Prayer Request 1/16 --1/22

Tuesday
In the old days, people worried about having enough "firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea" to get by. Now, people worry about whether stocks will do well, whether train and airlines tickets and cell phone bills will be lower, whether utilities bills will go higher and whether houses will be affordable again. Wages are not catching up with the rising costs of living, especially for the church workers and most of people. Let us remember all who continue to trust the Lord to provide and continue to serve wherever they have been called by God .

Wednesday
Street vendors, licensed and unlicensed, seem to be part of Chinese cities. Major cities including Guangzhou are clamping down on unlicensed vendors with high fees and fines to improve the appearances of the city. Selling on streets is often the easiest way to earn a living for those who enter cities for work. Let us pray for hundreds of thousands of rural believers who have left their homes, seeking better lives in cities. We pray for their spiritual lives, continuing their walk with the Lord and finding a place of fellowship and worship .

Thursday
"Get Rid of the Landlord" is a hot new poker game. A simple card game for three persons, its only objective is to get rid of the "landlord"- one of the three players. Such recreation allows venting of anger against real-life villains encountered during the day. Believers encounter injustices every days and we are commanded to love those who persecute us. Let us pray for all who are being persecuted for being good. May the Lord comfort them with His own Word .

Friday
In Shanghai, in the 5000 legally registered foot-massage parlors, there are about 300,000 employees. All are young people from other provinces who have learned on the job and 95% of them are not properly trained or licensed. For countless rural young people with no marketable skills an attractive option for work is to become a foot masseuse. The rural churches in China have suffered as they have left to go to work in the cities. We continue to pray for revival and diligence for all who work in the village churches .

Saturday
It is the dream and duty of every Muslim to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. In 2006, 9600 Chinese Muslims went to Mecca in thirty-one charter planes. The government now allows only group pilgrimages because many do not have enough money to return home.Islam has enjoyed resurgence in China and especially in western China it is attracting faithful adherents. Let us pray for the low-key ministries which are discouraged by the government and often resisted by their communities themselves .

Sunday
Shanghai leads the rapidly graying population of China with one in five residents a senior. In the same time, the men in Shanghai also have the dubious honor of being overweight and out rightly obese (37%). There is a great need for ministry to the elderly, not only older believers but an outreach to seniors in the communities. Such work is best done by older believers who work one on one with the seniors. We pray for a vision and burden for such a ministry by churches as well as the needed training and resources .

Monday
According to a recent survey in Hunan, half of those who have graduated from college are getting only 1000 yuan a month--not much better than migrant laborers earn. Graduates of the more famous schools earn about 1200 yuan. Many have begun to question the economic benefit of attending college. Most church workers make far less than migrant workers but Chinese believers rarely talk about how much they should compensate their church workers. We pray that all of the churches in China will treat their shepherds fairly .

星期二
過去人們生活關心的民生問題是「開門七件事：柴、米、油、鹽、醬、醋、茶」。現代人的民生話題還包括：買的股票賺錢嗎？坐火車和公交車是否更便宜？手機費降不降？水電氣價格還要漲？房價能降到自己買得起嗎？現在大多數人的薪資漲幅都遠不及通貨膨脹來得高，尤其是教會同工。讓我們為單一仰望神，憑著信心回應神呼召，在各地服事神的教會工人來禱告，求神常常記念並供應他們的需要。

星期三
中國各個城市都有許多有牌照和無牌照的流動商販。最近，廣州提高流動商販門檻、提高稅費、整飭無照流動商販，以減少流動商販數量。其實，對初來城市的人而言，在街上擺攤賣東西是最簡單的掙錢途徑，但卻賺得並不容易。讓我們記念上百萬名離開農村到城裏討生活的信徒們。為他們的靈命能繼續在主裏成長，並能找到團契和敬拜的地方來禱告。

星期四
「斗地主」是最近在流行於中國湖北一帶的3人撲克牌遊戲，玩法簡單，娛樂性強，而且老少咸宜。據說昔日在地主橫行的鄉里，人們為了發泄對地主的痛恨，在一天的勞作之後，一家人關起門來「斗地主」。 信徒也常在生活中遇到很多不公平的事，但神卻教導我們要愛仇敵，為逼迫我們的人禱告。讓我們為所有因信仰而遭受迫害的信徒禱告。求神保守並用祂自己的話語來安慰他們。

星期五
目前上海登記在冊的專業洗腳店只有5000家，而全上海的腳按摩師卻有30萬名。他們大部分來自外省或農村，95%並未受過正式訓練也沒有執照。許多來自農村的青年無一技之長，當個足部按摩師是最好的選擇之一。農村教會因流失年輕人面臨一大斷層，而且事工沒人做。讓我們為留在農村教會服事的人禱告，求神託住他們不至灰心，也為農村教會的復興禱告。

星期六
到麥加朝聖是每一個回教徒的心願。2006年有9600名中國回教徒包了31架飛機，集體前去麥加。目前政府規定：信仰伊斯蘭教的中國公民前往國外朝覲，由伊斯蘭教全國性宗教團體負責組織，禁止零散朝觐以免因經費不足而逗留他國。回教在中國，尤其在西部發展很蓬勃。政府也反對帶領回教徒改教，因此拓展福音工作困難重重，且須十分低調進行。讓我們為中國西部的福音事工恆切禱告。

星期日
上海市是中國人口老化最迅速的地方，五分之一人口是老年人；此外成年男性超重者佔37%。現今中國非常需要針對銀髮族的福音事工。不只是服事教會內的年老信徒，還包括向社區裡的老人群體傳福音。其實最適合有老年信徒一對一的接觸非信徒老人，扶持跟進並建造靈命的成長。讓我們禱告神給教會有這樣的異象，提供傳福音事工所需的資源和訓練。

星期一
最近在湖南的調查，半數大學畢業生的薪水平均每月僅有1,000元人民幣，還不及民工所得。名校畢業的也只賺大約1,200元。許多人開始質疑讀大學的高投資低報償是否值得。大部分教會同工人的薪水，遠比民工更少，而中國信徒很少會關心他們的牧者究竟是否夠錢用。讓我們為教會能更加關心他們牧者的現實需要來禱告。