Prayer Request 9/12 -- 9/18

Tuesday
Officials in Taiyuan, Shanxi recently prosecuted the biggest Chinese porn website. It had more than ten million hits daily with 619,000 registered users--mostly middle school students. The government has crack down on Internet porn but with only limited success. Christian youth and adults face the same temptations as others but churches have been slow to address this problem. Let us pray for the guarding of hearts for all of us and especially for Christian Chinese youth .

Wednesday
In the new casinos in Macau, Chinese are the biggest gamblers. In spite of the fact that the Communist Party has warned that any party members caught gambling will lose their membership, thirty to forty year-old young men from Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing donned in polo shirts and slacks wager staggering amounts of money. Chinese people love to gamble. Let us pray for this age-old sin of our people and that of the ten million Chinese visitors to Macau every year, that some will come to know the Lord through the churches in Macau .

Thursday
Talents wasted? A recent report claims 25 million college graduates are not working at the level of their education. The government has expanded the number of those who are allowed to enroll in college so a college diploma does not guarantee a job at all. Many, if not all Chinese believers, still consider serving God full time is a waste of their talents. The prevailing attitude is often that it is all right to give God one's second best. Let us pray that God will correct this mentality in the Chinese churches in general and in those who will be serving the Lord full-time after college this Fall .

Friday
A book was recently published in which a high-ranking Party official who claimed he had read the Bible three times and an American evangelist each gave his own view on creation, spiritual beliefs in China, and the relation between religion and science. We praise the Lord that in many concrete ways China is opening to a public discussion of faith. Chinese intellectuals have always been willing to talk about Christianity but let us pray for true acceptance of Christendom on a wider scale .

Saturday
Only a few zoos in the world have pandas. The exclusive, if not prestigious status, comes with a high price tag. Each host zoo must pay China $1,000.000 US per panda as the loan fee. The Chinese government also collects a $600,000 one-time fee for each baby panda born. Given her recent prosperity, many would question whether churches in China still need foreign assistance. Let us pray for more Chinese churches in the cities and overseas willing to give and assist the poorer rural churches.

Sunday
“The Dream of the Red Chamber” is a Chinese literary classic being re-released in film recently. The producer has great anxiety in staying true to the original story, managing a high- quality cast of 448 characters and meeting the expectation of critical viewers. Making a change in China churches just as difficult as the younger generation looks to invigorate worship and preaching. Let us pray for vitality of China churches and those who wish to breathe air of freshness in worship and outreach .

Monday
Experts say that 40% of Chinese divorces involve domestic violence. There is a long-standing history of violent beating of Chinese wives. These women, however, are generally too ashamed to reveal or report abuse at home. The divorce rate has been reaching new highs each year which shows us the underlying brokenness of the family structure in modern China. We need to uplift Chinese families with our prayers and pray for churches and believers who will speak not merely against violence but give a Biblical solution to it .

星期二
中國最大的色情網站起訴案，在山西太原開庭。該網站累計會員近62萬人，每天點擊率高達一千多萬次，會員絕大多數是未成年的中學生和青少年。雖然政府不斷在網路肅黃，總是道高一尺魔高一丈。其實成年或青少年基督徒們也同樣會面對這些誘惑，但很多教會對這類問題回應遲緩。讓我們求神保守弟兄姊妹的心，特別是年輕的信徒們，能靠著神勝過少年人的私慾。

星期三
澳門各類新穎賭場中，揮金如土的中國富豪已成為最大宗的顧客。雖然當局去年已對全國黨員和公務員發布了賭博禁令，「中國錢」仍源源不斷地湧入澳門。其中尤以上著馬球衫，下穿休閒褲30到40歲的年輕賭客最爲惹眼。中國人特別好賭，每年跨界赴澳的內地游客高達1千萬人次。讓我們爲同胞這長久以來的罪性禱告，求神憐憫這些遊客，興起澳門的教會在當地的福音事工，使他們有機會接觸福音，悔改接受基督而脫離罪的捆綁。

星期四
報告顯示中國大學畢業生低就者多達2千5百萬人，嚴重人才浪費歸因於高校的開放，畢業人數增加，卻造成了「讓猴子去游泳、讓鴨子去爬樹」的失調的情況。信徒中仍普遍有全職間事奉神是浪費的偏差觀念，「把次好的獻給神」來應付或搪塞便可。我們懇求神的憐憫來改變信徒種種不正確的心態。也爲秋季即將進入神學院裝備的神學生們代禱。求神在知識、品格、靈命上陶塑他們，立志以耶穌基督的服事為榜樣。

星期五
新書《一個無神論者和基督徒之間的友好對話》是由美國名佈道家，與宣稱曾讀過三遍聖經的政府官員合著的。感謝神，現在中國對宗教的態度已開放到能通過公開管道討論信仰。中國知識份子一向對基督教很感興趣，但往往僅當作一種知識而不願將耶穌與自己的生命相連。讓我們祈求神的憐憫與聖靈的工作，讓他們能看見除了神以外生命是別無出口，願意放下自我來相信和接受耶穌基督的救恩，認識獨一的真神。

星期六
全世界只有幾個特別的動物園有熊猫。其實這些熊猫每年每頭需付給中國政府1百萬美元爲「租借」費。而且每頭熊猫寶寶誕生，中國政府就可獲得60萬美元。近年中國經濟的蓬勃發展，開始有檢討中國教會是否仍需國外的資助的聲音。我們求神讓國內城市教會及海外教會能看貧窮農村教會在各方面的匱乏，願意繼續提供支援和急需的幫助。

星期日
曾拍成經典電視劇的中國古典名著《紅樓夢》，最近因重拍而引發各界疑慮：一怕演員不够水準，需要遴選要角多達108人；二怕「改編」變成「胡編」難於兼顧創新和忠於原著，更怕難以超逾前部。同樣的，在中國教會要求更新或改變也非常困難。年輕一代想帶動事工更活潑，保守者守著一些傳統不放。讓我們爲中國教會禱告，求神在敬拜和講台注入屬靈的活力和氣息，也賜有心突破的年輕人耐心，等候神的時間和作為。

星期一
在中國的離婚案中，40%涉及家庭暴力，男人打老婆的事件非常普遍，受害婦女基於「家醜不可外揚」，也多半默默忍受而不報警。現代中國的離婚率正逐年提高，家庭破裂情况加劇。我們禱告神托住中國的家庭，使教會和信徒不但願意關注家暴問題，也能提供符合聖經原則的教導，來防止家暴及協助解决家庭糾紛。