Prayer Request 3/25--3/31

Tuesday
One issue involved in the debate of Tibet is the erosion of Tibetan culture and loss of its heritage. Influx of tourists and the long history of Han Chinese migration policy both have profoundly contributed to this problem. Evangelism to the Tibetans is discouraged by the government and those who support the Tibetan cause. We take this time to pray for peace in Tibet and for the opening of hearts to the Light of Life.

Wednesday
In the past 15 years, the college tuition has jumped almost 20 times. The cost of getting married has also increased about 50 times since 1970. It is estimated that raising a kid, and paying for education and marriage, costs about 43,000-70,000 USD today. Many church workers work a side job to supplement their living expenses for a child’s education. Let us pray that they have enough strength physically and spiritually for the demand of their congregations so that they will be able to feed the need of their sheep.

Thursday
The “3 giant hurdles” for Chinese are cost of medical care, education, and housing. For the rural residents, this common saying reflects how unaffordable medical costs are, “You ignore minor illnesses, you suffer through a major sickness, then you die in the hospital”.Church workers in the house churches do not have medical insurance because they are illegally employed. We commit the health of all the church workers and their families to God’s hands. We, too, remember those who are with chronic illness but still serve faithfully.

Friday
8:08 p.m., August 8, 2008, is the start of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The date and time is considered very lucky. All the Chinese hospitals are bracing for a rush for Cesarean deliveries, so pregnant women can have their babies born on that lucky date. Few churches really have facilities for child care. Many mothers are forced to stay home until their children are older. Let us pray for the spiritual welfare of the young mothers and may they receive support and encouragement from older, godly women.

Saturday
A pan-Asian survey asked, “Do you expect 2008 to be worse than 2007?” People in Taiwan are the most pessimistic, and Hong Kong residents are the most optimistic. Such a difference in mood is also reflected in churches, too. Let us pray for the 3,000 plus churches in Taiwan, especially in the time of presidential election. May the Lord keep His children from contentious politics and keep their hearts in unity for His Name’s sake.

Sunday
In the Taoism concept, a human being can become an immortal/deity through rigorous meditation and religious discipline. Such a concept is deeply ingrained in all religious practices and influence, even among the Christians.Christians measure their own spirituality and are also measured by others by how much time they devote to devotional efforts and church involvement. Many feel they are not as loved by God because they haven’t achieved a certain level of dedication. Let us pray for a true understanding of God’s unconditional love among all believers.

Monday
There is an overwhelming spiritual emptiness among the young generation, who have enjoyed prosperity unseen by their parents’ generation. A surprising number of young people are rediscovering and embracing traditional folklore, superstitions, and worship of deities and immortals. Christianity still battles the perception of being a foreign religion or a religion of uneducated peasants. Let us pray for a new strategy in evangelism that will target the younger generation and spur a deep fervor for all believers to share their faith.

星期二
在西藏議題的爭論中，其一是傳統西藏文化被侵蝕和歷史遺產的損失。至於近年大量觀光客的湧入，以及長久以來的漢人移民政策也與此有重要的關連。中國政府及那些關心西藏問題的人士均不贊同向藏人傳福音。我們除了為西藏的和平禱告外，更求主打開藏人的心靈眼睛，以致能看見生命的真光。

星期三
中國大學的學費，15年間猛增20倍。現在的結婚費用大約是1970年代的50倍。據估計，現在養一個孩子，從他上學、創業、到成家，最起碼需30-50萬人民幣。許多教會同工由於薪資微薄，只得在外兼職來添補家用和孩子的教育費。求主保守他們無論身體或心靈都健壯，能夠負擔牧養上的需要，好好地餵養主的羊。

星期四
中國的醫療、教育、住房這三大難題，被民衆稱爲「新三座大山」。 特別是農村老百姓，看病的普遍狀況是「小病挺，大病挨，不行才往醫院抬」 。家庭教會的同工因爲不是合法受聘，沒能享有醫療保險。我們將他們及其家人的健康交托給神，也求神記念長期在病中仍堅持忠心服事的同工們。

星期五
本屆奧運開幕式的準確時間是2008年8月8日晚上8時8分，由於認爲8乃是幸運數字，許多婦女紛紛選擇在當日進行剖腹生産，讓孩子在吉日降生。很少中國教會備有方便照顧幼兒的設施，許多母親們只好等孩子稍長才重返教會。讓我們為這些年輕媽媽的屬靈需要禱告，願他們能夠得到教會裏年長的敬虔姐妹的鼓勵、支持和代禱。

星期六
一項針對「2008年你有何期待」的民調顯示，亞洲各地最樂觀有自信的是香港人，反之，臺灣人對於新的一年最爲悲觀。這些不同的情緒，也反映於教會中。讓我們為臺灣三千多家教會禱告，尤其選舉過後，求主保守祂的兒女遠離政治的紛爭，使他們爲主的名的緣故，常在主裏同心合一。

星期日
在道家思想中，認為人能夠通過修煉成為神仙。這種觀念在所有民間宗教思想中根深蒂固，甚至連基督徒也深受影響。基督徒常會以靈修時間的多寡和參與教會的程度，來衡量自己以及他人的屬靈狀況。很多人甚至因爲沒有達到一定程度的委身，而覺得神對他們的愛少了。讓我們禱告信徒們能夠真正明白和體會神所白白賜下的愛，是毫無條件且豐盛完全的恩典。

星期一
現在年輕的一代享有父輩們未曾有過的榮華，卻經歷著靈裏極大的虛空。探索和接受傳統民間傳説、迷信、和崇拜精靈、神仙的年輕人，多得令人驚訝。而基督教在中國至今仍未擺脫屬於洋教和低知識農民信仰的偏見。讓我們禱告求神更新我們的宣教策略，讓年輕一代也能被主得著，同時也點燃所有信徒的心，一同火熱地宣揚福音。

Prayer Request 3/18--3/24

Tuesday
China's has the worst gender imbalance problem in the world. It is the worst in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Anhui, and Henan. It is illegal to use ultrasound to determine the sex of an unborn child but many still use it to abort the female fetus. We pray for those couples with daughters who experience pressure from their parents. We also remember all the believers who will have children this year and ask the Lord to give them wisdom to raise a godly child.

Wednesday
A "letter of appointment" is a letter of introduction which the government gives to graduates of approved colleges and essentially guarantees a job in a governmental agency with residency (hukuo) and medical benefits. It also serves as a recommendation from the Party leader at the school. Finding a church to serve after one finishes training is a complicated process in China that is greatly influenced by where one received theological training and what recommendations he has. Let us pray for all those who are waiting for the right place to minister, especially graduates of Three-self seminaries who have not found a church in which to work.

Thursday
Many churches have few children's programs to offer and are not willing to provide training for teachers or buy the much-needed materials to teach children so there are few children who attend Sunday services. Many parents simply let their children play computer games rather than taking them to church and often even the children of church workers stay home. We pray that more churches and more parents will catch the vision for and the importance of ministry to the little ones.

Friday
With 110,000 heroin users, Guangdong leads China in having about 1/7 of the nation's drug addicts. Illegal drug use among teenagers has been increasing steadily and youth from Christian families are not immune. Hundreds of college students have been recruited as volunteer promoters of drug abuse prevention and some addicts have come to know Jesus through Christian involvement. Let us pray for the officially-sanctioned drug rehabilitation work by several organizations with Christian ties.

Saturday
In the 1970's the University of Science and Technology of China had a special "child prodigy" class whose members were deemed to be future Nobel Prize winners and were closely followed by the media. Unfortunately, the program was unsuccessful and most of those children suffered from stress. Presently many Sunday school teachers lack good training and the programs are only "singing songs and story-telling". Let us pray for an overall improvement in the children's programs in all Chinese churches with more leaders who will see the importance of young believers.

Sunday
The government reported that at the end of 2006, 56% of China's 13-billion population was in rural areas. However, migration from the villages to the cities as well as from city to city continues. Many urban churches report that their Sunday school students come and go as they travel with their parents who are seeking better jobs elsewhere which makes it difficult to follow up on those children who do attend. Let us pray for wisdom in teaching and that the Holy Spirit will work mightily in the hearts of all the urban Sunday school students.

Monday
In China, books telling parents how to raise a child who is a genius are consistently bestsellers. All parents want to help their children get ahead academically or in musical performance so they spare nothing to give their only child all kinds of lessons. Most churches in China do not have a full Sunday school program so the real challenge is how to make the children's programs interesting when the teachers lack training. Let us pray that all the teachers are able to help their students understand and apply Biblical principles.

星期二
中國是至今全球出生性別比例失衡最嚴重的國家，其中尤以江西、廣東、海南、安徽、河南五省爲甚。雖然以超音波檢查胎兒性別是屬違法，卻廣泛被濫用。我們為許多因生女兒而倍受傳統壓力的夫婦們禱告。同時，記念所有將在今年爲人父母的信徒，求神賜他們智慧來養育出敬虔愛神的孩子。

星期三
「派遣證」是中國政府發給高校畢業生的介紹信，予以保證能在享有戶口和醫藥福利的公家機構任職。這也是學校幹部的推薦信。神學生在國內完成神學訓練後要尋找服事的教會，過程並不簡單。所受的神學訓練，以及所獲得的推薦對該生有很大的影響力。讓我們為所有正在等候適當事奉工場，尤其是從三自神學院畢業、尚未找到服事崗位的畢業生們禱告。

星期四
很多中國教會欠缺針對兒童的節目，而且不願花費提供兒童主日學教師訓練或購買所需的教材，因此參加主日崇拜的兒童寥寥無幾。許多家長乾脆讓孩子在家玩電腦，往往連教會同工的孩子也不上教會。我們禱告神賜下更多異象給教會和家長有此前瞻，能看到兒童福音工作的重要性，願意致力推動兒童事工，為未來的屬靈承傳盡上本份。

星期五
廣東吸毒人口居全中國之首，單是吸食海洛英的就超過11萬人，佔全國吸食人數七分一。青少年吸毒者逐年增加，連基督徒家庭的孩子也不能倖免。廣州各高校的百多名大學生志願者，參與推展青少年禁毒教育，一些吸毒者則因當中的基督徒而認識了耶穌。讓我們為受官方認可、有基督教背景的戒毒服務禱告，求主大大使用、賜福，叫更多沉淪毒海者能重獲新生。

星期六
1970年代中國科技大學專門為多名神童成立天才兒童「少年班」 ，栽培未來的諾貝爾得主，此事受到媒體的緊密追蹤。這個少年班不幸因成員負擔太多壓力，最終宣告失敗。目前國內好些兒童主日學，因為老師沒有接受適當培訓，僅止於一般性 與孩子「唱唱歌，講講故事」的節目而已。讓我們禱告中國教會能有更多看重年幼信徒的領袖，兒童節目能有全面的更新進步。

星期日
據中國的官方統計報告，2006年底中國大陸13億人口中，農村人口佔56%。然而從農村到城鎮，以及各城市之間的人口轉移仍會持續。許多城市教會反應，由於家長到別處找尋更好的工作機會而四處遷徙，他們的主日學生也進進出出流動率極大，使得兒童的跟進工作難以進行。求主賜教導的智慧給城市教會，聖靈也在主日學學生心中動工。

星期一
在中國，教導家長如何培養天才兒童的書籍經常都炙手可熱。所有家長都希望幫助孩子，無論在學術，或音樂上，都能在起跑點上領先，很捨得讓獨生孩子上各種學習班。多數中國教會沒有完善的主日學系統，目前最大的問題是在教師缺少訓練的情況下，如何把兒童節目做得有聲有色。讓我們為所有主日學老師禱告，求主幫助他們能夠有效教導學生明白和應用神的話。

Prayer Request 3/11--3/17

Tuesday
A Western-styled breakfast served in a fast food restaurant has become a way of life for many Chinese urbanites, especially students and young professionals. Many people are willing to pay more for the convenience and eat breakfast outside the home. Attending an early morning prayer meeting has been a tradition for many churches. Let us remember all of those believers who faithfully get up early in the morning to attend prayer meetings. May their supplications rise to the throne like sweet fragrance.

Wednesday
Many people have the impression that house churches are "closed" and refuse to cooperate with the Three-self churches as they extend their welcome to the house churches. There is still much apprehension and distrust between the house churches and open churches. While we are not to judge our brothers, we pray for healing and faithfulness to the Word of God for all.

Thursday
In the past few years Buddhism has gained popularity with China's new and wealthy white-collar class. Recently President Hu Jintao even suggested that religion, including Buddhism, could help ease the tensions between the "haves" and the "have-nots". We do praise the Lord that many urban churches are now seeing many younger faces.However, rural churches are still composed mostly of old and uneducated people. We need to pray for the phenomenon of the huge wave of once atheistic urban young people turning to Buddhism because they feel it is a Chinese religion while Christianity is a foreign religion.

Friday
The rapid appreciation of Chinese currency has been a double-edge sword. Import of many luxury goods is more affordable and it is cheaper for Chinese to travel abroad. But, it makes the Chinese export less competitive. Chinese believers need to be encouraged to give to God’s work and their church. Most preachers are hesitant to speak on offering and giving for mission. Let us pray for a willing attitude and willingness to trust God as they give to God.

Saturday
It is projected that by 2015, half of the Chinese population will be living in cities instead of in rural setting. Every year, 20 millions peasants move to cities, many of them are young people. Rural Chinese churches face a terrible depletion of young coworkers as they flock to cities for better-paying jobs. Let us pray that God will raise up urban churches willing to help the churches in villages, by sending people to teach and preach. We urgently need to pray for all the rural Chinese churches.

Sunday
Corruption in the academia is a wide spread problem in China. Plagiarism, multiple uses of the same article and behind-the-scene manipulation for awards are so common. Many Christians who are in academic settings find it very difficult to maintain integrity and stay away from compromises. Let us pray for them as they strive to live out their testimony for God with integrity.

Monday
“Les Miserable” the opera will be produced in Chinese this year by a joint Chinese and English effort. Chinese intellectuals are warm to appreciate many Western classics. Many Chinese intellectuals have read the Bible as a literary masterpiece and later come to accepted Jesus Christ as personal savior. These same intellectuals are also drawn to Western Christian classic. Let us pray for shepherds who are able to reach out and share with the intellectuals.

星期二
西式快餐店售賣的早餐，已經成了許多中國都市人生活中不可或缺的一部分，為圖方便，很多人寧願多花些錢在外買早餐，對於學生和職青更是如此。至於靈性上的供應和操練，許多教會仍保留著晨禱會的傳統，讓我們為清晨早起，忠心參加晨禱的弟兄姐妹們禱告，願他們的祈禱如馨香的祭在寶座前蒙記念。

星期三
有許多人對家庭教會有以下的印象：太過封閉，不願意與三自教會和好，也不接受後者對他們的接納。家庭教會和公開教會之間仍存著許多猜疑和不信任。讓我們都尊主為大，竭力追求合一，不論斷自己的弟兄。求神醫治一切傷口並叫所有主內信徒都忠實於神的話語。

星期四
過去幾年中，佛教在中國新富有的白領階層已得到普及。在最近的一次講話中，胡錦濤還提出，宗教，包括佛教，有助於緩解貧富階級間的緊張關係。感謝神許多城市的教會日益增多許多年輕的新面孔。但農村的教會仍以年長者和未受過教育者居多。目前有一股趨勢：無神論的城市年輕人因感覺佛教比較中國化而傾向接受佛教，並誤以為基督教是外國宗教。讓我們特別為這可憂的現象祈禱。

星期五
人民幣升值是一把「雙刃劍」，正面影響是使中國可以進口很多好東西，出國旅遊得著好品質；負面影響則是減少了中國的出口競爭力。教會自養的最大支持是信徒的奉獻。但國內仍有許多教牧同工甚少傳講奉獻的信息，有些甚至不提。讓我們為教會信息都能教導正確的奉獻觀念來禱告，求神幫助信徒明白奉獻的義意外，更能憑信心來奉獻。

星期六
中國的城市化步伐不斷急劇加速。估計至2015年，城鎮人口會達到全國人口百分之五十，即每年平均有二千萬流動人口從農鄉湧往城鎮。農村人口（特別是年青人）大量的流向城市，使農村教會面臨缺乏同工的困難。求主興起對農村教會有負擔的城市教會，能定期派同工前往教導和牧養信徒，使農村教會的成長也得著幫助。

星期日
當前中國學術界的腐敗，已廣為學人們所垢病。抄襲、操縱評獎的黑幕、論文一文多發等普遍現象，已使學界尊嚴蒙受極大虧損。許多置身其中的基督徒想要持守誠實及清白的立場，十分不易。求神保守在學術界的信徒能在這種混濁惡劣的環境中，堅持不同流合污，以保有高尚的品格，來為主做見証。

星期一
中英正式合資成立音樂劇製作公司，預計今年將推出中文版《悲慘世界》。中國知識分子愈來愈歡迎不同層面的知識輸入，特別是透過閱讀。其中就有不少人通過閱讀聖經而歸向基督。我們懇求主，為知識分子預備更多適合他們閱讀的屬靈書籍，牧養他們的屬靈生命日漸茁壯。

Prayer Request 3/4 -- 3/10

Tuesday
The recent scandal of "pornographic pictures" rocked Hong Kong and mainland China. Millions of young people attempted to download them as the government made arrests. Here we see a major shift in the Chinese view of sexuality. A decade ago, sex was still a taboo subject and kissing on campus was strictly forbidden. Now, condom machines are available on college campuses and young people brag about their sexual exploits online. Let us pray that the hearts of all young Christians will be guarded from temptation and they will desire to live holy lives.

Wednesday
Chinese Labor Laws are very generous to pregnant workers. A pregnant worker is legally entitled to 90 days of maternity leave including 15 pre-birth rest days with full salary. After the seventh month of her pregnancy, she must have rest and cannot take the evening work shift. Many foreign-owned factories are finding these provisions difficult on their profitability. Few church workers have such privileges since they are not covered by health insurance and are not legally employed. Let us pray for those who are pregnant, for their pregnancy and the health of baby and mother, and their desire to continue to serve their churches.

Thursday
“A dwarf watching the show” is a Chinese idiom - one cannot see what is on stage but laughs along with others, assuming it must be funny. Chinese Christians take great pride in associating themselves with certain theological labeling like evangelical, reformed, charismatic, etc. Unfortunately, some of them go too far attacking others as unorthodox. Let us pray for humility of all brothers and sisters in Christ and a spirit of unity of believers in China.

Friday
The Huaxi village in Jiangsu province is known as the “number one village”. It started as an agricultural commune in 1960 and continued as a collective village enterprise. The villagers’ income is 40 times of other Chinese farmers and their homes rival Western resorts. A few urban churches have become the role models for the rest of China, with modern facilities and large attendance. We pray for the leadership for these large churches, for the powerful preaching of God’s Word, their outreach ministries and their assistance to other smaller churches.

Saturday
Seventy percent of the men in Shanghai are willing to be "Mr. Mom" and do the housework in the home. Ladies in Shanghai have a reputation of being very capable so they go out and get jobs while the fathers rear the children.Chinese men are less likely than American men to take an active role in housework and child care. Let us pray for all Christian men that they will be godly men, serve in the churches, be considerate husbands, and excellent role models for their children.

Sunday
China has stepped up its enforcement of workers’ benefits. For example, women are entitled to one hour off each day for feeding their babies up to one year of age. Feeding (breast or bottle) time and the time for travel are counted as work time. The majority of young Chinese mothers work and have their babies cared for by the grandparents. We pray for all the young Christian mothers, as they balance work, family life and relationships with their in-laws in this often-stressful transitional time in their lives.

Monday
Four internationally renowned evangelists, from evangelical to charismatic, will be leading large-scale meetings in Taiwan over the span of 4 months. The island's Christian population makes up less than 2-3 percent of the total population and has not changed significantly. Taiwan churches are deeply divided along political, denominational and theological lines. We pray that these rallies will open a new chapter to unity among churches and a true revival of many churches.

星期二
最近影星「艶照醜聞」震動了香港和大陸兩地。雖然當局下令禁止在坊間流傳，年輕人仍然大量下載，背後反應出的是中國道德觀的大轉變。十年前，性在中國還屬於禁忌話題，大學裏為維護秩序不許公開接吻。如今校園中安裝了安全套銷售機；互聯網上，年輕人自豪地介紹自己的性經歷。讓我們求主保守年輕基督徒的心思意念，能遠離誘惑以敬虔為樂，並渴望過聖潔的生活。

星期三
中國的新勞工法令，非常厚待懷孕工人。福利包括：懷孕職工可享90天有薪產假，包括產前休假15天；懷孕7個月以上者不得從事夜班勞動，且應在勞動時安排休息時間。這些法令讓許多外資廠商覺得影響公司盈利。在教會服事的同工和傳道很少享有這些福利，因為沒有醫藥保險，也非一般正式受聘的員工。讓我們為所有懷孕的信徒和腹中胎兒的健康禱告，也為他們願意繼續在教會裏服侍禱告。

星期四
諺語「矮子看戯」是比喻只知道附和別人，自己沒有主見，用來形容某人見識不廣。中國信徒往往喜歡為自己及他人貼上各類「神學標簽」，如福音派，改革派，靈恩派..等等，並且引以自豪。有些人甚至自詡主流，攻擊他人為非正統，造成許多紛爭。讓我們為弟兄姐妹都能在主裏存心謙卑，也為中國信徒們能在靈裏合一而禱告。

星期五
江蘇省江陰縣的華西村，被評定為全國大型一檔鄉鎮企業。華西村自上世紀60年代就是中國農村的先進典型，繼而走「共同富裕」路線。華西村民人均收入是全國農民的40倍，他們華麗的家園可媲美西方勝地。有些城市教會已擁有現代化設施和廣大的會衆，成爲全中國教會的楷模。讓我們為這些大教會能夠有力地傳講神的話，負起導引作用來禱告，也為他們的宣教工作及對其他小教會的協助向神求恩。

星期六
七成上海職業男人願意在家做全職賢內助，處理家中大小事物。上海女子事業能力強，「女主外、男主內」的風潮在滬上愈演愈烈。比起美國男人，中國男人較少擔起理家育兒的責任。讓我們為所有基督徒弟兄們禱告，求神幫助他們都能敬虔愛主、在教會忠心服事，也願意在家做個體貼的丈夫，以及孩子們的好榜樣。

星期日
中國加強勞工福利。例如，有不滿一週歲嬰兒的女職工，應當獲給予一天兩次共1小時的哺乳時間，哺乳時間和在本單位內哺乳往返途中的時間，算作勞動時間。多數中國的年輕媽媽都有工作，把寶寶托給祖父母照顧。我們為所有年輕的基督徒母親們禱告，求神多賜恩惠，在她們這充滿壓力的人生階段中，能夠平衡工作和家庭生活，以及維繫與公婆的關係。

星期一
四位來自不同宗派背景的大國際知名牧師，將於6-9月之間陸續到臺灣主領大型聚會。在這島上，基督徒僅佔總人口的2-3%，而且一直沒有很大的突破。臺灣教會因政治、宗派、和神學觀點的分歧而互相隔離。我們期望即將陸續登場的福音聚會能為教會的團結景象展開新篇章，並為許多教會帶來屬靈的大復興。