Last Saturday night it poured rain, and one of our group wasn't feeling up to walking, so we ditched the streets for the luxurious sixth floor of the Forus shopping center next to Kanazawa Station for some coffee at Starbucks. Nikka, Bridget, and I had a good chat and a good prayer not just for Kanazawa and Japan, but for each other as well, which was lovely and much needed. Thank you, God, for working even when we can't see You in the midst of stressors and pain.
Last night was our sixteenth prayer time! I'm only using numbers because I don't want to have to think of a title for each different walk, but if I had to name last night's time, I would call it Prayer-Walking in and for Hope. It was raining when I picked Bridget up, but we decided to go anyway in the hope that the rain would stop. And it did! Bridget and I started out from the parking lot in the entertainment district and almost immediately ran into our friend Yuki Ueda in front of a shopping center. She's also a believer, and when we told her what we were up to, she wanted to come along and pray with us. What a blessing! We really felt like it was God's timing, and when I came home and told my family about it, my son Matthew said, "Mom, I don't think that was a coincidence!" I don't either. And by the way, Stephen and the boys told me that while the ladies and I were out praying, the three of them were at home praying along with us. It truly is a team effort, with God as our loving and wise Coach.
Of course we stopped in front of the jail-like gray building with the numerous dodgy bars (the one that feels the darkest and heaviest to us) and we were happy to see that the "for rent" sign is still out front. This gives us hope that they are not full and that some bars have closed up shop.
We three stood out front, prayed, and sang a hymn that came to Bridget's mind: "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less." As foreigners, we always get inquisitive looks from passersby, but with the singing, we got a lot more!
And as we continued walking around, pausing, praying, chatting, and being quiet too, a Japanese man in a sharp black suit walked in our direction. Out of all the folks walking around, he stuck out to me for some reason. As he got closer, I felt like a spiritual battle was going on. He stared directly at me and glared, and I felt such darkness and evil surrounding him and pouring out of him. I knew that there was nothing he could do against God's power and I smiled at him with Love. (We always get curious looks from the guys in the black suits at the front doors of the bars, but this was much more intense.)
I'm looking forward to Yuki coming with us again sometime, and I'm feeling so thankful that we just "happened" to see her along the way.
Two great evenings. Thank you, Father.
Last night was our sixteenth prayer time! I'm only using numbers because I don't want to have to think of a title for each different walk, but if I had to name last night's time, I would call it Prayer-Walking in and for Hope. It was raining when I picked Bridget up, but we decided to go anyway in the hope that the rain would stop. And it did! Bridget and I started out from the parking lot in the entertainment district and almost immediately ran into our friend Yuki Ueda in front of a shopping center. She's also a believer, and when we told her what we were up to, she wanted to come along and pray with us. What a blessing! We really felt like it was God's timing, and when I came home and told my family about it, my son Matthew said, "Mom, I don't think that was a coincidence!" I don't either. And by the way, Stephen and the boys told me that while the ladies and I were out praying, the three of them were at home praying along with us. It truly is a team effort, with God as our loving and wise Coach.
Of course we stopped in front of the jail-like gray building with the numerous dodgy bars (the one that feels the darkest and heaviest to us) and we were happy to see that the "for rent" sign is still out front. This gives us hope that they are not full and that some bars have closed up shop.
We three stood out front, prayed, and sang a hymn that came to Bridget's mind: "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less." As foreigners, we always get inquisitive looks from passersby, but with the singing, we got a lot more!
And as we continued walking around, pausing, praying, chatting, and being quiet too, a Japanese man in a sharp black suit walked in our direction. Out of all the folks walking around, he stuck out to me for some reason. As he got closer, I felt like a spiritual battle was going on. He stared directly at me and glared, and I felt such darkness and evil surrounding him and pouring out of him. I knew that there was nothing he could do against God's power and I smiled at him with Love. (We always get curious looks from the guys in the black suits at the front doors of the bars, but this was much more intense.)
I'm looking forward to Yuki coming with us again sometime, and I'm feeling so thankful that we just "happened" to see her along the way.
Two great evenings. Thank you, Father.
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]
3 His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]
4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]
Loved this entry and this hymn!! The story of the man in the sharp black suit was intense. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world! Go sisters (in the Lord)!!
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