Prayer Request 8/11 - 8/17

TuesdayThe Beijing city government now prohibits lighting up a cigarette in any enclosed public space including offices, shops, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, airports and trains. This involves 4 million smokers in the city--a fifth of the population. We pray for believers in Beijing who are probably the most vocal and socially active Christians in China. May the Lord give them strong and powerful testimonies.
Wednesday
China has some 301 million smokers, almost one-third of the world's total. Smoking is also important to the country financially. A state-run monopoly manufactures one-third of the world's cigarettes and accounts for a significant share of state revenue. Children learn ​to smoke ​from their parents who smoke. We pray for Christian mothers who worry for their children because their father smoke​​ and are often still non-believers.May the Lord sanctify their families because of their love and dedication to Him.
Thursday
Beijing bans public smoking, but enforcement poses a challenge. The municipal government has banned smoking twice before — in 1996 and before the 2008 Olympic Games — and each time the ban was widely ignored. It is difficult to break all addictions. We pray for God's strength and power for believers who try to break their addiction​s​ of all kinds, whether it is smoking, gambling or pornography.
Friday
Millions of mainland Chinese visited Hong Kong every year. While these visitors bolster the local economy, they also crowd the long narrow streets of Hong Kong and drive up the price of consumer goods and real estate. How the residents of Hong Kong feel about their neighbors to the north is important because their churches have faithfully supported churches in China for years. We pray their commitment will not diminish.​
Saturday
Residents of Hong Kong are​ familiar with the national anthem of China. Since 2004, under a government initiative to enhance their "sense of national identity" local television stations have played it every day before the evening news. We pray for unity and harmony in the churches in Hong Kong as well as in Taiwan since different political orientations and preferences often spill into the churches, especially at election time.
Sunday
Even though the words to China's national anthem are in Mandarin and people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, a survey in 2014 found​ that more than 53 percent of the people could sing it. As Mandarin is popularized, Christian programming and praise music in Cantonese may be losing importance. We pray that churches using Cantonese will be very effective in sharing Jesus with their countrymen.
Monday
​Playing the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers" has chafed people in Hong Kong at time since they, a former British colony. have been until partial control of China. A recent survey claims that 14% of the residents of Hong Kong are "averse to" the song. The policies of Mainland China can evoke strong emotions in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, especially during election seasons. We pray churches will not be affected by these waves of emotion but will remain focused on Kingdom work and sharing the gospel of Jesus.​

星期二
北京巿政府規定不能在封閉的公共空間吸煙，如辦公室、商店、酒吧、餐廳、夜總會、機場和火車站。這規定影響當地四百萬煙民，佔人口五分一。我們為北京的信徒禱告，他們在參與慈惠工作和社會關懷活動上能做光做鹽。願他們有智慧與政府對話，成為未信者的好鄰舍，也求神賜給他們在各種機會中，展作強而有力的見證。
星期三
中國有3.01億煙民，佔世界煙民總人數的三分之一。煙草業是國家壟斷的產業，製造世界上三分之一的香煙，對政府收入極其重要。不少姊妹的丈夫還未信主，有其父必有其子，在家抽煙就成了孩子的壞榜樣。求主額外賜愛心和忍耐給配偶還未信主的信徒，幫助他們恒久為未信家人禱告，深信神有自己作工的時間。
星期四
北京再次宣佈公共場所禁煙，執行效果有待觀察。北京市政府曾兩次頒佈禁煙規定，分別在1996年和2008年奧運會之前，可是每次人們都普遍視若無睹。要戒掉癮習並不是易事，許多信徒就是無法勝過煙、賭、色情。「若有人在基督裏，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。」求神幫助祂的兒女，靠著聖靈治死身體的惡行，不再過順從肉體的生活。
星期五
每年數千萬中國人到訪香港，助長香港經濟發達的同時，卻導致零售業一面倒，傾向専賣某幾種特定貨品，又推高了日用消費品和房地產的價格。香港居民對內地同胞的態度，必定也影響香港教會對中國教會的支持。求主幫助香港眾教會，趁著白日還有可作工的機會時，繼續關心國內的福音需要。
星期六
香港民眾對中國國歌頗為熟悉。自2004年為加強「市民的國民意識」，著香港電視台在每天晚間新聞前必須播放國歌。某些香港或台灣的教會有時會因為對政治、時事觀點的不同 (尤其在議會選舉期間) ，就出現摩擦。我們為此禱告，求神賜下合一的靈，又教導教會不要迷失在世界潮流中，忘記自己存在的目的和使命。
星期日
儘管中國國歌的歌詞是普通話，而大部分香港民眾講的是粵語，但會唱國歌的香港人的比例還是從2006年的41%，到2014年上升到53%。因著普通話越來越普及，純用廣東話的基督教聚會和詩歌亦相繼減少，我們為操廣東話的教會代禱，願神使用他們向更多說同類方言的同胞分享福音。
星期一
對部份曾是英國殖民地的香港居民而言，面對97回歸後香港事務被中國政府控制感到惱火。近來，甚至有14%的香港居民表示「厭惡」中國國歌《義勇軍進行曲》的播放。政策出台時，在香港和台灣往往都會引起極大的震撼，尤其在選舉期間。求主叫這些起伏不定的時事因素，不影響教會對神國事工的專注，能繼續致力於福音的傳揚。