Prayer Request 10/24 -- 10/30

Tuesday
In a newly released multi-city survey of urban working women only 46% of Chinese women describe their marriages as happy. Only 38% of those 51-60 years old say their marriages are happy. Traditionally Chinese family values stress harmony rather than happiness in marriage. The husband-wife relationship is hardly mentioned. Churches have also been shy about speaking about the Biblical teaching on family. Let us pray for healing and renewal of family relationships among believers in China .

Wednesday
Nine out of ten Chinese women complain of stress at work. Those in their 30's and 40's and those with higher education experience far more pressure in the work place. The stay-at-home mother is nearly unheard of and nearly all mothers must balance work with raising a child. Traditionally, typical Chinese men play a minimal role in raising children. Let us pray for believing fathers, as they fulfill the Biblical role and responsibility of godly fathers. We too pray for many examples of godly fathers in local churches .

Thursday
Which line of work is most stressful in China? The media (communication) is the most stressful, followed by medically related jobs, education, and the insurance business. The most frequently given reasons are "Being too busy" and "too much competition." Interviews with Chinese church workers reveal that many of them have symptoms of being "burned out". They preach often but lack spiritual nourishment themselves. Shouldering a heavy task alone is not necessarily a healthy thing. Let us pray especially for those who are struggling with thoughts of leaving the ministry .

Friday
Nearly all the women in China have great concern about consumer product safety. A whopping 38% worry about the safety of food products. Chinese women make the decision for what her family eats in nearly 80% of the cases. Who is worrying about the spiritual health of the children in China? In the churches there are many "spiritual single parents"--families where only the wife is a believer. Let us pray along with all the Christian mothers who are concerned about how their children will grow up loving God .

Saturday
Seventy percent of the women in China are optimistic about the quality of life they will have in the next three years. These are mostly working women considered to be middle class and above. Younger women are more optimistic than older ones. Women aged 40-50 years old are the core of Chinese churches. They serve in all positions including preaching sermons. Let us pray for wisdom and strength for all the women serving in leadership positions .

Sunday
A full 20% of Chinese women describe their marriage relationship as "xiangjing rubin" (respecting each other as a guest). This Confucian term describes the ideal relationship of husband and wife but the modern usage refers to a tie that is merely cordial, icy, and without pleasure. How many Christian Chinese families are together merely for the sake of the children? We do not know but the high divorce rate among believers is alarming. Let us pray again for all wives who struggle with an "unhappy marriage" and submission to husband and God .

Monday
In a recent nationwide survey of working women, wives in one out of three marriages in China describe their marriages as "bland". Chinese men are not generally known for their romanticism and they grew up without a role model for being considerate to their wives. Western values presented in movies are helping to change this but the idea is still foreign to most Chinese men. Let us take time to pray for all Chinese male believers as they try to live out the Biblical mandate for men and the call to love their spouses as Christ loved the church .

星期二
最近一項調查對中國女性對婚姻的感覺作出統計：46%形容自己的婚姻幸福，而年齡介於51-60歲的女性，只有38%認爲自己婚姻幸福。傳統的華人家庭觀念看重婚姻的和諧多過於幸福，而且人們很少提起夫妻關係，連教會也因拘謹而很少教導基督教的家庭觀。讓我們爲中國的基督徒家庭禱告，特別求神醫治和重建那些受損的家人關係。

星期三
根據一份中國女性生活狀況的調查報告： 9成女性回應有工作壓力。尤其30-40歲年齡層並高學歷的女性更覺壓力重大。國內留在家中不用出去工作的母親幾乎聞所未聞，母親們必須在工作和教養孩子的責任上作出平衡。而傳統的中國男人在教養孩子方面扮演很小的角色。我們特別為基督徒父親們禱告，求神幫助他們擔起敬虔的父親當有的責任。也求神在所有教會裏陶造更多敬虔父親的好榜樣。

星期四
在中國哪一個行業的工作壓力最大？答案是傳媒；其次是醫療衛生行業、教育工作和金融保險業。根據調查，工作壓力的首要來源是「工作太忙」和「競爭太激烈」。同樣的教會事奉的同工也表示常有被「燃盡」的倦怠感。他們長期忙於講道，卻缺少屬靈的補給，獨自肩負沈重的服事擔子並不健康。讓我們爲中國教會的工人，尤其爲那些覺得困乏，需要重新得力的人禱告。

星期五
幾乎所有中國女性都會憂心消費産品的安全，尤其針對食品安全，占38%。而近80%中國家庭的生活消費決策和購買，是掌控在婦女手中。然而，中國孩子的靈命健康又有誰來關切呢？教會裏有很多「屬靈單親」—只有媽媽是信徒。讓我們記念所有關注教導孩子敬虔、愛人的基督徒母親們，求神保守引導屬靈下一代的健全成長。

星期六
問卷調查顯示：收入中等以上、有較強消費能力的中國女性當中，70%對未來三年的個人生活素質感到樂觀。其中教育水準較高和較年輕的女性占大多數，而年齡越大，則對爲來則越不樂觀。中國教會普遍以40-50歲的婦女爲核心，她們在各個崗位上服事神，有的也負責講臺信息。讓我們求神賜信心、智慧和力量，給這些在教會裏領導的姐妹們。

星期日
將近20%的中國婦女以「相敬如賓」來形容她們的夫妻關係；這句過去儒家觀念中夫妻相處和睦之道，現代人卻用以容彼此平淡甚至冷漠的關係。雖然不知基督徒家庭中有多少夫妻是爲了子女才繼續在一起？但信徒的高離婚率已然敲響了警鐘。讓我們再次爲基督徒夫妻禱告，尤其是很多妻子掙扎於「不快樂婚姻」之中，為無法順服神及丈夫所苦。求神幫助她們，更教導丈夫們曉得敬重、顧惜妻子。

星期一
近期一份全國性的調查反應：有三分一的婦女以「平淡」來形容對婚姻的感覺。中國男人一般而言都不太浪漫，在成長過程中也沒有好榜樣學習如何體貼妻子。西方電影裏的浪漫觀讓一些人有了改變，但許多人仍然對這「外國觀念」感到陌生。讓我們特別爲中國的男信徒禱告，求神幫助他們能按聖經的教導，學習像基督愛教會一樣來愛他們的妻子，共同承受神應許的生命恩福。