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Resources for Praying with the People of Japan

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Joyce Borger on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 8:56am
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Photo courtesy of Gianluca Divisi -- http://ow.ly/4eT5kI thought it might be helpful to begin to gather some resources together to aid us in our prayers for and with the people of Japan.

One song to consider is Sing! A New Creation #188, written by Junko Takahashi, a young Japanese girl who was fighting cancer at the time.  It is a good reminder that God is with us in all circumstances.

Prayer for Japan
You may want to begin and end this prayer with the singing of Sing! A New Creation#203 st. 1,” O Lord Hear My Prayer”.
 
Cosmic God, Lord of the Universe,
you control the wind, the waves, the earth, the sea, and our very breath.
You tell the sun when to rise and when to set.  You control all things…
yet we know that since sin has entered the world things are not as they are supposed to be,
they are not as you want them to be, but our world battered and scarred groans with us desiring that your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
 
Our minds cannot grasp the images relayed to us through electronic media.
Images of buildings swaying and ceilings crashing in.
More terrifying still the images of black all consuming waves devouring everything in their path.
And yet the horror doesn’t end as concerns over a nuclear disaster grows. 
Lord, if we are overwhelmed by the devastation how much more so the people of Japan.
Cold, hungry, scared, hearts filled with grief we cry with them and implore you to bring relief. 
Work through the agencies and governments of this world to bring the basic necessities of survival and then the needed relationships to bind up broken hearts. While the physical devastation will take years to clear away we know that the deeper agony is the loss of life. 
 
Today we especially prayer for the church in Japan;
 may their faith produce hope and may they have the strength to speak your words of grace and peace in the midst of despair. 
 
Lord, we know it will take time, months, even years for the fear to subside
and for a new normal to take root.
In the meantime comfort your people with the knowledge that they are not alone
but belong body and soul in life and in death to their faithful savior Jesus Christ.
Assure them that their brothers and sisters around the world will not forget them nor their plight even when the world’s eyes turn away from them to another item of news. 
Lord, help us know best how to minister to them in their need.
 
We pray this in the strong name of your son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity.
Amen.
 
A NEWLY Written Song in Response
The Fury of the Wind -by Eric Schumacher
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Joyce Borger on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 3:44pm
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A hymn text: Tectonic Plates Beneath the Ocean's Surface by Andrew Pratt

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Joyce Borger on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 10:21am
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Additional resources can be found on the website from The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

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