Monday, March 14, 2011

Let's Pray for Japan

“Pray unceasingly…” 1Thess: 5:17

Some events in our lives come and go. The earthquake and following tsunami in Japan is not one of them. As we follow the news coming from the pacific island nation, we are in total awe in the face of the destruction and human suffering. Earthquakes and tsunamis have happened before, Japan hits home a little more, because of the many friends and families I have gotten to know over the years. In the last few days, we received many good-news reports in the midst of the disaster, that our friends are safe and by some miracle were spared death. Do our prayers get answered?

"The chaos of our world is a mirror of what we harbor within. As we heal our personal challenges through forgiveness, understanding, tolerance, and compassion, our Earth world will be healed."
~ Gregg Braden

Pray for Specific Needs
I often feel so helpless when events like these happen. Our prayers are more than useful. With specific requests, they can be life-saving. In this case, donations poured in and essentials were delivered like food, water, blankets and kerosene.

Japanese Character
The Japanese have a saying:”shikata ga nai” (it can’t be helped), which means they are more accepting of circumstances beyond their control. Another is “gaman” (being a virtue), which encourages to be patient and persevere in the face of suffering. None-the-less, we all have our limits. When you’re cold and hungry and homeless, you have only one thing on your mind: when will all this end?

Here is a link that exemplifies this behavior:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/opinion/20kristof.html?_r=1

Prayer can be powerful because it sends not only good will but an energy which can truly “move mountains.” Pray by yourself or in group settings and send your love-vibes to those displaced Japanese.

Here is a personal testimony of an earthquake surviver:
http://significatojournal.com/columns/compassionate-pugilist/looking-for-my-family-in-the-earthquake

Here is a link for a spiritual practice for sending Love Energy: 
http://evolutionezine.com/with-love-to-japan

Here are the links for money donations:
To donate $10.00 just pick up your cell phone and text REDCROSS to 90999

For those who want a receipt for this $10.00 go to:
http://www.mgivefoundation.org/receipt/

If you'd like to give more than that, go to:
- http://www.redcross.org/ for instructions.

Here is the CBN link:
http://www.cbn.com/ Disaster Relief Fund

Here is the link for Unification Church to help Japan:
http://www.familyfed.org/members/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=315&Itemid=390

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen..we definitely need to pray. And not just pray; follow up our prayer with actions..!