A Request for Prayer

From Emily:

Please pray for a woman named Becky and her family in Japan. Becky is an American who moved to Japan around thirty years ago to do mission work. She married a Japanese man and they had three children, and they lived in or near Sendai. Of course, Sendai sustained some of the worst damage during the recent earthquake and tsunami, notably in the nuclear power plant located there. My friend asked me to pray for Becky and her family's health and physical safety, but then we discussed how few Japanese--including the rest of Becky's family--consider themselves Christian.

My husband read that less than one percent of the Japanese people are Christian. This grieves me particularly now, as they are suffering terribly in so many ways, and very likely most of them don't even have the Gospel to give them hope. I struggle to even know what words to pray in this, so taking a page from Pastor Irmer's book, I've included Psalm 13 here. While it's in the first person, I think we can pray on behalf of our fellow people in Japan using this.

Psalm 13 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

¹How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.