JPN is offering a brief compendium of scriptural prayer promises that can be downloaded or printed to keep in your Bible or place where it can be seen and read every day. Please click the following link - Prayer Promises

1 Timothy 2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. NLT 2 Thess 3:1 finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. NIV Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. NIV

We believe it is a biblical priority to pray regularly for ministers and church leaders who labor in  the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever they may be around the world. JPN is offering an opportunity for ministers to send in their own requests or for others who love and care about them to ask for prayer on their behalf. Below a link is provided that will allow the request to be sent to JPN via email. We ask that you include the following information in your prayer request:

1. Name (Feel free to include title or position)

2. Location (Nation, city or name of ministry - no addresses please)

3. Prayer Request (Please keep it brief and to the point)

Example:

1. Daniel Corbett

2. Fukuoka, Japan

3. Requesting prayer for anointing, healing, and financial provision.

Note: We want to respect the privacy of individuals. If a request is not meant to be shown on the site please include the word, "Private" at the close of the email. No links to other websites or spam will be posted on the JPN site. Each email will be reviewed personally by JPN staff before posting. Let's lift up the hands of those who are sharing God's Love and bring them in prayer before the Throne of Grace!

Click the following link to send your prayer request - Prayer for Pastors

*When sending an email you will be asked to give your name, email address and to type a 5 digit security code. Your email address will only be used for this action and will not be shared with any third parties*

Click the link to read or download the most recent Pastor's Prayer List (Not yet activated)

‎*Pray much for Japan this week* It is a festival to worship the dead! Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' NIV Click the enclosed link to read about the Obon Festival of worshiping the dead.

Eph 4:26 If you are angry, don't sin by nursing your grudge. Don't let the sun go down with you still angry-get over it quickly; 27 for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil. TLB (Definition) Bent Out of Shape – fig. angry, insulted, infuriated, annoyed.

Okay, is it possible for believers to get angry? After all, Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple. Matt 21:12-13 After His display of anger the Bible says that He healed the lame and the blind. While meditating on this thought I remembered the prophet in Ezekiel 3:5-9 I am not sending you to some far-off foreign land where you can't understand the language- 6 no, not to tribes with strange, difficult tongues. (If I did, they would listen!) 7 I am sending you to the people of Israel, and they won't listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard, impudent, and stubborn. 8 But see, I have made you hard and stubborn too-as tough as they are. 9 I have made your forehead as hard as rock. So don't be afraid of them, or fear their sullen, angry looks, even though they are such rebels." TLB

The passage given above seems to indicate that God wanted the prophet to go “toe to toe” with the rebellious house of Israel on behalf of the Father. Imagine God telling His prophet to give His people a “head butt”! Not a very pleasant thought. Yet, in the work of the ministry there are times of deep division and disagreement among those who are truly believers. Not all are false prophets. The New Testament gives detailed instructions on how believers are to get along within the Body of Christ and how to deal with the divisions and times when good people just don’t agree. There are those that seem to enjoy a lively discussion or time of dialogue. Prov 27:17 A friendly discussion is as stimulating as the sparks that fly when iron strikes iron. TLB

Still, there is a danger that friendly disagreement can turn into something very dangerous and even deadly. Israel came to a point of disagreement and separated in northern and southern kingdoms. Today the children of God are divided into denominations rather than operating as one unified Body of Christ as in the New Testament times. And finally, families, friends, and nations are divided and fighting to the point of violence and death.

There are definitely times to “stand up for the truth”! We may have to take up arms in defense of our family, brother and what we believe. But we must defend the truth in love in the right spirit. Two wrong spirits don’t make things “right”. Jesus did not have a “wrong” spirit when He cast the money changers out of the temple. The Bible tells us to speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15.

Recently, I found myself in deep disagreement with church administrative decisions. In this case, my response was silence, rather than speaking out as I have often done in the past. It is interesting that shortly thereafter I found myself with severe neck and back pains. A close friend suggested that perhaps I had unforgiveness in my heart toward those responsible. My reply was that could be possible.

The pain the back and neck are undoubtedly due to a misalignment of vertebrae in the spine. I am just wondering if I happened to get “bent out of shape” over things that were not really in the center of my calling and anointing. With some reflection this morning I realize that it does not really matter to our ministry in Japan who is chosen as the presiding bishop of the North Pole. Why should I be getting stressed when it is not related to my place in the Kingdom of God? So today, I quietly asked God to forgive me for taking my focus off the wonderful things He has been doing in our lives and ministry in Japan and with the Japan Prayer Network.

Now I understand the meaning of the expression that someone needs to “straighten up”. When all of us in the Body of Christ are filling our own roles in the Kingdom of God fully no one will be “bent out of shape” and people like me will not need to wear a neck brace.

God bless you as you seek to share God’s Love with all those you meet!

Dan Corbett

“Reaching One Among Millions”