Prayer Request 9/6--9/12

Tuesday
Pastor Allen Yuan, a beloved house church leader, recently died at age ninety-two. He endured twenty-two years of labor camp but since his release has baptized hundreds of people yearly. His funeral was attended by thousands in Beijing as thousand more were turned away. Pastor Yuan asked, "Pray first for the lost millions of China. Secondly pray for the newcomers and new believers. Thirdly please pray for the leaders of our country ."

Wednesday
China is now saying it will enforce its laws to protect the equality of women, that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They plan to add more laws and use mass education to bring this about. Companies will no longer be able to dismiss women who are pregnant or have just had babies.Unfortunately sexual harassment is found in many churches. Let us pray for many of our sisters who are victims of these unspeakable transgressions but remain silent about it

Thursday
Mao declared, "Women hold up half of the sky", but today one in five women above the age of fifteen in the villages is illiterate. The suicide rate among women in the rural regions of China is the highest in the world. Jesus praised the devotion Mary showered on Him. We remember all the women believers, particularly those who are not able to read the Scriptures for themselves but still are deeply hungry for the Bread of Life .

Friday
Twelve percent of the buyers of luxury goods in the world are Chinese. Tourists from China make up ten percent of high-end tourist buyers spending 980 USD per trip which is the highest in the world. Does the Chinese church still need assistance from the outside? Can China send out her own missionaries soon? Let us pray the day will quickly come when there are missionaries from China all over the world .

Saturday
Only one-third of the original Great Wall of China is preserved. The other two-thirds is either badly damaged or missing. Poor farmers have stolen bricks from the ancient structure to build their homes. The government is appealing for foreign donors to continue the restoration.The Wall was built to keep the nomads from invading the Middle Kingdom. Let us pray for a breaking down of the Great Wall in the hearts of the millions of Chinese who have been exposed to the gospel but still refuse Jesus .

Sunday
Is the China Beauty Pageant a crazy idea? Once banned but started again a few years ago, China now hosts more beauty contests than any other country. To compete for attention and revenue, many of these so-called beauty pageants have merely become bikini contests. The talents and gifts of Chinese women believers are often overlooked with the exception of a few composers and musicians. Let us pray for Christian writers, theologians, and writers of stories for children .

Monday
Low prices and a strong demand have created a boom in the trafficking of baby girls for adoption. Eighty percent of the babies rescued are now girls. A girl costs only 5000 to 8000 yuan (900USD) while a boy can cost three times that much. There is still tremendous pressure to have baby boys in Chinese families, especially with the one-child policy. We call you to pray especially against the pressure pregnant believers go through when they know they will be having a girl .

星期二
中國家庭教會卓越領袖袁相忱牧師於上月中旬安息主懷，享年92歲。上千人參加北京的追思禮拜。袁牧師早年長期在戰火紛飛民生艱難的農村佈道，曾因堅持信仰關押在勞改營近22年。獲釋後每年為數百人受洗，深得海內外信徒景仰。他囑咐我們：第一為中國億萬失喪的骨肉禱告；其次為主內新葡和慕道友代求；第三要特別為教會的領袖守望禱告。願你我繼續這位忠牧的佳美腳蹤。

星期三
男女平等將新增爲一項基本國策。 我國保障婦女權益將透過立法與教育推行生育保险制度，並建立健全與生育相關的其他保障制度。諸如防止家庭暴力、禁止對婦女性騷擾、企業單位不得以女職工结婚生育為由降低其工資或予以辭退，退休制度也不得歧視婦女等等。在中國社會裡，女性受到性騷擾或歧視非常普遍，不幸在一些教會裡也常發生。求主賜下格外的恩典醫治那些沉默的受害姊妹們。

星期四
毛主席曾宣稱：「女人能撐半邊天」，但在今日中國的農村裡，15歲以上的婦女中，有1/5是文盲，而國內鄉村婦女的自殺率高居全球第一位。耶穌曾稱讚敬虔的婦人瑪莉亞用香膏澆抹主。讓我們記念所有主內姊妹的生活處境，特別是那些無法自行閱讀聖經，卻深深渴慕靈糧餵養的婦女，求主親賜悟性使她們尋見生命的亮光。

星期五
中國消費者已佔據世界奢侈品12%的銷售額，遊客在國外購物花費每人更高達980美元，堪稱全球之最，且是增長最快的消費群體。中國超级遊客的闊綽引來全球奢侈品企業爭相搶灘登陸之際，中國教會是否仍需仰賴海外的資援？中國近期能否承接普世差傳的棒子，派遣自己的宣教士出去？求主將福音異象放在眾信徒心中，讓我們為此大使命的早日實現禱告。

星期六
世界文化遺址，中華文明象徵的萬里長城，東西全長7,000多公里，目前只有1/3修護完好，另有1/3殘破不全，還有1/3早已不復存在。由於沿線生態環境不斷惡化，加上人為的破壞，許多村莊任意用長城磚蓋豬圈、雞舍甚至做廁所，使長城破損現象嚴重。長城原為抵禦外族入侵中原而建，讓我們為早日拆除億萬同胞心中堅硬抵擋福音的長城而禱告。

星期日
近年來，選美比賽成為一股風潮，無數的選美比賽在中國境內舉行，為吸引世人更多的注意力與贊助費用，許多主辦單位甚至以穿著比基尼泳裝選美為號召。除此之外，對中國婦女的內在與天賦的忽略，也在一些音樂人的作品中呈現。 讓我們特別為基督徒作家、神學家與兒童故事作者來禱告，願他們的作品能帶來不同於流俗的影響力。

星期一
領養女嬰，因著大量的需求與低廉的價格，創造了一個昌盛的買賣交易市場。在國內收養一名女嬰平均需花費5,000到8000人民幣 (約900美金)，收養男童的費用則是前者的三倍或更多。在中國一胎化政策下，婦女必須生男孩傳宗接代的壓力有增無減，請在禱告中特別紀念國內懷女嬰的姊妹們能有力量去面對這份壓力，不要輕易拋棄這些無辜的嬰孩，勇敢遵守主的美好旨意，教養出敬虔的下一代。