Repentance Prayer by Japanese - 15 Feb 1998
- I had the privilege of attending the Sunday morning service at Faith Community
- Baptist Church in Singapore at which a number of Japanese stood on the platform
- and asked forgiveness of the Singaporeans for the atrocities their people committed
- when they invaded Singapore and ruled the nation during WWII.
- This was of particular interest to me as my Father-in-law served as a POW under the
- Japanese, for about six months at Changi Prison, then several years in the Japanese
- coal mines. He didn't think he'd ever come out alive. Most of his friends didn't.
- I couldn't help but weep as I listened to this prayer of apology.
- -- David B. Hall
- Heavenly Father, You are the Almighty, and You are the one who controls
- history. "This is the day that the Lord has made." -- we confess this fact
- now. We acknowledge that You have great pains for this day. Fulfil Your
- will through these prayers. May Your will be done here on earth as it is in
- heaven.
- Jesus, the Son, we thank you form our hearts for the redemption of Your cross.
- We pray, lifting up the victory of the resurrection. We pray that we are
- one through being members of Jesus Christ. We praise Your Name, Jesus, from
- our hearts.
- You are the One who doesn't change yesterday or today, and we believe that
- today You are able to remove the curses that are placed in the depths of
- history. We leave now into Your hands the curse that was placed here on
- this land by us, the Japanese, on this day in 1942. Lord, please forgive
- us. We, the Japanese, stood on the zenith of pride, trying to control Asia
- and this nation of Singapore, oppressing and violating by military might
- and the sword.
- More than anything, however, we relied on evil powers and spirits, calling
- evil spirits to this place, and placing a sword here. From the fact that
- loyalty was sworn to the emperor, the name of the emperor was placed here.
- The name of Amaterasu was placed here, based on the lies of mythology. We
- confess this sin before You, and ask for Your forgiveness.
- We pray now standing on the authority of the Name of Jesus. We remove and
- break the curse of death and the control of the sword that were laced here
- by us Japanese on this day in 1943. In the authority of the Name of Jesus,
- we abolish the vow of loyalty to the emperor and the evil spirits that work
- behind him. In the Name of Jesus, we remove the names that were placed on
- this land -- the name of the emperor, and the name called Amaterasu, a name
- made from the lies of mythology. All of the curses that were placed on this
- land, on the economy, on the education, on the politics -- we remove them,
- and we pray blessing on Singapore in the Name of Jesus Christ. We pray
- blessing on the Chinese Singaporeans, on the Malay Singaporeans, on the
- Indian Singaporeans. We pray blessing on all of the churches that are a
- part of the body of Christ in Singapore. We ask that the blessing that You
- give to this land also be given to the nation of Japan. Please have mercy
- on Japan and the church of Japan.
-
We pray in the Name of Jesus, giving all of the glory to the Lord.
