Prayer Request 5/8 -- 5/14

Tuesday
Many young people from Muslim ethnic minorities attend colleges in Xian and the government provides scholarships for those who show promise academically. Since this is often the first time they have been removed from Muslim influence in their entire lives, we pray for all Muslim students who attend Bible studies on campus and even those converted to Christianity who now face disapproval from their families and communities .

Wednesday
Six of every one hundred Chinese has some sort of handicap. In a society where competition for a job is fierce, a handicapped person as a rule has little chance to get meaningful employment so sadly, begging has become the "job" of choice for many of them. Most of the handicapped are kept hidden and are not seen out on the street. As Christ ministered to the lame and blind, let us pray for those who minister to the handicapped .

Thursday
In spite of the great variety of magazines in China from the ultra-glossy fashion ones to those with esoteric titles, there is only one Christian magazine called "Tien Fong" and it is available only through the mail. In the early 1950's there were 140 Christian magazines in China. Let us pray for the printing and distributing of more Christian magazines and literature which often contain the most current information many who do not have the Internet can get. May the Lord use them to build up and encourage all of the readers .

Friday
In a survey of the residents of Shanghai, only one percent wanted to be a laborer due to the low wages and lack of respect they saw. This comes as a slap on the Communist Party which was founded on the labor movement. Sadly, there are also few people who want to be workers for God due to low pay and parental pressure on their only child. Let us pray for God's help in the ever-increasing shortage of church workers in China .

Saturday
Advertising jingles are meant to be catchy and easy to remember. Unfortunately such terms as "Painless abortion", "Forget it, I will not share!", and "I'll enjoy it myself" have become very popular even among elementary school children. What does the church offer to catch the hearts of this generation of young people? Let us pray for all those who are in the process of preparing Christian curriculum, books, films, and websites intended for youth and children .

Sunday
As the architect of modern China, Deng called for a "cat that catches mice" but in retrospect we see that China did not have enough "good cats". Instead rampant corruption has created many, many "fat cats" at all levels of the government. In the past ten years we have also seen the dangerous decline of rural churches as people go into the cities for better lives. Let us pray for the church in China as she faces this great shift of population and continues her growth in this time of prosperity .

Monday
The key element of Den Xiaoping's master plan for economic reform was to "let some people get rich first" and, indeed a tidal wave of people did go into business and made great profit killing the patriotic, country-first doctrine Mao had promoted for decades. Deng regretted his greatest error that "the society lacks political education". Let us pray for the entire generation of believers who grew up in good times and are strangers to the sacrifice of the previous generation of believers. May they be strong in the Word of God and bring revival to the church .

星期二
許多回族青年到西安讀大學，政府提供成績優秀的學生獎助學金。雖離鄉別井，卻脫離了文化束縛和宗教壓力，福音信主機會比濃厚回教環境的家鄉容易些，信主後也成了把福音傳給族人的管道。但他們回鄉後往往會面臨遭受家庭和族人的反對和壓力。我們為他們能回應神的愛而信主感謝，更懇求神親自堅固保守他們，在孤立的時候能夠得到祂自己的支持和鼓勵。

星期三
據有關資料報告中國社會裡殘疾人佔全國人口百分之六。在工作競爭激烈的社會裏，殘疾者很難爭得符合個人專長和意願的工作機會來自力謀生。行乞似乎是唯一可以選擇的「行業」。而大部分殘疾人只能隱藏在家中。主耶穌當年傳道時經常幫助殘疾人，施恩憐憫他們。讓我們為殘疾事工禱告，求神幫助同工以基督的心為心，流露出神的愛。

星期四
當今市面上有形形色色的雜誌發行，而中國基督教刊物則從50年代初的一百四十多份縮減至只剩《天風》一家，而且只能內部發售-即郵購，不能在市場上自由販售。在網路上雖有許多基督教文字和資料，但不會上網的人卻無法接觸到。求神為這項極大的需要開路，且興起基督教文字著作出版事工，讓更多雜誌和書籍獲准發售，使更多人受益。

星期五
根據一項人才就業意向調查，由於工作累、工資薄和社會地位低，上海僅有1%的人願意做工人。這對以工人起家的共產黨似是一大諷刺。可惜基督徒也不例外，教會工作待遇也不好，加上父母反對，很少人願意做神的工人。讓我們爲中國教會同工短缺的問題禱告，求神篩選忠心、合用的僕人服事，供應聖工的需要。

星期六
廣告業爲了標新立異捕捉人心，促銷產品，近年來出現許多意識不良的廣告語，如「無痛人流」，「和別人分享，想都別想」，「要爽由自己」等，輕易成了「獨一代」孩童們的口頭語。反觀教會能用什麽來吸引現在的孩子呢？求主賜青少年和兒童工作者豐富的思維和不斷創新的概念，能為追求新鮮的年輕人和孩子提供和設計具吸引力和影響力的教材、書籍及網站。

星期日
鄧小平除了著名的「好貓」論，還有一句「一部分的人先富」也曾是時尚口號。時至今日，我們看到因爲貪腐，中國會捉老鼠的「好貓」很少，反倒有許多「肥貓」。這十年來，受經濟蓬勃富華的刺激，農村教會受到人口向城市移動極大的影響，教會人數遽減。讓我們為教會質與量的發展禱告，求神引領保守。

星期一
當年鄧小平主張「讓部分人先富」的經濟政策，掀起了一場經商大潮。中國人自「毛時代」以來養成的高度政治熱情迅速退燒，取而代之的是致富的夢想。後來，鄧小平卻遺憾「整個社會缺乏政治教育」。讓我們為出生於太平年代、不曾親見先輩們為信仰犧牲的這一代年輕人禱告。求神幫助他們在神話語上更深紮根，並能為教會帶來復興。