signs and translating them into English (via Google lens), it is evident that there are many ungodly establishments on this street. It brings to mind the part of Pilgrims Progress when Christian and Faithful must walk through Vanity Fair. Pray for one business owner on this street to be transformed by the gospel into a new creature, and as a result close his current business.

2. Proverbs warns young men about many dangers to avoid. Pray for any Christian young men living in proximity to this street, that they will stay away from the pull of the world by choosing the surpassing value of Christ, as Moses did in Hebrews 11:24-27.

3. In the right foreground of the picture is a man sweeping the street. Pray for the Lord to reach into his life with the truth that Jesus alone can cleanse the human heart, and for the street sweeper to ask Him for that cleansing.

John 3:3

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. The corner gray building in the center of the picture is Hanazono Clinic. Pray for a staff member there who seeks to help patients with medical needs to herself meet the Great Physician Who can meet her own spiritual needs.

2. Today’s prayer walk stop is at the intersection of two large roads. This brings to mind Mark 11:4, where, in preparation for the triumphal entry,  Jesus told his disciples to go get a donkey “where two ways met.” Pray that someone using one of the crosswalks above will meet and begin a friendship with a Christian, resulting in a life-changing intersection with the gospel.

3. Tokyo is the world’s biggest city, full of people who need Jesus! Given the population of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the fact that birthdays are mostly randomly distributed among the 365 days of a year, approximately 101,400 people in the Greater Tokyo Area (38,900 of whom live in the specific limits of the Tokyo Metropolis) have a birthday today. Pray for those whose birthday is today to have and take the opportunity to be born again into God’s family.

John 3:3

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Beirut.

1. Pray for roadside vendors to meet the Master Who freely gives what no one else can.
2. A port explosion in 2020 killed 218 people in Beirut. Pray for relatives still grieving the loss of loved ones to discover the hope that Jesus offers to all who trust Him.
3. Pray for Scripture to be readily available to all who yearn for truth.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

This post was originally published on November 16, 2021.

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. Pray for the next person who will stand at the exact spot of our map marker to have a life intersection with the gospel, understand what the phrase “Jesus died on the cross for you” means, and gratefully receive God’s offer of salvation.

2. Very often, a stroke is a major life-altering event. Pray for a Christian senior citizen who had a stroke earlier today (Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of EST in the USA), that the Lord will continually make His presence very real to that believer as he or she enters a “new normal” phase of life.

3. The last promise of Jesus in the Bible is “Surely I come quickly. Amen.” The Bible’s last prayer is the response, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” And the final verse of Scripture is the benediction, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Rev. 22:20-21). The Greek word for grace (charis) comes from a root meaning “to lean toward / extend oneself.” Grace is literally God leaning toward us in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14,16-17). We don’t just need His grace for the moment of salvation; we also desperately need Him to lean toward us everyday thereafter. Pray that as believers in Tokyo and around the world yearn for the rapture, they will be aware of / rest in the continuing favor and leaning-toward-them that God gives all His children.

Romans 8:31

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. Notice the interestingly shaped corner building. Pray that the Lord will send a copy of His Word into that building, and that someone there will read it, learn about His redemptive love, and respond in saving faith.

2. Pray for both the construction worker who set out the green construction cone (to the immediate right of our map marker), and the pedestrian who is approaching the cone, that both of them will become ardent disciples of Jesus.

3. An estimated 1,000 people or less live in Yotsuya Sakamachi. Pray for any Christians in the neighborhood to grow in their understanding of the love of God today (John 1:18, 17:26).

Romans 8:31

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. Today’s garden name means “Sacred Pond.” Pray for the eight pictured people (seven sitting on benches and one standing), that wherever those individuals are today, the Lord will once again work in their lives to draw them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2. Near Shinchi Gardens is Miwada Sakuen Girls Junior and Senior High School, founded in 1880. Pray for a biblical church in Tokyo to start an outreach to girls attending the school, and for many of them to be saved and discipled.

3. A three minute bicycle ride from today’s location would bring us to the Embassy of India. Pray for an Indian national working there to hear the gospel while in Tokyo and, believing, receive salvation.

Romans 8:31

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

Across the street from the pedestrians and above the pink cherry blossoms, part of Yasukuni Shrine’s torii-gate is visible. A torii-gate is a common Shinto structure placed at the entrance of a shrine for two purposes: to visually signify to worshippers that they are stepping away from the secular and into the sacred, and to ward off evil spirits (torii-gates are often painted red / vermilion to enhance this supposed ability). Torii-gates have become a symbol of not just Shintoism, but of Japanese culture in general. The torii-gate visible from our virtual prayer walk location today has an interesting history. Originally built in 1921 out of bronze, at 69 feet high it was Japan’s tallest torii-gate. During WW2, the gate was torn down to make weapons. The current 82 feet tall gate (sixth highest torri-gate in Japan) was built in 1974 out of high quality steel that is predicted to last 1,200 years.

1. In John 14:6, Jesus stated that He is the only way to the Father. No one else can enter the realm of the Divine except through Him. Pray for any of the pictured pedestrians who have walked through Yasukuni Shrine’s  torii-gate to have / take a clear opportunity to understand and believe the gospel.

2. Building a structure that will last 1,200 years is quite a feat of accomplishment for humanity. However, King Jesus will never cease to be the doorway to eternal life. Related to Christ’s eternal rule, Daniel 7:27 says, “…His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” (NKJV) Pray for a Christian in Tokyo to be encouraged by this fact today.

3. Many world religions have a clear dividing line between the secular and the sacred. The concept of a torii-gate in Shintoism illustrates this idea. Pray for a new Christian who was raised in the Shinto faith but has come to trust Jesus to understand that there is no such dividing line for Christians; the Lord / His Word daily impacts every single area of life.

Romans 8:31

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Tokyo.

1. Today was Culture Day in Japan, a national holiday celebrating peace and cultural arts. Celebratory activities included free museum / art gallery admission in many places, parades, martial arts exhibitions, etc. Emporer Nahurito (Japan’s 126th emporer) presented the Order of Culture award to eight people. Tokyo time is fourteen hours ahead of US EST, so many people are currently getting ready for bed. Pray for the emperor and the eight award recipients, that the Holy Spirit Will stir their hearts with the realization that there is something greater than any earthly award, and that He will bring a clear gospel witness into their lives to show them how to obtain the greatest title: being called a child of God Himself (1 Jn. 3:1).

2. Today’s pictured location for our prayer walk was originally the influential Tokugawa Clan’s home, but has been a popular walking park since 1969. The path brings to mind the story of the Emmaus road, where two disciples talked to Jesus the evening of Resurrection sunday. Later that night, Jesus asked His upper room followers why they were troubled and had anxious thoughts. The Greek word for “troubled” brings to mind the word picture of agitated water, and the word for “thoughts” has the idea of back-and-forth reasonings: with what they had heard from the women, the Emmaus disciples, and the appearance of Jesus Himself, the Eleven weren’t sure what to think. That same encounter, Jesus told them twice, “Peace be unto you.” Pray for any Christians who will walk this year on the pictured trail who are internally wrestling with anxieties, that the Lord will speak His peace into their souls, and that they will respond by fully trusting Him.

3. Pray for the faith response of a Christian as described / prayed for in the second request to be the catalyst that causes one of his / her lost relatives to trust Jesus for salvation.

Romans 8:31

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Zarafshan.

1. Pray for the artist who painted the mural on the red building, that he and his family would know the beautiful work of God painted in their lives.
2. By now, construction on the above apartment complex is probably finished. Pray for the Lord to send a Christian to reach out to families who live there.
3. The name Zarafshan refers to gold, and the city is Uzbekistan’s gold capital. Pray for someone today to obtain a residency reservation in that City whose appearance is as pure gold.

Ephesians 3:14-19

This post was originally published on November 22, 2021.