Prayer Request 11/17 - 11/23

Tuesday
In this historic 60th year of the Republic of China weekend chartered flights, tour groups, and the opening of direct crossings through ships and scheduled commercial flights from China have taken more than 880,000 mainland Chinese to visit Taiwan. We praise the Lord that the possibility of Christians from Mainland China getting to attend meetings or training sessions hosted by churches in Taiwan has become a reality. We pray that more believers from both sides can learn from, enjoy fellowship with, and have a burden for the needs of each other.

Wednesday
Many became wealthy entrepreneurs after the Chinese economic reform. Their children, the so-called, "wealthy second generation" who were born in the 1980's are now replacing them at the helm. They received elite education abroad and came back to run the family business. They are now getting much attention and creating a buzz in China. A whole new generation of leaders is emerging in both Three-self and house churches. They too will chart course of Chinese churches in the future. We uplift all the leaders who are in their forties and fifties. May the Lord continue to mold their character, empower them mightily with the Spirit and instill in them the humility of Christ.

Thursday
With over six million unemployed college grads this year, China faces a major social problem. Although the government claims that 74% of them find work soon after graduation, in reality nearly half of them do not have work. A recent book calls these people "ants", people who live together to save money but are too embarrassed to tell their parents about their plight or return home to live. We pray especially for those who became Christians in college but are still searching for work. We also include those who have become Christians but are afraid to tell their families about their new-found faith for fear of rejection. May the Lord strengthen their faith and help them to continue to trust Him to provide all they need.

Friday
A survey of college students shows that sixty percent of them agree that pre-marital sex is fine. This is twenty-five percent higher than the results of a survey done ten years ago. Students in China have no problem with living together while they are in college. Some of the churches in China have seen the need to prepare their young people before they leave for college not only to be able to defend their faith but have also shown them the benefits of living a life of purity. Let us pray for the spiritual vitality of all the Christian youth who are still attending church while they are in high school.

Saturday
It is a fact that joining the Communist Party will open doors and provide better opportunities to people. It is the dream of every college student to be recommended to join the party and no one ever turns it down. So it is a dilemma every college student faces, especially when their families do not know they are going to church and plan to be baptized. We pray along with every young person who struggles with these decisions about whether to be baptized or stay a "silent Christian", whether to join the party or not, and whether to stop going to church in order to get into the party. We cannot really understand the struggles they face but we can empathize with them.

Sunday
In the past 2 decades, many "seminaries" have sprung up and many of the students are actually from pastors' families. Unfortunately, many of them enrolled and received the training but did not really have the calling nor the willingness to serve like their parents. Let us pray for all the students in the training process now. May the Lord give them a clear vision and heart of a shepherd with the burden for saving souls. We pray for their spiritual formation and for the learning process of all those receiving Bible training now.

Monday
Nearly forty percent of parents in Taiwan spend less than three hours a day with their 6-12 year old children. Parent-child interaction often becomes merely a routine thing with no mutual understanding. Parents are so busy working that they take little time to help their children and there is hardly any communication between parents and children in many families. Many of the churches in Taiwan are likewise losing their second generation youth because of the heavy emphasis that is placed on academics there. Poor parent-child relationships make it difficult to encourage children to go to church as well. Let us pray for all Christian parents that they will know how to raise up godly children and have a healthy relationship with them.


星期二
過去一年周末包機、陸客來台觀光、兩岸三通、定期航班等開放，已經有88萬，為兩岸關係開啟新時代，是60年來首見。感謝神，中國的信徒能到臺灣參加會議或培訓已成為事實。我們更渴望兩岸的信徒，彼此能更多的交流學習，享受在主內的交通，也能為彼此的需要，因了解更深而更有負擔。

星期三
「富一代」是中國經濟改革開放之後首先富起來的一批民營企業家。他們的子女大多在80 年代出生，在海外接受過良好的教育。隨著 「富一代」逐漸老去，這批「富二代」海歸們如何承繼家業和財富等問題隨之出現，這個特殊的群體已逐漸引起人們的關注。中國的家庭教會和三自教會也在迎接新一代的領袖，他們將要參與繪出教會的未來。讓我們為所有年屆四旬和五旬之間的牧者和領袖們禱告，求主繼續陶造他們，滿有聖靈賜的能力，同時常懷基督耶穌的柔和謙卑。

星期四
大學畢業生沒工作已成為社會大問題。今年畢業生超過六百萬人，雖然官方說有74％在畢業後兩個月有工作，真實情況是接近一半學生畢業後即失業。最近一本書把失業的大學生形容成“螞蟻族” -他們為省錢而聚居一起，卻羞於告訴家人潦倒的境況，也沒臉回家。讓我們為一些在大學校園信主，仍在待業的基督徒，包括那些怕遭家人反對而不敢表白個人信仰的信徒獻上禱告，願神堅固他們信心，相信神會信實供應一切需要。

星期五
在全國高校進行的一項調查顯示，超過60％的大學生贊成婚前性行為，贊成的人數比例比十年前提高了25％。大部分大學生根本不反對婚前同居行為。已有許多教會意識到校園事工，不僅應著重青年人的信仰根基，更應讓他們看到聖潔生活的重要性。讓我們為在高中時代就上教會的年輕基督徒學生的靈性禱告。

星期六
入黨幾乎是中國大學生的夢想，因有助於開創事業前途，很少被薦者會自動放棄機會。很多信主的學生，尤其是隱瞞家人參加聚會或計劃受洗者，正面對入黨與否的兩難局面。讓我們為每個正為是否「受洗」還是繼續充當「隱形基督徒」而掙扎的年輕人禱告。雖然奔走天路時這類的掙扎未必能免，我們仍以同情、安慰及代求托住他們。

星期日
過去幾十年裡，中國各地的「神學院」如雨後春筍般出現，當中不少學生是牧師、傳道的子女，可惜許多並沒有意願「克紹箕裘」，雖被送到神學院，卻沒有事 奉的負擔和呼召。讓我們為所有正在接受造就的神學生禱告，求主賜下清楚的異象和呼召，把牧者的心懷和救人靈魂的負擔放在他們心上。除了賜他們學習的悟 性，更重要的是能經歷靈命上的更新，樂意全心服事主。

星期一
台灣近四成的的父母每天與六到十二歲的子女相處不到三小時。親子間並不清楚彼此生活的細節，常剩下行禮如儀的問候。小孩生活和學習對象是父母，但雙親工作壓力大，早出晚歸忙碌著，親子間交談甚少。不少信徒的第二代都因過於著重學業逐漸離開教會。由於親子關係疏離，父母很難鼓動子女上教會。我們禱告，求神幫助基督徒父母有智慧和兒女建立良好的親子關係，教養出愛神的兒女。