Prayer Ruquest 1/13-1/19

Tuesday
Shenzhen became a Special Economic Zone in 1982 and was transformed from a sleepy town to a showcase of China's economic accomplishments during the past thirty years. There are five such Special Economic Zones: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou of Guandong, Xiamen, and Hainan province. Let us pray especially for the work of the church and spiritual vitality for the believers in these five cities. Prosperity is often a double-edged sword and when believers are wealthy, churches frequently lose their zeal and become lukewarm.

Wednesday
There are 660 cities in China that contain factories and employ 18,000,000 people from rural regions each year. These tidal waves of human migration are changing the landscape of China. The "ming gong" go where jobs are plentiful, with Beijing in the north, Shanghai, and Guangdong being the three major regions. Meeting the spiritual needs of "ming gong" or migrant workers is daunting and often frustrating because of the harsh working conditions and demands on their time. Let us remember those who train the factory workers and those who are sowing the seeds of the gospel near factories.

Thursday
One article refers to 20 millions of Communist Party member are involved in religious activities and many of them are Christian (Protestants and Catholics). A recent Party directive speaks of religious influence is "worse" than the Western values. Again, we pray for this vast number of "secret disciples" of Jesus, for their boldness and spiritual growth. We too uplift their family relationship and their witness to their families.

Friday
Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou, Tangshan, Qingdao, Nigbo, and Xian (in descending order) have been named the "most loving cities in China" in terms of disaster relief, civic charity, and the participation of their citizens in business and volunteer work ,and ongoing charitable projects. Churches have a strong presence in most of these cities. Let us pray specifically for the believers in there that they may live out the love of Jesus Christ and show compassion in their communities.

Saturday
Guangdong is the most populous province in China with 94 million residents. A large influx of migrant workers seeking jobs and the high birth rate fuel this rapid population growth. Despite the large number of people there, Guangdong is often considered to be hard soil for the gospel to penetrate and the churches are weak. People are materialistic or else too busy to listen. Let us pray for revival in the churches and that beievers will place God as their first priority in life.

Sunday
Half of the students in China believe their parents care only about their school grades and nearly ninety percent admit that academic performance is their own top concern. Students say that disappointing their parents is their number one worry. Christian parents often feel that for their children to get good grades is more important than for them to have a close relationship with God. We pray along with all of the Christian parents who are concerned about their children drifting away from their faith but also still are greatly concerned about the future of their only child.

Monday
What is the common parent-child relationship problem in China? Urban parents are too busy. In the rural families, it is the absence of parents from the home since they work in cities and the families are together only once or twice a year. Let us pray especially for Christian families who are essentially disjointed by being apart. We pray for the children who most commonly live with a relative that their fledgling faith will grow. We pray, too, for the parents that they will stay committed to God and sexually pure.


星期二
深圳在1982年成為經濟特區，過去的30年，這個沉睡的小鎮遽變為展示中國經濟成就的窗口。中國共有5個類似的經濟特區：深圳，珠海，廣東汕頭，廈門和海南省。讓我們一起為這5個地區的教會事工和信徒的靈命禱告。經濟的繁榮往往是一把雙刃劍，當信徒變得富裕時，教會往往易於失去熱情而轉為冷淡。

星期三
有660個中國城市設置許多工廠，這些工廠每年從農村地區僱用了1800萬人。這樣的人口大轉移浪潮正改變著中國的面貌。 「民工」總是去那些有充足工作機會的地方，北邊的北京，東邊的上海和南邊的廣東是三個主要的「民工」遷徙目的地。輔導民工們精神上的需要是一項既艱鉅又不易看出果效的事工，因為「民工們」面臨著惡劣的工作條件和苛刻的工作時間限制。讓我們在禱告中紀念那些正辛勤培養工廠工人的好牧人，以及正在工廠附近播撒福音種子的信徒們，願主親自開路並保守事工的果效。

星期四
近期一篇文章中提到在中國有兩千萬共產黨員參與宗教活動，其中有許多人是基督徒（新教徒和天主教徒） 。最近一項共產黨的指示講到宗教的影響比西方價值觀的影響還「糟糕」。 讓我們再次為這些數量巨大的耶穌的「秘密門徒們」禱告，求神保守他們有勇氣堅持自己的信仰並在靈命上繼續成長。也為他們的家庭關係和對家人有好見證禱告。

星期五
「中國愛心城市」的選拔是根據捐資賑災，公益行動，愛心風氣及企業參與實效等指標，依據排名先後為：香港，深圳，北京，杭州，唐山，青島，寧波和西安。在這些城市裡，教會皆有廣泛深入的影響。讓我們為這些城市的信徒禱告，求主引領他們能繼續在社區中努力活出基督的愛並彰顯耶穌的恩慈憐憫。

星期六
廣東已成為中國最熱門省份，人口達9,400萬。大量外地勞工湧入及高出生率使人口快速攀升。雖然人口眾多，廣東卻是福音硬土，教會影響力甚微弱。崇尚物質主義，生活忙碌，使人們拒絕聆聽福音。讓我們禱告眾教會能大大復興，信徒皆能在生活中讓主居首位，活出榮耀得勝的新生命。

星期日
在中國，有超過半數的學生認為父母只關心自己的學校成績；接近九成后的學生也承認自己最重視的是學業成績，而最令他們憂慮的則是怕自己會叫父母失望。大多數的基督徒父母都認為子女取得好成績比與神保持親密關係更重要。讓我們以禱告記念這些基督徒父母，一方面要看守自己兒女不致隨波逐流離棄信仰，另一方面又要為獨生子女的學業與前途勞心勞力。

星期一
家長與子女關係中常見的問題是甚麼？在城市，父母忙個透；在農村，則父母經常不在家，一年到頭離鄉背井到城裡做工，每年只有一兩回可以返家團聚。讓我們特別為聚少離多的基督徒家庭禱告，求主保守寄養在親戚家裡的孩子，幼嫩的信心能夠增長，也幫助家長們能忠心於主，夫妻彼此委身，持守貞潔。