Prayer Request 5/17 – 5/23

Tuesday
The Premier of China said that the many scandals in recent years about the safety of food such as toxic milk, food additives, recycled cooking oil, and tainted steamed buns shows a lack of integrity and the decline of morality to a serious low. The tainted steamed buns scam was accomplished by adding food color to already expired Chinese bread and re-selling it as fresh bread. Cults and heresies, like the poisonous food products abound in China and seriously damage churches, especially those without a shepherd or the smaller rural house churches. We pray that God in His mercy will help the injured sheep to return to His folds. We pray, too, that the more mature believers will know how to defend their faith boldly.

Wednesday
The Chinese government has banned a total of 44 television advertisements considered to be false, misleading, or exaggerating in nature. Although censorship is common in China, this is the largest number banned by far, since the government felt the sellers were using newscasters to mislead the viewers into thinking these products were good news. There are many preachers who give promises of healing and prosperity without sound Bible doctrine to back them up. This draws many followers who once they are disappointed are badly hurt and stop going to any church. We pray for wisdom, discernment, and spiritual maturity for all believers that they will not be naive and taken advantage of because they do not have a solid understanding of Truth.

Thursday
Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing took the top three rankings among China's fifty "most competitive cities". In terms of a "sense of happiness" of their residents, Shijiazhuang of the Hebei Province is the happiest, followed by Linyi, Yangzhou, Chengde, Binzhou, Laiwu, Hebi, Baotou, Beijing, and XinZhu(Taiwan) as the top ten happiest cities. Most of these "happiest cities" are not familiar to us but let us pray for the believers in them. May the Lord use these Christians as mighty witnesses in their neighborhoods, at work, and in their families. We pray, too, that their churches will grow in numbers and in the scope of their ministries.

Friday
One apt description of the churches in China is that they are "big in appearance but weak inside". They are big in the sense of the large number attending in both rural house churches and Three-Self churches, but the number of committed and Biblically-sound believers is much smaller than the number of those who attend. Again, we lift these Chinese believers up into God's hand. May the Lord stir each of us out of our complacency so that we will crave the spiritual milk of the Word of God. May we see a revival and awakening again.

Saturday
Among foreign observers and Christian leaders there is a lot of anticipation for the future of churches in China. These people easily assume that China will be picking up the baton of world missions and rise up to be another Korea. Such expectation overlooks the true state of these churches. We beseech the Lord for His will to be done in the churches in China and that the gospel will be preached mightily there. We pray that believers will have the passion and vision to take the gospel to the world and not just dream about it and write slogans.

Sunday
Today the church in China is in a time of transition, especially in those provinces like Henan where a majority of the people are farmers.The quality of leadership must be improved and the churches must have new strategies for stable and sustainable church growth. Rural churches must somehow find a way to appeal to and connect with the quickly-urbanized and the younger generation or face a rapidly graying church. We pray that the church in China will learn to connect with the present day young people. May the Lord raise up leaders who are sensitive to cultural changes and have a willingness to adapt their methods to attract the youth.

Monday
The church in China is weak in that it has few professionals, even generally educated people, and the financial level of the believers is low. In many provinces the Christian churches are still considered marginal and insignificant. As the society moves forward, churches are at risk of having graying congregations and being known as a place for only poor farmers. We thank the Lord for pockets of strong growth in China and we pray urgently for the vast number of churches that have in the recent past become stagnant and are dying.


星期二
總理溫家寶指出，中國近年來所發生的「毒奶粉」，「瘦肉精」，「地溝油」，「染色饅頭」等黑心交易的食品安全事件都顯示社會缺失誠信，道德低落到了很嚴重的地步。如同這些有毒食品,異端邪教在中國也比比皆是，嚴重破壞基督的肢體，尤其是那些沒有牧人及小型農村家庭教會更易受攻擊。求神憐憫，引領那些受傷的羊回到祂的羊圈；也為有更多成熟的信徒，能精確講明真道，勇於護教。

星期三
中國官方最近禁播44條電視購物廣告，是禁播違規廣告數量最多、最集中的一次。這些廣告以虛假誇大的資料來誤導消費者，以新聞報導或請人做假見証等方式作宣傳，商品多半不標注經銷企業名稱也不提供退貨資訊。同樣在教會裏也有不誠實牧者，以不合聖經的應許吸引求醫、求富的信徒。人們一旦發現所求落空，就不再去教會了。我們為信徒有智慧，屬靈的成熟度及分辨真理的能力禱告，求神親自帶領我們的心，以衪為至寶，而不是真理的根基鬆散，誤信盲從，只求屬世好處。

星期四
2010年全國294個城市城市綜合競爭力排名前3名是：香港、上海、北京。藍皮書首次將幸福感指數引入評價體系中，幸福感指數前十名的城市：為石家莊、臨沂、揚州、承德、濱州、萊蕪、鶴壁、包頭、北京、新竹。這些「最幸福」城市，有些人們並不熟悉，讓我們為其中的教會和信徒禱告，願主在生活中、職場裏使用他們作光作鹽，有美好的見證，也祝福他們的教會在質與量上都大大的成長。

星期五
中國教會可用「外盛中虛」來形容。「外」是指外表數字。很多中國教會，無論是三自和農村的家庭教會，聚會人數不少，但能真正委身且在真理紮深根的基督徒遠少於表面上的「數字」？讓我們再一次把弟兄姊妹交托在主手中，求神再次蘇醒和復興。求主為我們除去心中的自滿，使我們真心渴慕主的話語，經常汲取為靈糧，讓屬靈身量日日茁壯。

星期六
中國教會的「外盛中虛」另一解：「外」即「海外的猜想」。海外教會常不經審慎分析，就簡單地接受了「中國教會有極龐大的信徒」的看法，過急地期盼中國教會能急速地成為宣教的中國,繼續韓國教會，成為宣教最後一棒，並有揠苗助長的危機。我們懇求主的旨意行在中國教會，使福音在此地迅速廣傳。也禱告中國信徒都能持續有普世宣教的異象和熱情，使這個異象不滯留於夢想和空泛的口號之中。

星期日
中國教會正面臨著轉型挑戰，尤以傳統上以農民信徒居多的省份如河南省等，轉型挑戰更為嚴峻。同工質素的提升，如何建立穩固又能持續增長的牧養體系，並發展一套能吸引現代城市化下年輕人的傳福音模式，都是需要努力的。求主幫助教會知道如何與時下青年銜接，興起對文化思想變化有敏銳洞悉力的教會領袖，知道在不犧牲真理的原則下，能采納吸引年輕人的新策略。

星期一
中國教會的「中虛」，特別指會眾在專業才能、知識水準、經濟實力方面，在很多省份中仍屬老弱的族群，教會淪為「邊緣人」組織。當國家社會急速進步前進時，這些教會卻面臨老化和停滯，依然給人農民多，老人多的印象。我們為中國教會在局部領域的持續發展上強勁的增長謝恩，同時更迫切為許多停滯不前，甚至就快病入膏肓的教會禱告求恩，求主再次燃起復興的火。