Prayer Request 11/15--11/21

Tuesday
English teaching is booming as a commercial enterprise. One Shanghai company has 800,000 students in 20 cities. English learning is not limited to students, but adults too. Teaching English can be a big money maker and a very effective way for personal evangelism. Let us remember all who are in China teaching English with the sole purpose of sharing the Gospel of Jesus .

Wednesday
Shenzhen, an economic miracle, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Among its population of twelve million people, eighty percent are laborers who have no legal residents and whose children have no educational privileges. Millions work long hours in factories with only one day off each week. Let us pray for the spiritual life of those who are believers but have not found fellowship and a place of worship .

Thursday
Leading Chinese thinkers assert that China today is at its worst state in all the years of its history. They recommend the revival of teachings of Confucius. More than five million children now study Confucian texts and recite ancient poetry. "Confucius for a confused China"? Let us pray for the opening of an opportunity to share the gospel and the preparation of believers for evangelism when that day comes .

Friday
People who are now in their forties in China had their lives hijacked by the Cultural Revolution. The studies of both high school and college students were aborted. Many of the residents of the cities were "sent down" to the countryside to work as peasants or were sent to reform camps. We take this time to remember those who suffered through the persecution, especially the tens of thousands who were forced to either denounce their faith publicly or face miserable persecution .

Saturday
Some Han Chinese have set up false residency in Qinghai Province to get into a good university and take advantage of the bonus points provides for educationally-disadvantaged provinces. Nearly a fourth of this sparsely populated providence (5.2 million) in Northeast China is Tibetan. Let us pray for the slow but steady work of building simple houses for the poor and distributing Tibetan Bibles here .

Sunday
Ten percent of the Chinese in China (130 million) are sixty years old or older. About 99.5% of these seniors do not engage in activities other than cooking, watching television, and caring for grandchildren. Seniors as a group are largely ignored in churches in China with few programs and little training specifically for them. We take this time to remember all those seniors who actively serve in every church .

Monday
Chinese merchants were the unintended victims of racial riots in a Paris suburb where there are thousands of Chinese stores and warehouses located near districts where radial tension is high. There are many Chinese churches in Paris serving hundreds of thousands of restaurant workers and merchants, many of whom are from Wenzhou. Let us pray for outreach work to Chinese students throughout France as well as to these restaurant workers and merchants.

星期二
英語教學是目前中國發展最紅火的商業。上海的一家連鎖英語中心分別在廿個城市共有80萬名學生。學英語並不限於學生，大人也熱衷參與。教英文不僅在金錢上的報酬豐厚，同時也是有效傳福音的途徑。讓我們為在國內從事英語教學的信徒禱告，求主親自引導他們，無論在教學或生活上都能見証主的榮耀。

星期三
深圳日前歡慶經濟特區成立25週年，為中國發展帶來輝煌耀眼的成績。總人口有1,200多萬的深圳市，戶籍居民只有171萬，農民工佔了人口的80%。這群外來的農民工大多長期超時工作，而且僅得本地人一半的薪資，子女就學還必須繳納借讀費。讓我們為農民工信徒禱告，特別紀念尚未找到適當團契與聚會地點的肢體，求主親自堅立他們的屬靈生活。

星期四
中國一些學者提出「儒教治國論」。他們認為傳統價值的淪喪，社會正處在150年來最危險的平衡狀態中。權貴精英相互勾結，剝削和壓迫老百姓，造成腐敗與社會不公，唯有儒家思想才能重建道德與社會標準。目前已有超過五百萬名學童背頌論語。中國社會究竟需要什麼？讓我們為中國能公開傳講福音禱告，也求主預備每一位信徒，當機會到來，就成為神福音的使者。

星期五
四十幾歲的這一代中國人，在年少求學時期經歷了文化大革命，全國所有學校停課，在「上山下鄉」運動中，許多知識青年被下放到鄉村務農或是進行勞改。讓我們紀念曾在文革中遭受迫害的數百萬中國人民，不論是公開遭受批鬥，或是被迫否認信仰者，願從神而來的恩典親自成為他們的安慰，幫助他們身心靈都得到醫治和重建。

星期六
青海省近年來成為「高考移民」流入的重點地區之一。由於該省高考錄取分數相對較低，且有加分保送等優惠，許多人為考取一流大學，選擇用假戶口等不法的方式，到教育不普及地區應考。青海省總人口數僅有520萬，其中四分之一為藏人。讓我們為著當地拓展不易的福音工作禱告，不論是為貧戶搭建簡單的房屋，或者是發送藏文版聖經，都求主保守堅立這些福音工作。

星期日
年滿六十歲以上的中國人約有一億三千萬名，占總人口數的百分之十。煮飯、看電視、照顧孫兒女，幾乎已成為99.5%年長者生活內容的全部。在教會中，年長者一直是長期被忽略的群體，甚少專為他們需要而設計的相關團契、資源和訓練。讓我們在禱告中紀念目前仍持續活躍於教會服事的長輩們，求主充份供應他們的需要。

星期一
連日來在巴黎郊區暴動中，中國商人也慘遭池魚之殃。在離暴動中心最近的歐拜赫維利耶(AUBERVILIER)街區，座落著上千家華人進出口批發商店面與工廠。近年來巴黎許多華人教會紛紛的建立，為了服事成千上萬餐飲從業人員與商人。讓我們在禱告中紀念當地教會的各類型福音事工，不論是針對中國留學生、餐飲從業者、或商人，願聖靈大能帶領更多人歸主。