YWAM Publishing is the publishing ministry of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international missionary organization of Christians from many denominations dedicated to presenting Jesus Christ to this generation. To this end, YWAM has focused its efforts in three main areas: (1) training and equipping believers for their part in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), (2) personal evangelism, and (3) mercy ministry (medical and relief work).
For more information about books and materials, visit us online at www.ywampublishing.com, email books@ywampublishing.com or call (425) 771-1153 or (800) 922-2143.
A ministry of Youth With A Mission P.O. Box 55787, Seattle, WA 98155-0787
Information was taken from the most recent and reliable sources available to the best of our knowledge. Every effort has been made to ensure factual accuracy. However, because of the complexity and rapid pace of world events, statistical information should not be regarded as authoritative. Updated information is welcome.
2026 Week-at-a-Glance Planners beginning on page 24
Monthly Guides to Intercession and Reflection
January: Incarnational Missions in Japan 20
February: Gospel Access for the Sahel 34
March: Piercing the Darkness in Nigeria 46
April: Rohingya Women in Bangladesh 58
May: The Waorani in Ecuador 72
June: Transmitting Faith in Central Asia 84
July: Yemen’s Tragedy and Hope 96
August: Bali: Tradition vs. Truth 110
September: From Mission Field to Mission Force 122
October: God’s Word in Mexican Sign Language 136
November: Women and Infants in the Crossfire 148
December: Bold Missions in Nagaland 160
Snapshots of the World
Weekly Featured Nations beginning on page 24
Maps of the World 178
Countries of the World 188
Time Zones 199
Scripture Infusion
Daily Bible-Reading Plan beginning on page 24
Weekly Meditation and Memorization beginning on page 24
Bible-Reading Checklist 174
Resources
Contributors 200
Endnotes 201
Contacts 202
Notes & Prayer Journal 204
WELCOME
Living & Praying Intentionally in 2026
You hold in your hands a unique prayer and scheduling tool designed to help you live an intentional, integrated life connected to God’s kingdom. Far more than an effective organizer, this resource is a window through which thousands of believers like you see God’s work in the world and join him in that work through vital intercession for the nations.
Just as continuity and change mark our lives year to year as individuals, families, and communities, each year the Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner presents new challenges and opportunities for prayer and action while retaining continuity in its focus: we pray for people who do not yet know about the work of God in Jesus Christ, and we pray for global issues across the sectors of society.
Karl Barth, the great 20th-century Swiss pastor and theologian, is well known for saying Christians must read both the newspaper and the Bible—and they must interpret the newspaper through the Bible. In essence, the Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner enables this. It contains news from around the world as well as thoughtful voices offering biblical perspectives. Its articles, Scripture resources, and prayers bring together knowledge of current events and knowledge of the Bible.
Prayer is key for our Christian lives. Prayer is relational; it involves speaking and listening; it engages our hearts and minds. When we open our minds to God in humble worship and through honest dialogue, we invite the Spirit to lead us “into all the truth” (John 16:13). In prayer, God can help us see with spiritual eyes the events occurring in our world today. Not satisfied with the lens of the media or our own limiting biases, we seek the perspective of God, who through Jesus Christ is reconciling to himself all things— on earth and in heaven (see Col. 1:20).
One way we can cultivate an awareness of God’s perspective is to join with other believers in the daily, weekly, and yearly rhythms of the Christian life. For centuries, Christians around the world have recalled the important events in the life of Christ and the early church—Jesus’s birth, death, resurrection, and more. In many Christian communities, it is through the Christian year, not the calendar year, that they keep time—the “time” of the church and the Christian life. John D. Witvliet writes, “The Christian year…provides a way of understanding the Christian life. These events are not just about Jesus; they are about us” (see his article on page 12). By living into the seasons of the Christian year, we continually orient ourselves in God’s Story. It is a way to focus our whole lives on the person of Jesus Christ and the continuing work of God in the world.
This resource therefore provides a weekly scripture for meditation selected from the Revised Common Lectionary (a cycle of readings shared by many churches) as well as a record of important Christian days, including the name of each Sunday, to help you grow and stay in tune with Christian brothers and sisters around the world. It is our sincere hope that as you practice these rhythms and engage in prayer for the nations, you will indeed be led “into all the truth.”
Using Your Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner
The Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner is designed to assist you in integrating three vital areas of your daily life: (1) intercessory prayer; (2) Bible reading and meditation; and (3) planning your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual schedules. It provides many opportunities for you to live and pray intentionally throughout the year.
by Jon Dugan
Satoko felt this was her family’s last chance to stay together. At the base of the staircase leading to their new apartment, she and her husband and their three young children unloaded their moving truck. As a young woman, Satoko had moved to Kyoto to pursue art and design. She didn’t know that the exciting young man she met was deeply involved with the Japanese underworld, or that their relationship would lead to three regretted abortions before they finally married. Now their life had completely unraveled. She had gone to the bullet train station to flee with the children, but her oldest daughter had implored her to call home. Satoko had agreed to try one more time by moving to a new area. Now, here in Kawachinagano, a foreigner came down the staircase. Strangely, he spoke to them in fluent Japanese and offered to help carry their things. Who was this man?
Fruitful Relationships
Soon after they moved in, we invited Satoko to our home Bible study, where she began to tell her story. As a child, Satoko was near death when, out of desperation, her parents asked a pastor for help. The pastor prayed and obtained antibiotics from the US. Satoko always knew that the prayers of Christians had saved her life. An avid reader, as an adult she began to read the books of Christian author Ayako Miura—the same books that had led my wife, Hiromi, to Christ when she was in college in Osaka. There was an instant connection.
Collection of relevant Christian teaching.
Beginning on page 6 are three short teachings to further inform your intercession and help you discover principles readily applicable to your daily walk with God. These challenging, insightful teachings lay a strong foundation for prayer, mission, and personal reflection and growth.
This was the beginning of a relationship that would span decades and transform three generations of Satoko’s family, not to mention my own. It was 1987, and my wife, Hiromi, and I were about to plant our first church. We had been praying for the family who would move into the empty apartment across the landing from ours.
20 January
On December 25, 1988, Satoko was the first person baptized at our church plant. Over the years her husband and three children followed in profession of faith, and a few years ago her first granddaughter accepted Christ. It is rare to find three generations of Christians in Japan.
An Enigma Like Satoko’s, almost every story of a Japanese coming to Christ is a long saga. One of the first things my mentor told me when I arrived in Japan as a 25-year-old was, “Japan is not a hard country, it’s a slow country.” Japan is the most accessible, least reached country in Asia. A superficial openness combined with underlying cultural barriers
Monthly articles exploring places of brokenness and redemption around the world (A). Each month you’ll read about a people, nation, or issue in desperate need of the church’s intercession and intervention. Each Sunday you’ll find a reminder to pray for the people or situation discussed in that month’s profile. A list of contributors and notes to the articles can be found on pages 200 and 201.
Daily thematic prayer guide (B). Each day a group or need related to that month’s prayer focus is targeted for prayer. Join thousands of other diary users worldwide in praying for the same people or situation.
Bible meditation and memorization guide (C). Weekly verses are found at the beginning of each week. By meditating on and memorizing each selection, you will commit more than 50 portions of Scripture to memory in 2026.
Weekly guide to praying for the nations (D). One nation is highlighted for prayer each week. Important information and a flag are included to assist you in praying for that nation. On pages 197–198 are explanations of the categories used in the listings. Each nation can be located geographically using the maps section beginning on page 178.
Two-track Bible-reading program (E). Option 1: Read through the Bible in a year by following the
reading guide each day. Option 2: Use the checkoff system on pages 174–177 to read the Scriptures at your own pace. By reading an average of 3.5 chapters each day, you will read the entire Bible in one year.
Calendars for planning your day, week, and year (F). A three-year, long-range planner can be found starting on page 14. Each month opens with a month-at-a-glance planner to keep track of important events. The daily calendar is designed in a handy, week-at-a-glance format and can be used as a daily planning tool or as a daily journal and prayer diary. (Note that some non-Christian religious holidays are included on the calendars as an aid to prayer.)
Personal notes and contacts. A personal notes/ prayer journal page is included at the beginning of each month. Additional notes/journal pages begin on page 204. Also, a section for recording phone numbers and addresses begins on page 202.
Reference helps (G). The world maps, countries of the world section, and time-zone chart are found on pages 178–87, 188–98, and 199, respectively.
The more you use your Personal Prayer Diary and Daily Planner, the more it will assist you in connecting the whole of your life to God’s kingdom. As you learn about areas of need and areas of hope in God’s world this year, both through this tool and in your daily life, be encouraged and emboldened in the knowledge that you are one of thousands of Christians using this diary worldwide who are united in vital intercession.
by Jon Dugan
Satoko felt this was her family’s last chance to stay together. At the base of the staircase leading to their new apartment, she and her husband and their three young children unloaded their moving truck. As a young woman, Satoko had moved to Kyoto to pursue art and design. She didn’t know that the exciting young man she met was deeply involved with the Japanese underworld, or that their relationship would lead to three regretted abortions before they finally married. Now their life had completely unraveled. She had gone to the bullet train station to flee with the children, but her oldest daughter had implored her to call home. Satoko had agreed to try one more time by moving to a new area. Now, here in Kawachinagano, a foreigner came down the staircase. Strangely, he spoke to them in fluent Japanese and offered to help carry their things. Who was this man?
Fruitful Relationships
This was the beginning of a relationship that would span decades and transform three generations of Satoko’s family, not to mention my own. It was 1987, and my wife, Hiromi, and I were about to plant our first church. We had been praying for the family who would move into the empty apartment across the landing from ours.
Soon after they moved in, we invited Satoko to our home Bible study, where she began to tell her story. As a child, Satoko was near death when, out of desperation, her parents asked a pastor for help. The pastor prayed and obtained antibiotics from the US. Satoko always knew that the prayers of Christians had saved her life. An avid reader, as an adult she began to read the books of Christian author Ayako Miura—the same books that had led my wife, Hiromi, to Christ when she was in college in Osaka. There was an instant connection.
On December 25, 1988, Satoko was the first person baptized at our church plant. Over the years her husband and three children followed in profession of faith, and a few years ago her first granddaughter accepted Christ. It is rare to find three generations of Christians in Japan.
An Enigma
Like Satoko’s, almost every story of a Japanese person coming to Christ is a long saga. One of the first things my mentor told me when I arrived in Japan as a 25-year-old was, “Japan is not a hard country, it’s a slow country.” Japan is the most accessible, least reached country in Asia. A superficial openness combined with underlying cultural barriers
Incarnational Missions in Japan
has made Japan an enigma for many missionaries. Reaching the Japanese requires embracing some of the unique features of their culture.
1. Language: Japanese are generally monolingual. They love their language and place great importance on the mastery of it.
2. Time: Japanese are long-term oriented. They plan for the future from a young age. Thus, the missionary needs to be ready to commit to the long term in order to be taken seriously.
3. Relationships: Japanese are relationship oriented. They make choices based on trust relationships rather than logical information.
4. Age: Japanese place great value on age. They respect people who have life experience. Young people and “newcomers” must prove themselves. These cultural features mean a missionary needs to put down roots and engage in daily life in his or her neighborhood. Relationships develop slowly, and ongoing interaction over time opens the way for meaningful conversations. The first step to sharing the gospel often begins over a cup of coffee at the house of the missionary.
For years, missionaries have sought a “key” to unlock spiritual strongholds and bring Japanese to Christ. In reality, lasting results come not from a new technique but rather from a church-centric, incarnational approach.
Challenges to the Gospel
Most literature states that Japanese are either Buddhists or followers of Shinto. The influence of both is evident in rituals that form the fabric of Japanese life. However, rituals are carried out as part of tradition more than actual beliefs. In fact, most Japanese would be hard pressed to explain what Buddhism teaches. As a culture that values ceremony, the ritual itself is far more important than what it means. For them, the spiritual realm is vague and the afterlife is rarely thought about. The actual belief system of most Japanese could be described as polytheistic, relativistic, and humanistic. That belief system results in Japanese being extremely good neighbors and open to listening to new ideas while at the same time being reluctant to commit to a belief system that demands allegiance to one sovereign God.
There are many challenges to the gospel in Japan. The following are the Big 3:
1. Time: Life in Japan is busy, and religious ceremonies are mostly seasonal. The concept of weekly religious meetings is limited to new religions, cults, and Christianity. Most people are hesitant to commit to regular weekly attendance.
2. Here and Now: The role of religion in Japan is functional and utilitarian. Japanese go to a shrine or temple when they need something, such as entrance to college or the healthy delivery of a baby. It is a “vending machine” faith based on individual needs not on a relationship with God.
3. Others Consciousness: Perhaps the biggest barrier is the idea of doing something that is different from everyone else.
A Vacuum to Fill
In the more than 80 years since the end of World War II, Japan has transformed itself into a wealthy democracy. But in the midst of its headlong rush for wealth, there has been a major breakdown in the family. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, clinical depression is on the rise, and the number of people who have given up on life and rarely leave home is astounding. This breakdown in the family is the biggest need and greatest opportunity for missionaries and Japanese Christians to share Christ in a meaningful way. At the Japan Initiative we reach families through church planting, disaster response, and international school ministry as well as by rescuing people trapped in cults and training future Japanese leaders at Kansai Bible Institute.
Pray
• that a new generation of missionaries will put down roots and patiently serve their neighbors
• that Japanese Christians will pass on their faith to their children
• that Japanese believers will have strength to take a stand for what is right even when it means going against cultural expectations
• for young pastors to be raised up as 10% of Japan’s 8,000 churches have no pastor
• for regional peace as tensions grow with China and North Korea
PSALM 148:1–3 Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Goals and projects for the week:
SUNDAY
First Sunday after Christmas Day
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Japan – Eastern Asia
Population: 123,201,945
Buddhist: 67.2%
Christian: 1.5%
Other: 5.9%
Literacy Rate:
Male N/A Female N/A
Life Expectancy:
Male 82 Female 88
Infant Mortality: 2
GDP per capita: $46,200
pages 20–21)
Pray for Japanese church-planting missions (see
Zech. 1–4; Prov. 28; Rom. 13
Pray for church planting in North Korea
Zech. 5–9; Prov. 29; Rom. 14
Pray for church planting in Comoros
Zech. 10–14; Prov. 30; Rom. 15
Mal.; Prov. 31; Rom. 16
Pray for church planting in Fiji
Pray for church planting in Gabon
WEDNESDAY
Pray for church planting in Guinea
THURSDAY
Pray for church planting in China
FRIDAY
Gen. 1–2; Ps. 1; Matt. 1
Gen. 3–4; Ps. 2; Matt. 2
Gen. 5–7; Ps. 3; Matt. 3
EPHESIANS 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Goals and projects for the week:
SUNDAY
Second Sunday after Christmas Day
MONDAY
TUESDAY
North Korea – E Asia
Population: 26,298,666
Nonreligious: 69.3%
Ethnoreligionist: 15.5%
Christian: 1.48%
Buddhist: 0.4%
Other: 13.2%
Literacy Rate:
Male 100 Female 100
Life Expectancy: Male 70 Female 77
Infant Mortality: 15
GDP per capita: $1,700
Pray for new generations of Christians in Grenada
Gen. 12–13; Ps. 6; Matt. 6
Epiphany
Pray for new generations of Christians in Armenia
Gen. 10–11; Ps. 5; Matt. 5
Pray for new generations of Christians in Japan (see pages 20–21)
Gen. 8–9; Ps. 4; Matt. 4
Gen. 14–15; Ps. 7; Matt. 7
Gen. 16–17; Ps. 8; Matt. 8
Pray for new generations of Christians in Iceland
Gen. 18–19; Ps. 9; Matt. 9
Pray for new generations of Christians in Hong Kong
WEDNESDAY
Gen. 20–21; Ps. 10; Matt. 10
Pray for new generations of Christians in Estonia
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Pray for new generations of Christians in Dominica
