Amid an Earthquake, Taiwan Is Experiencing an Unprecedented Spiritual Awakening

Taiwan is a beautiful island with even more beautiful people. On Wednesday, it was rocked by the strongest earthquake in a quarter century. As of this writing, nine people are reported dead, hundreds injured, dozens are trapped, and there is currently a tsunami warning.

Please join me in praying for Taiwan. Join me in praying for the families of those who died, the quick recovery of those trapped, that there would be no more damage or loss of life, that rebuilding would go smoothly and quickly, and that the Lord would use this for his glory and that beauty would come from ashes.

I believe the Lord has a special place in his heart for Taiwan. I am a part of a nonprofit Christian organization that has focused on prayer intercession for decades. In 2022, seemingly out of nowhere, given that our focus had been domestic, the Lord began to highlight Taiwan. The more we began to ask why, the more the Lord revealed. One of the things God revealed was that Taiwan had been the recipient of many missionaries through the centuries, including some who were martyred, and He now desired to make Taiwan a mission’s sending nation. We knew that the Lord had a destiny for this island, including marking the young people to be set apart like Nazarites and be sent into the mission field. Leadership went on an exploratory trip and the Lord immediately opened doors.

Of note is the fact that 2024 marks the 400th anniversary of the gospel arriving in Taiwan — formerly known as Formosa (“Beautiful Island”) — via the Dutch.

Last year, we were able to bring this encouraging word, as well as other insights the Lord revealed, and fast and pray with local churches during a critical time. We saw the church begin to take what God was saying and run with it, as it even tied into a decades-old Taiwanese prophecy! They learned to take what the Lord had given them, to pray and intercede, and to stand in the gap like Nehemiah.

They began making changes to how they operated certain things in the church. It was amazing what God did on that first trip. He directed us to pray for rain as a sign of revival coming to this nation, and it rained for the first time in nearly two years. (I found out later that it continued to pour rain from then on!) God directed us to pray other prayers that we literally saw answers to in the local news headlines. This was just the beginning.

The job wasn’t and still isn’t over. We had the opportunity to return during another critical window, and we’ve just returned back to the U.S. from this second trip. The Lord literally picked up right where He left off. We partnered with different local churches in the capital city in addition to networks throughout the country. We had a rather small team on the first trip, and the Lord nearly tripled the number of Americans that he called to Taiwan for this second one. We came from across the United States as well as Taiwan, yet we were able to come together in unity and flow together in prayer and fasting for this nation and its destiny!

There was a widespread national call to prayer and fasting, and it is currently estimated that between 50,000-60,000 Christians participated. Locals said they had never seen this kind of response to a call to fasting and prayer or this desire to attend prayer meetings. There was also significant and critically necessary unity developed in the church over the course of this second visit which will be essential to fulfilling the destiny the Lord has for Taiwan — especially now, as they grapple with this latest tragedy.

The response from the youth was unlike anything some American leaders in campus and youth ministry had ever seen. Young people are being set ablaze by the Holy Spirit to be set apart to live consecrated lives wholly devoted to the Lord with the goal of making his name known throughout the earth! They are rapidly becoming willing and ready to be sent into the mission field. Much more could be said about what God has done and is continuing to do.

Again, please join me in praying for the destiny of this beautiful island. Pray for those affected by this tragedy. Pray that the Lord will bring peace, grace, and comfort — that this recent crisis wouldn’t hinder what the Lord desires to do in Taiwan, but rather fuel it. That beauty would come from ashes and that this would cause people to turn to the Lord. Pray that the church of Taiwan would flourish in the aftermath of this earthquake. 

Mary Beth Waddell is director of Federal Affairs, Family and Religious Liberty at Family Research Council.