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Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God. This month we will be joining in the 15 Days of Prayer for the Buddhist World.
Photo credit: worldprayerguides.com
Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world according to Wikipedia and accounts for 6.9 percent of the world’s population. The annual Buddhist World Prayer Focus is calling Christians and churches worldwide to take 15 days, January 28 – February 11, to learn about and pray for our world’s Buddhist friends.
For many Christians who seek to understand Buddhism, it is an extraordinarily complex and often confusing worldview. As Christians, we long that all the world’s people will have an opportunity to freely see, hear and understand the grace of God incarnated in Jesus Christ.
Please join us for YWAM’s prayer day on January 14 called The Invitation as we pray for the 15 Days of Prayer for the Buddhist World movement and for Buddhist people. If you only have a few moments to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to do the work of the Kingdom of God in the lives of Buddhists around the world. You may also join in the 15-day global annual Buddhist World Prayer Focus January 28 – February 11, 2021 (https://worldprayerguides.org/buddhist-prayer-guides/ ) which is just before the start of the Chinese New Year on February 12.
Photo credit: thegreatcourses.com
Prepare to Pray:
In most nations where there is a Buddhist majority there is, at best, a very small Christian presence. An estimated 86 percent of Buddhists have never spoken with a Christian (https://www.prayercast.com/buddhism.html). However, Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 that, “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”
As you pray during The Invitation, you are adding your seed of faith to that of Christian workers and local fellowships around the world who are bringing the light of Christ to their Buddhist neighbours.
- Ponder Matthew 17:20.
- Spend time with the Lord reinforcing this promise in your heart and in your mind.
- Commit your seed of faith to the work around the world of witnessing Christ to Buddhists.
Begin to pray by watching this video from https://www.prayercast.com/buddhism.html. Join with this prayer.
Pray for the Buddhist World
- As you pray, keep in mind some of the ways Buddhist cultures understand spirituality.
- Buddhists do not believe in a creator God but do believe in various spirits and gods. They do venerate bodhisattvas or spiritual teachers who are worthy of respect.
- Folk Buddhists believe there are good and evil spirits, including spirits of dead ancestors, but all these spiritual beings are caught up in the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
- Buddhism is not about belief alone but about doing. Achieving merit through almsgiving to monks and donations to temples is an important, traditional Buddhist practice.
- Buddhists are not seeking eternal life – they already believe they exist in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. They desire liberation from endless life and suffering.
- Many Buddhists are more likely to be impacted by the stories of Jesus’ supernatural power and His free offer of salvation. Pray for miraculous healings and the revelation of grace (John 1:14).
- Pray that Christians would listen to the Buddhist people around them. Pray that they will learn from them and from the Holy Spirit how to love those around them, even when faced with rejection or persecution (John 14:15–21).
- Pray that God will help you to know how to pray for Christians who live among Buddhists, so they know how to share the good news (1 Cor 1:18–25).
- Pray for countries with large Buddhist populations: China, Thailand, Japan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Nepal, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bhutan, Macau and Mongolia. (For prayer points for each of these countries, see https://www.operationworld.org/countries-alphabetically.)
- Pray for a prayer movement for the Buddhist world. Pray that many churches and individuals would join in prayer for Buddhists using tools like the 15 Days Buddhist World Prayer Guide.
“Walking with God down the avenue of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace.”
(E.M. Bounds)
Take Action
- Join the global movement. Get your copy of the 15 Days Buddhist World Prayer Guide now and pray during January 28 – February 11, 2021 worldprayerguides.org/buddhist-prayer-guides/ (You can pray through this guide at any time during the year, but we encourage as many as possible to use it from January 28-February 11.)
- Identify a group of Buddhists that you could serve, either locally or far away.
- You can find info about the Buddhist world, including resources for prayer, at: www.prayercast.com/buddhism.html. Pray regularly for Buddhist people. Buddhism is complicated and can be hard to understand, but God responds to our prayers for Buddhist people, whom He loves.
- For more information on Buddhism and how to communicate with Buddhists, read Poles Apart, by John Davis, who was a missionary to Thailand. You can find the free PDF here.
- Updated Buddhist World Prayer Guides are produced every year. Visit World Prayer Guides at: worldprayerguides.org to order more and to find prayer guides for other groups and causes in many languages. Join others in praying for other religions: Muslims in April/May; and Hindus in November. https://worldprayerguides.org/categories
- Learn more about the organization that produces these prayer guides and consider supporting or contact the World Prayer Guides organization. https://worldprayerguides.org/about-us/; https://worldprayerguides.org/donate/; https://worldprayerguides.org/contact/.
- Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
- Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.
Dharmacakra, symbol of the Dharma, the Buddha’s teaching of the path to enlightenment
Photo credit: Wikipedia
How We Prayed
December 2020 – Care for Creation
- The working group who put together the creation care guide prayed. God led them to a time or repentance. They also prayed for poor and marginalized communities who are most affected and that YWAM locations would hear from the Lord about ways to care for the planet and be an example in our communities.
- The working group also asked that we share information about the UN climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow – https://ukcop26.org. There is a group of YWAMers who will arrange an outreach and intercession team around this important conference. You can get more information here: https://www.climateintercessors.org
November 2020 – Haiti
- YWAM Wiler, Switzerland took up an offering for YWAM Haiti and was able to connect through The Invitation.
Future Topics:
- February 11 – Loneliness
The Dalai Lama. Photo credit: theguardian.com
Don’t Miss The Invitation:
- Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
- Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
- Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
- If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.
