Prayer Request 10/13 - 10/19

Tuesday
"The Founding of a Republic" is a film officially released to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's rise to power. The film retells the tale of the Party's triumph in coming to power and has a star-studded cast who acted pro bono. The struggle between Mao and Chiang was downplayed and nearly all the characters were portrayed positively. The rift between the Three-self and House churches is narrowing but the old wound heals slowly and mistrust exists everywhere. God forgives us when we forgive others. Let us pray for all of us to be reminded of Christ's example of forgiving those who have wronged and hurt us.

Wednesday
On October 1st, during the grand 60th Anniversary military parade, Chairman Hu uncharacteristically did not wear his military attire but chose to wear the "zong san suit" (often known in the West as the Mao suit) for the historic occasion. This classic 4-pocket men's suit has been worn by all the famous leaders since the founding of the modern Chinese Republic. Wearing so-called "Sunday best" clothing to church does not mean much to Chinese believers since most people simply wear their regular outfits. However, poor and wealthy believers still dress differently. Let us pray that there will be no looking down on people based on their educational, financial, or social status in any Chinese church.

Thursday
China has been discouraging the burial of bodies and making cremation mandatory. This helps to solve the problem of a shortage of cemeteries. Guangzhou, however, is going a step further by promoting the so-called "tree burial"--burying the ashes in a designated forest with a small marker without even taking up any land. Proper burial for one's parents is considered an absolute for filial Chinese families. However, there are many stories of how children neglect their parents when they get old. Let us pray that we will honor our parents and support them while they are alive. God promises that we will be blessed when we honor our parents.

Friday
In China, Shanghai has more out-of-town laborers than any other city. There are six million of them and they comprise about a third of the city's population. This so-called "floating population" adds a great burden to the educational, health care, and housing needs of the city. Shanghai will host the 2010 World Expo and 380,000 people will be relocated to build this site. Many Christians from the villages come to Shanghai to work but are unable to find a place of worship. We need to pray for the spiritual vitality of churches in big cities like Shanghai. We remember, too, the many believers who could not find a church so they stop attending worship services entirely because they have lost interest and contact with the church.

Saturday
Buying and owning a place to live before looking for a mate is very common in China. When people look for their perspective mates, owning an apartment translates into financial security more than having a good job. The same is true for church workers. When they are looking for marriage partners, they face many hurdles. They get small salaries, their work is not considered to be a well-paying and secure job, and they cannot afford to buy houses. Let us pray for those church workers and believers who wish to get married but do not have the financial ability to gain the approval of the family of their desired mate.

Sunday
In China there is a trend for female students who are near graduation to spend their time looking for a good husband rather than trying to find employment. Especially in a tight job market, to marry right is more important than studying well and that is the pressure that all female collegians face. There are more young women attenders than men in the booming college student ministry in China.. Their famlies and their parents want them to have marriage prospects, but often they still have not shared their faith in God with them. Let us pray for all the young college believers who face the pressure of dating, finding God's will for their lives, and still holding on to their faith in God.

Monday
China and North Korea recently celebrated their 60th anniversary of having diplomatic ties. During the 1950's over a span of three years, 130,000 Chinese soldiers, including the oldest son of Chairman Mao, lost their lives fighting the Korean war. Koreans make up a huge majority of missionaries in China and they have the advantage of a similar culture, geographical promimity, and an amazing commitment to and love for Chinese people. We give thanks for the support given by Korean churches to the Chinese people. May the Lord reward them! We also remember all the Korean church workers and many Korean businessmen whose goal is expanding the Kingdom of God and not merely financial gain.


星期二
《建國大業》是紀念中國共產黨建國60周年的獻禮作品，該片由眾多一線明星「零片酬」客串演出。片中將毛澤東的勁敵蔣介石描寫成一位愛國者，片中所有歷史人物皆以正面角度表達。家庭教會與三自間的鴻溝正日漸縮小，但歷史的傷口仍難癒合，彼此之間普遍存在不信任。神教導我們寬恕別人，祂就赦免我們。讓我們以禱告彼此提醒，效法基督的榜樣，饒恕那些傷害我們的人。

星期三
十月一日胡主席首度以「中山裝」代替軍裝主持60週年閱兵大典。這套有4個對稱口袋的服裝常被西方誤稱為「毛裝」，是近代中華人民共和國風雲政治領袖的標準裝束。 中國信徒並沒有西方「星期日穿最好上教會」的傳統，信徒大多習以平素服裝上教會。然而信徒間貧與富在裝扮上仍有明顯差距。神兒女不應因貧富而受不同對待，也讓我們絕對不因人的教育程度，財富，社會地位有別而看不起人。

星期四
近年來中國以火葬取代土葬來緩解死人與活人争地的矛盾。 廣東一直致力於提倡「樹葬」，即在遠離城市建立森林墓園，樹下深埋骨灰，既解决骨灰存放的難處，也適應大多數人對「落葉歸根、入土爲安」的心理定勢。華人的孝道，安葬並為父母守孝是子女應盡的本份。但棄養年邁父母的事跡仍層出不窮。孝敬父母，神必使我們得福，是祂帶應許的誡命。求主讓我們都能在父母有生之年，好好孝敬、奉養他們。

星期五
上海是中國擁有最大民工人口的城市之一。目前約有600萬農民工，佔上海總人口三分之一。大量民工人口面臨教育，健康，住房等諸多障礙。上海將主辦2010年年世博會，將會影響38萬人口遷移。 很多從鄉鎮搬到上海工作的基督徒，要找適合的教會並不容易。讓我們為如上海般大城市教會的靈性復興禱告；也為那些因找不到教會，失去聯絡信心冷淡而停止聚會的肢體禱告。

星期六
先買房才考慮找伴侶，在中國是個極普遍的現象。找伴侶時，擁有房子要比有一份好工作，在經濟上為對方帶來更大的安全感。 教牧人員常因工資微薄，收入不穩，負擔不起昂貴房價，在找對象時，也面對重重障礙。讓我們在禱告中記念有意結婚，卻礙於財力緊拙而無法贏得對方家長批准婚事的教會工作人員和弟兄姊妹，求主親自為他們開路。

星期日
中國的女大學畢業生不急於找工作，卻急著找老公，已成了普遍現象。在當今就業率偏低的情況下，女大學生普遍認為：「學得好不如嫁得好」。中大學校園事工，女生信主比男生多。談婚論嫁時，家人或父母多希望自己女兒能找個好條件的伴侶，然而他們當中多半沒有信主。讓我們為面對拍拖壓力，尋找上帝在他們生命中的旨意，並持守信仰的年輕大學生禱告。

星期一
新中國成立六十週年之際，也與北朝鮮建交六十週年。上世紀50年代初中國「抗美援朝」戰爭，三年內約有13萬多中國人民志願軍，包括毛澤東的長子，喪命朝鮮。當今赴中國宣教的，以韓國人佔絕大多數。除文化和地理上的優勢外，他們驚人的委身和對中國人的熱愛實在令人敬佩。 讓我們為此感恩，求主親自記念韓國教會以及所有的韓國宣教士的付出！包括許多韓國商人，他們服侍神的心志，遠遠超過生意的大小利益。