Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Prayer Ruquest 10/28-11/3

Tuesday
Many of the smaller restaurants in Hong Kong are expected to close soon because people have cut back on eating out. During the SARS scare three thousand restaurants there closed. The recent financial turmoil is hurting the city known for its Cantonese cuisine and restaurants. Many Chinese mission agencies are based in Hong Kong and giving for missions is expected to be lower this year than in the past. Let us pray for the many projects that will be postponed or even cannot be carried out now as the giving decreases.

Wednesday
There are 70,000 Hong Kong based factories in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province. It is estimated that because of the recent financial meltdown a quarter of these factories will close before the Chinese New Year in 2009. Many of them are no longer profitable. Massive layoff will have rippling impact socially and the churches in the region along with the ministries targeting factory workers will be affected. Let us lift up all those who are trying so hard to evangelize factory workers and equip them with Bible training before they return home.

Thursday
Taiwan has always been a hotbed for Chinese popular music and artists. Artistic freedom, a matured media industry, and access to a global Chinese-speaking audience make Taiwan a favorite launching pad for budding performing artists. In terms of contemporary praise and worship music, groups from the United States are very popular inside China. Many Chinese believers sing praise songs from memory. We thank God for all the hymns whether traditional or contemporary written by Chinese people.

Friday
The number of so-called "Olympic babies" (babies born this year) will reach eighteen million. The sex-imbalance is getting severe since Chinese couples prefer boys over girls. In Guangdong Province alone there will be 4.6 million men unable to find wives by 2020. We pray for all the children born into Christian families this year, may the parents have wisdom and commitment to raise this new generation to know Him and serve him faithfully. We continue to lift up all those who serve the young ones in Sunday School ministries in China.

Saturday
If we take a close look at who got the fifty-one medals China earned in the Olympics, we see that a large majority of them were earned in individual events. In fact, the larger the team the more poorly the team performed. Historically, Christianity in China is well-known for individual pastors but very little collective effort of a church or a group. Individualism still dominates the church landscape till this day. Let us boldly ask the Lord to raise up groups of believers and churches for His Name sake.

Sunday
Traditional Chinese music is usually performed by an individual showing that person's own private interpretation and years of practice. Rarely is excellence measured as a group effort like in the West it is found in symphonies or quartet music. Chinese Christians tend to admire a few well-known deceased preachers and consider them as saints. However, all of these individuals had a very short ministry and were mostly one-man ministries. Let us pray for humility for all believers and a willingness to submit to others so there will be a true fellowship of the saints.

Monday
Chinese are hardworking individuals but it is difficult for them to work together. It can usually be described as "one-man show", "no second act", and "three is a crowd". This mentality is often seen in churches also. Let us pray together for the revival of all churches, not just a few urban churches, not in just a few provinces or a few outstanding churches, but for the whole church in China.


星期二
經濟不景氣,人們減少出外用餐,預料香港許多小型酒樓將陸續停業。回顧「非典病毒」流傳的幾個月内,就有3,000家酒樓餐舘倒閉。此次金融海嘯將大大打擊這個以廣東美食和酒樓聞名的城市。許多宣教機構建基於香港,而今年宣教機構預測所得的資財認獻將會不樂觀。奉獻減少,宣教計劃將無法如期進行,事工方向也不明朗。我們要特別為宣教機構禱告,願主親自引領、充份供應保守各項事工的運作。

星期三
廣東珠江三角一代有七萬家港資企業。許多在最近的金融海嘯下持續虧蝕,估計其中四分一將在農曆新年之前關閉。大規模的裁員將對社會造成深遠的打擊,地區教會及以工人為對象的事工也將受到波及。我們為致力向工厰勞工傳福音的教會和同工們禱告,求主賜下智慧、能力,藉他們使工人們在回家之前能獲得足夠的裝備。

星期四
台灣一直是培育中文流行音樂和演藝者的天地。由於藝術創作自由,成熟的媒體產業,並接觸全球華語聽眾的平台,台灣成了具潛質年輕演藝者一展所長的理想平台. 在中國,當代敬拜讚美的音樂,以美國團體的作品備受歡迎。也有很多中國信徒唱詩讚美仍是光靠記憶。讓我們為由華人基督徒所創作的作品,無論傳統或當代的詩歌,都獻上感謝。

星期五
在中國,今年誕生的「奧運寶寶」預料達到1,800萬名。由於中國夫婦重男輕女,性別失衡越來越嚴重,估計到了2020年,單是廣東省,找不到妻子的男人將達到460萬。讓我們為今年所有誕生在基督教家庭的孩子禱告,盼望父母有智慧和決心,培育這新的一代能認識神並忠心服事祂,也讓我們繼續為負責國內青少年主日學的同工們代禱。

星期六
中國在奧運會獲取的五十一面金牌,細看之下,絕大部份是個人項目。人數越多的團隊,表現越是不佳。一直以來,中國基督教會多以享負盛名的個別牧者事工見稱,很少出現由教會或組織帶動的團隊事工。奉行個人主義在今天中國教會仍相當普遍。讓我們放膽懇求上帝,為祂自己的名,興起更多參與集體事工的教會和信徒。

星期日
傳統中國音樂一般由個人獨奏,著重突出個人風格及造詣。罕如西方國家,以交響樂隊或音樂四重奏等團隊音樂的卓越表現來衡量成就。中國的基督徒往往對少數享負盛名的已故牧者推崇備至。然而這些名牧多是個人事工,事奉工期較短。讓我們祈求眾信徒願意謙卑、順服其他主的牧人,聖徒間也能擁有真正的契合。

星期一
中國人非常勤勞克苦,然而卻很難彼此互助合作。古語有云:「一鼓作氣,再而衰,三而竭」。中國人薄弱的團體意識在教會可見一斑。讓我們求神復興教會,不僅是幾個城市教會,幾個地區或是幾個出眾的教會,乃是使全中國教會都普遍復興。

Monday, October 20, 2008

Prayer Ruquest 10/21-10/27

Tuesday
The global financial crisis will make this year a hard year for those who are graduating from college in China. The number of people from this group who are looking for jobs and entering the market next spring is expected to exceed six million nationwide which is an increase of seven percent over 2008. Let us pray especially for graduates who came to know Jesus in college fellowships. A large number of Christian collegians stop going to church after they graduate and are then lost to follow-up. May they learn to trust the Lord and continue to grow in their faith.

Wednesday
There are at least seventy million of the "one-child-only" generation and they have now started working or are studying in colleges. A survey revealed that nearly half of this group have no close friends and have difficulty building friendships.Even though young people are familiar with certain Christian practices from the movies, Christianity is still considered a "foreign religion" by them. We pray especially for those who are reaching out to college students and sharing their faith with young professionals.

Thursday
Not only is divorce common in China these days but it has lost the stigma it had fifteen years ago. However, sixty percent of the young people believe that children from broken families are likely to commit crimes and twenty-five percent of the student population believes divorce brings great shame on the child. Divorce is also common in today's Chinese churches. Let us remember the struggle and challenges single parents face, especially as they try to bring their children to church.

Friday
While Korea is China's third largest trading partner, China herself is Korea's largest and this bilateral trade is growing at a rate of about twenty-five percent yearly. Every week there are eight hundred thirty flights between the two countries.There are more missionaries in China from Korea than from any other country. We praise the Lord for the Korean churches and their great effort in helping the Chinese churches as well as in community outreach and student ministries.

Saturday
There are 700,000 Koreans working or living in China. Every year nearly 5,000,000 tourists from Korea visit there so the sheer number of Korean Christians plus the believers from the Chinese-Korean minority who are fluent in both Chinese and Korean constitute a large pool of laborers for Christ. There are many churches in China that have Korean connections and we pray for their ministry. May the Lord use what they do to bless more believers.

Sunday
Government has set a goal of doubling income of rural residents by 2020 from the 2008 level. In 2007 the average farmer's income was 4,140 yuan ($605,US). Due to their absolute poverty, the rural population was reduced from 250 million to 15 million people last year. Again we lift up all the rural churches and thank God for their love for the Lord and their hunger for His Word despite their poverty and constant loss of young people who leave to work in the cities.

Monday
The majority of Chinese believers are women and most of them have spouses who are not believers. Tension in their marriages is common and it is a great struggle for many of them to raise their child in a Christian family with Biblical teaching. We need to pray earnestly for the families of believers that these sisters in Christ will know the grace and mercy of our Lord as their constant source of help. We ask, too, along with millions of the mothers who pray daily that their children will turn to God.


星期二
金融危機使今年畢業生找工作雪上加霜。預計明年全國求職人士將突破六百萬人,比今年上升百分之七。許多透過校園團契而信主的大專基督徒,常常畢業後便停止聚會而不得到更進一步的跟進,我們特別為他們禱告,盼望他們能學會倚靠上帝,靈命繼續成長。

星期三
目前中國約有7,000萬獨生子女,就讀於大專院校或剛剛踏進社會工作。有調查顯示,在校大學生中,接近一半獨生子女有交友問题,難以與人建立深厚友谊。雖然年輕人不難從西方電影裡看到一些教會中的生活,然而,對他們而言,基督教仍是個"洋人的宗教".讓我們為校園褔音工作禱告, 願神大大使用這批接觸校內大學生並与年輕專業人士分享褔音的同工.

星期四
相較十五年前,今天離婚在中國已成了家常便飯,不再是個忌諱.然而,在破碎家庭成長的孩子往往容易出錯犯案;兩成五的學生認為,父母離婚會使孩子抬不起頭做人。離婚在當今中國教會也見怪莫怪.讓我們在禱告中懇切記念單親父母所面對的挑戰與掙扎,尤其是嘗試把子女帶到教會時面對的問題.

星期五
韓國是中國第三大貿易夥伴國、中韓雙邊貿易額以年均百分之二十五的速度增長;中韓每週有八百三十多航班穿梭兩國四十座城市.現時所有到訪中國的韓國宣教士,已超越任何一个其他国家.我們為韓國教會在中國教會的服事,以及社區外展和學生褔音事工,向神獻上感謝,求主賜福記念他們在福音上的擺上.

星期六
在中國長期定居或工作的韓國人達七十萬.每年,訪中的韓國旅客大約有五十萬;這批為數不少的韓國基督徒,加上在中國定居並精通中韓雙語的韓國裔中國信徒,成為中國褔音事工的得力帮助.很多中國教會與韓國的教會保持著緊密聯繫.讓我們為他們的事工代禱;願主藉著他們手所作的工祝褔更多的信徒.

星期日
2007年,農民年均收入為4140元人民幣(相等於605美元)。政府已釐定目標,要在2020年之前,使農民收入按2008年年水平計算增加一倍。農村絕對貧窮人口由1978年的兩億五千萬,降至去年的一千五百萬。讓我們為農村教會代禱,求神幫助他們即使面對貧困,及年輕人口因離鄉出城打工而不斷流失的現實,愛主之心仍不冷卻,能渴慕上帝的話語。

星期一
中國的信徒以女性居多,配偶大多是非信徒;信仰給婚姻帶來不少張力.這種家庭環境下, 要讓自己的子女獲得好像一般基督徒家庭所給予的良好聖經教育,實在困難重重.讓我們為這些信徒家庭禱告,讓這班基督徒姊妹能信靠神的恩典和慈愛,作她們隨時的幫助.我們也求神記念百萬的信徒母親每天兒女能歸向神的忠心祈禱。

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Prayer Ruquest 10/7-10/13

Tuesday
A study during the Olympics shows that only 1% of the people of Taiwan supported China's team compared with nearly 20% of the residents of Hong Kong and Macao that supported them. A separate survey found that only 7% of Taiwanese people identify themselves as Chinese while 30-40% of the residents of Hong Kong and Macao do so. his may explain why in Taiwan it is difficult to raise awareness and funds to support churches in China. We pray for the spiritual health of Taiwanese-speaking churches and for a strong desire among them to share the gospel in their communities and abroad.

Wednesday
The chilly relationship between Taiwan and China has warmed since a new president took office in Taiwan and there has been an influx of tourists from the mainland. Merchants also see the Reminbi (China's currency) as a welcome lift to the island's sagging economy. The general attitude of Christians in Taiwan toward the churches in China is still ambivalent. We pray for new opportunities for closer ties between the churches on both sides of the Strait, and especially for the training of pastors by churches in Taiwan and branch seminaries in China.

Thursday
There is a big gap in the quality of high-end products and low-end products, which are usually used by farmers who have less money, less information, and less access to medical care. In terms of resource and quality of teaching, there is always a gap and probably will always be a gap between the rural and urban churches in China. We uplift all the faithful shepherds in supplying spiritual food. We, too, pray for more mature Christians having the desire to read the Word of God for themselves.

Friday
Mainland mothers used to breast-feed before the 1990s, but since then have been bombarded by glossy advertisements, which promise that infant formula gives better nutrition and gives their babies a head start in intellect and development. "God wants you to be rich" and "Name it and claim it" types of theology has swept through many churches. Let us pray for such an alarming trend and lack of true commitment among growing number of believers.

Saturday
Many Chinese students feel stressed because they feel they must get good grades to have a good relationship with their parents. They feel they will disappoint their parents, be worthless, or bring shame on their families if they do not do well in school. Let us pray for the young people who have grown up in Christian homes that they may find complete acceptance and love in God as well as in the eyes of their parents.

Sunday
Parents and national policy makers are at a loss as to what to do with the youth in China today. The one-child policy has greatly amplified the psychological problems of this younger generation. Along with non-Christians, Christian parents are desperately at a loss in knowing how to cope with the problems of teenagers in China. Let us pray for divine intervention and healing for a generation at great risk.

Monday
Many products and services have jumped in price as a result of the new labor laws. Many are shocked by the cost of beer. And, travel agencies must now pay base salary and retirement/unemployment/medical insurances premiums for tour guides, instead of making them live on tips. We pray especially for all believers who live on fixed income, for their faith in God, and that they will be free of anxiety and to be cheerful in giving to God continually.

星期二
在奧運期間的一份調查顯示:在奧運賽事中支持中國隊的香港人和澳門人近20%,臺灣人則僅有1%。另一項研究也顯出自稱中國人的臺灣人有7%,港澳人卻高達30-40%。這或能解釋爲何在臺灣不容易籌集援助中國教會的資金。讓我們特別為以閩南語為主的教會禱告,為他們靈命的健壯及有強烈火熱傳福音的心來禱告。

星期三
台海兩岸的緊張關係隨著臺灣新政府上台而放緩,使得更多大陸客湧到臺灣旅遊。商人更認爲人民幣能帶動寶島經濟。臺灣信徒對中國教會的態度矛盾。我們為兩岸教會之間能有更緊密接觸的機會來禱告,也特別為臺灣教會和神學院在中國大陸的培訓課程禱告。

星期四
中國產品品質高低差距甚巨。低品質產品通常都售予農人,因其貧窮,難獲得醫療照顧和資訊。一直以來中國的城市教會和農村教會在教導的資源和品質上,都存有很大的差距。我們為忠心為羊群供應靈糧的牧者們禱告,求主也讓更多信徒成長、成熟,有屬靈胃口渴慕研讀神的話。

星期五
在90年代以前,媽媽們大多授母乳,但之後卻被琳琅滿目的奶粉廣告洗腦,相信嬰兒奶粉有更多營養,能讓寶寶更聰明更健壯。目前「神要你富裕」,「說出來,向神支取」這類神學觀亦橫掃許許多多教會。讓我們為這危險的趨勢禱告,尤其為教會能注重真實的委身,致力於信徒質和量的增長來代求。

星期六
很多中國學生常靠爭取好成績討父母歡心。有學生在這方面承受了不少壓力,擔心如果自己成績不好,就等於在父母眼裡失去了價值,使家族蒙羞。讓我們祈求在基督教家庭成長的青少年可以在父母和上帝裡獲得真正完全的愛和接納。

星期日
從最高的國家領導,到平民父母,事實上都對今日中國青少年問題感到束手無策。「一胎化」的政策擴大了年輕一代所面對的種種心理問題。基督徒家長跟非基督徒一樣,也對如何針對現今青少年的教養問題苦無良策,讓我們祈求神親自來作工,醫治挽救這一新世代的危機。

星期一
過去的一年,一路飆升的物價令公眾心神不寧, 啤酒價格漲幅不小。 新《勞動合同法》的實施 ,也增加了服務業的成本。旅行社必須嚴格按合同支付導遊薪資,並繳納「三金」(養老保險金、失業保險金、醫療保險金)。許多信徒是靠固定但入不敷出的收入過日子,我們為他們有堅定不移的信心,有主同在的平安與喜樂,仍能繼續為教會奉獻來祈求。