Prayer Request 8/25 - 8/31

Tuesday
Recently more than 1000 children in China were found to have lead poisoning from industrial pollution. The health of children is particularly volatile issue in China since most families are restricted to having just one child. Parents are edgy since the contaminated milk episode and the earthquake in Sichuan that killed thousands of children. Christian parents often feel helpless and worry about the pollution from the world they see happening in the lives of their children as they see them drift away from God. The vast majority of churches in China lack resources to minister to children. Let us pray with parents who plead with God to keep their one child in church and help him to grow up in the fear of the Lord.

Wednesday
Wenzhou is famous for family-based factories where they first secure orders and then produce accordingly. Among the well-known products made in Wenzhou are: cigarette lighters, shoes, clothing, and frames for eye glasses. Recently 20% of the businesses there have shut down due to the economic downturn. God has richly blessed the churches in Wenzhou and they in turn have been a great blessing to other churches. We commit them into God's hands, especially in this economically difficult climate.

Thursday
Skipping the college entrance examination and go study in college abroad instead is now the trend for many Chinese high school graduates. Many of them are not able to get into the top universities and parents are able to afford to the expense. Many overseas Chinese churches are learning to outreach to these young, affluent “post-90”,”one-child” generation. They are very different than the Chinese scholars or graduate students in the past. They often show little interest in activities hosted by churches. Let us pray that many of these young people can come to know Jesus while studying abroad.

Friday
How the Steel Was Tempered, a Stalin era revolutionary biography, is the fifth most- read book in China. It has greater impact there than even in Russia because it is used as mandatory reading for teens in schools. The main character was severely punished by the priest for doubting the existence of God and the Bible and he was unfairly kicked out of school. The most commonly read book in China at its core is anti-Christian and critical of the "darkness" of the church. We must pray for the youth in Christian homes who face tremendous pressure in school as they live out their faith. May the Lord add strength to their faith in the God their parents love and serve.

Saturday
Despite the global economic downturn, car sales in China made history when for five consecutive months more than a million cars were sold monthly. Buying a house and a car is the dream of middle-class Chinese today. The kind of car one drives literally defines one's social status. Many people feel that many of the churches give special attention to the rich and those who own cars because they are rich. The Bible teaches that having godliness and contentment is a great grain. We praise God for the prosperity of China as a whole and pray specifically that believers will not lose their trust in and love for the Lord.

Sunday
The government in China has put great emphasis on spurring on rural consumer spending with it massive and popular program promoting buying new home appliances in the villages. They encourage farmers who traditionally would rather save than spend their money to buy new appliances and even cars with discounted prices using government incentives. Rural China can still be described as spiritually impoverished. The reading level is generally low and patchy. We uplift the rural Chinese churches to God's hand asking Him to bring new revival and strength to those weak leaders.

Monday
Both spouses work in 44% of the families in Taiwan and more than 10% of the families have only one parent. For working parents, it is fashionable to hire a foreign maid/nanny to care for the children. In Taiwan there are at least three kinds of substitute "parents". First is a foreign maid, second is "after school classes", and third is the computer. Christian parents struggle with work, church, and raising a family. Many run around enrolling their children in all kinds of extracurricular classes but have no time for quality quite-time and time with children. Let us pray that believers will know what God desires of their children and will be willing to put God first in their lives. There is no substitute for the influence of parents in the spiritual lives of children.


星期二
超過1000名兒童因工業污染而集體「血鉛」中毒。獨子政策促使孩子健康問題成為最敏感、最迫切關注的大事。自毒奶粉和四川地震中數以千計孩童受害後，家長們經常要為孩子的健康及安全提心吊膽。絕大多數的中國教會缺乏資源牧養年輕一代。 信徒家長們面對世俗對自己孩子所造成的污染，引誘孩子遠離神，也經常感到徬偟無助，憂心忡忡。讓我們與家長們同心來到神的面前祈求，保守他們的獨子在教會中健康成長，常存敬畏神的心。

星期三
溫州素以家庭為單位的小型製造業聞名，他們先拿下外來的訂單，再進行生產、銷售。特別是打火機、皮鞋、服裝、眼鏡等溫州產品皆能行銷全國。最近的不景氣，已使溫州近 20% 的中小企業停工。近年來，神曾祝福溫州教會，使他們帶給其他許多教會極大的祝福。在這經濟低靡時刻，我們特別要為溫州教會禱告，求主的大能和供應的手，牽引他們渡過經濟難關。

星期四
許多高中畢業生，若是考不進中國的重點學校，父母也能有能力承擔留學費用。放棄高考直接出國已成為「 90後」留學的一種新趨勢。 海外的華人教會也正在調適，如何來接觸這批手頭闊綽的 「獨生子女」一代。他們與過去的訪問學者或研究生有極大的不同。讓我們切切禱告這些青年人在國外求學的這段期間，能以認識耶穌基督為至寶，得著救恩。

星期五
史大林時期劃時代的作品『鋼鐵是怎樣煉成的』，被譽為中國五大最暢銷讀物之一。由於它被政府當作提倡青年閱讀共產主義思想的教材，其在中國的影響力遠比在俄國還大。故事主角保爾因對『聖經』提出質疑而遭神父嚴厲懲罰，開除出校。在中國，很多受歡迎的讀物不是反對基督教，就是揭露教會黑暗面。讓我們為基督徒家庭成長的青年們禱告，在面對校內各種反基督壓力時，仍能堅定活出信仰。也求上帝增添他們信心，學效父母愛主並竭力事奉主。

星期六
雖然全球經濟下滑，中國汽車銷售仍打破紀錄，連續5個月，每月超過100萬輛汽車銷量。21世紀初的中國，買車和買房成為城市新興中產階級消費欲望的核心。而開什麼樣的車，更是塑造品味和區分階級的標準。 不少的信徒認為，教會對「有錢、有車的人」會給予特別關心。神在聖經裡教導我們：「敬虔加上知足的心就是大利」。我們為中國近年來經濟的繁榮感恩，更求主保守信徒有依靠神，愛主的心智，不因物質豐富而改變。

星期日
中國政府出台了一系列促進農村消費的政策。如「家電下鄉」–政府使用折扣獎勵一向節儉的農民購買新設備，甚至汽車。 中國農村至今仍可用「靈性貧困」來描述，信徒的教育及閱讀水平普遍低下。讓我們將中國的農村教會交託在神大能的手中，求神復興教會，更新心靈疲乏的傳道人，讓他們得著上頭來的能力。

星期一
台灣雙薪家庭（夫妻兩人皆工作）占總家庭戶數的44.2％， 還有超過一成的單親家庭，也可說有五成以上的家庭，極難全心照顧孩子。因此各色各樣的「代理父母」應運而生，如外籍幫傭，安親班，以及最便宜的代理父母-電腦。信徒的家長要有智慧在工作、教會服事及家庭生活中尋得平衡。讓親子間有充足優質的相處時間，求主幫助所有的信徒父母，更明白神在教養孩子愛主上的心意，首重父母願意把上帝放在首位，成為孩子愛主的榜樣與影響力的來源。