Prayer Request 9/13-9/19

Tuesday
China donated 5 million USD to the Hurricane Katrina relief. Taiwan’s Buddhist Tzu Chi donated 4 million USD and sent volunteers to the nearby cities for relief assistance. Acts of compassion of Chinese churches often lack coordination and media exposure. Let us pray for the changing of mindset of believers and churches alike, to love not only within the church, but also to the community .

Wednesday
The story of three teenagers beating an innocent beggar to death in daylight shocked the nation. Violent crimes and gang activities, once unheard of, are now common and beggars, the truly needy ones, are indistinguishable from those who go begging just to make money. Historically Chinese churches focus inwardly on spirituality and shy away from social issues. Let us pray for compassion and the spirit of light and salt among all believers .

Thursday
China has launched a new version of its currency. The largest bill is still 100 yuan (about 12 USD) but new printing technologies are incorporated into it to combat the rampant circulation of fake bills.In most churches, the offering is low so many churches are not self-supporting. One reason for this is the lack of teaching on the blessing of giving. Let us pray for cheerful giving in faith in an all-sufficient God among the believers .

Friday
Affluent schools have modern facilities and computers. Parents complain that schools discriminate against the poor students by giving them textbooks in black and white instead of in color and making them wear uniforms of colors different from the others. The gap between the rich and poor churches shows up in Sunday school. Let us pray for all the children who attend churches with few resources but that have teachers willing to tell the Bible stories .

Saturday
Women compose twenty percent of the parliament in China. One-fifth of the members of the Communist Party (13 million) are women. More than half of the workers in rural churches are women and many women pastors lead the Three-self Churches. We take this time to praise and thank the Lord for all the women shepherds. Let us pray for them and their families that they will faithfully walk with the Lord tenderly caring for the flock and faithfully teaching the Word.

Sunday
In China there are 685 deaths from suicide daily which translates to 250,000 deaths yearly. Suicide remains the fifth leading cause of death in China but it is the number one cause of death among those aged 15-34 years. China accounts for one-fifth of the population of the world but one-fourth of all deaths from suicide. What can churches and Christians do about this epidemic? Will any of them ever hear about Jesus ?

Monday
Do you need a "professional crier" for a funeral? Students from the music school will cry convincingly for 500 yuan an hour. Once strictly discouraged by the Party, funeral services have now become ridiculously elaborate. Families are pressured to give their loved ones a "proper" burial which is really a matter of "mienzi" (face). Let us remember all the funerals conducted in the Christian tradition that they will be used as an opportunity for evangelism for the livings .

星期二
中國政府捐贈500萬美元幫助颶風「卡崔娜」賑災工作。台灣佛教慈濟功德會不僅捐出400萬美元，他們的義工更深入災區幫助災民。紅十字會與救世軍等救援組織為基督教救難的主力，但是比較起，華人教會的行動往往缺乏協調與組織，果效便打了折扣 。「神能將各樣的恩惠多多的加給你們，使你們凡事常常充足，能多行各樣善事 - 哥後9:8」。求主激勵華人教會和信徒，將神上無比的愛與恩典擴展到關愛社區及整個社會的層面。

星期三
河南三名青少年酒後公然把乞丐活活打死以「取樂」，引起了輿論的震驚。由於社會普遍歧視乞丐等弱勢人群，真正需要救濟的不幸者或只為騙錢已很難區分，青少年對他們的暴行和幫派犯罪活動，近年來時有所聞。教會向來專注於靈性上的追求，缺乏對社會性議題的投入，讓我們禱告神給眾信徒有憐憫的心，能以實際行動來綻放神愛的光與熱，照亮黑暗角落的人心。

星期四
中國新發行的第五套人民幣，最高面額仍是100元(約12美元)，在維持主圖案、主色調規格不變中，加入更新的印製技術和防僞措施。在國內大多數教會裡，信徒的奉獻仍然偏低，無法使教會財務自給自足。原因與缺乏對「奉獻是蒙神喜悅並賜福」的教導有關。我們禱告信徒都樂於使神家中充足無缺，有信心讓豐富的神敞開天窗傾倒祝福。

星期五
國內學校對學生貧富存有差別待遇，某些班級裡學生教材分黑白、彩色兩種，繳費多少是讀那一種版本的依據。有些中學讓交費高的穿紅色校服，以別於穿藍色校服交學雜費低的“普通班”。貧富間的差距也反映在教會主日學的資源與師資上。求主記念兒童主日學裡所有孩童的需要，也祝福在有限環境中願意盡心教育的老師們。

星期六
在人民大會中，女性代表占了百分之二十的席次，在一千三百萬的共產黨員中，有五分之一為女性。在農村教會中，超過一半的同工是女性，教會中也有許多女傳道人。感謝讚美主，興起如此多的女牧者，也在禱告中紀念她們及她們的家人，願她們與主同行、牧養主的羊群、傳揚神的話語、定睛在神身上，到老都不偏移。

星期日
每天有685名的中國人自殺，換言之，中國每年有25萬人選擇自殺結束自己的生命。根據中國衛生部報告，自殺是中國排名第五位的死因，卻是15-34歲人群中首位的死亡原因。中國人口占世界人口的1/5，自殺人數占世界自殺人數的1/4。在震驚於這項統計數字的同時，我們要思想的是，在這些人中究竟有多人聽過耶穌基督？而教會和基督徒又能做些什麼？

星期一
請人哭喪，在中國已經不是新鮮事，甚至成為音樂學院學生另類賺錢的管道，一小時的專業哭喪服務平均要價500人民幣。專業哭喪服務的出現，是中國家庭愛好面子下的產物，因為即使是舉行喪禮也不能顯得太過寒酸。讓我們特別在禱告中紀念採用基督教儀式的追思禮拜，願有更多的中國人藉著這個管道認識耶穌基督救贖的福音、信仰的平安與永生的盼望。