Prayer Request 4/22 -- 4/28

Tuesday
“Da zi bao”, a poster with big-characters, was the most popular during the Cultural Revolution. It was the most inflammatory and critical communication tool, a political instrument from 1950-1970, which Chairman Mao used to attack his political opponents. Even though “Da zi bao” is now forbidden, many Chinese are accustomed to being self-righteous and relentless in criticism. Let us pray for humility in all of us, especially in how we express disagreement with believers who hold slightly different theological views.

Wednesday
When the very first copy of “Da zi bao” appeared in 1957 on the cafeteria wall of Beijing University, it attacked those who held views different than the Communist Party. What followed was the tumultuous movement of labeling people as “you pai,” the Right Wing, and led to a generation of unprecedented mass punishment. Unfortunately, today, Chinese churches have the same tendency to attack each other in relation to differences in doctrines of faith. It is common to hear that some churches are zealous in labeling others as unorthodox. Let us pray for true unity and humility of believers.

Thursday
China has the dubious honor of having the highest suicidal rate. 280,000 Chinese people take their own lives yearly. Worse, China is the only country where there are more female suicides than male. Women in villages consider suicide the easiest way out of their misery and poverty. Most of the Chinese churches are in villages where believers know of neighbors who have committed suicide. We pray with a heavy heart for all the lost souls and for what rural churches can do to share their faith with many who are without hope.

Friday
Chinese women in villages have the highest incidences of suicides. Their method of suicide is usually ingesting pesticides, drowning, or hanging. The traditional low view of women, especially in the poor regions, leaves women feeling hopeless with no chance of improvement. There is usually a church or some believers in these poor regions, but poverty and lack of training seriously hamper the witness and outreach of Christian faith. Let us again pray for the work of the Gospel in these extremely poor regions of China.

Saturday
China has 1.3 billion people but has only 17,000 certified psychiatrists. Seeking professional help for depression or other psychological illnesses are usually unheard of and still carries great social stigma. Most believers do not have the luxury of asking their pastors to give them advice or counseling. Church workers feel inadequate in helping their flocks and can only give the advice of “just pray more.” We pray for those who are helping to equip and train church workers in counseling and family conflict resolution.

Sunday
84% of Chinese who have committed suicide live in the villages. One third of them are illiterate. The most common method to commit suicide is to ingest pesticides. They usually do not have alcoholism or psychological problems, which are common in the West. In general, suicide is still regarded as an acceptable behavior. Chinese often glorify those who commit suicide for noble causes like patriotism or honor. Let us pray for more believers who would at least reach out to comfort and bring eternal hope to the families who have suffered such tragic losses.

Monday
Since 1997, all of the holidays from the British-ruled period are observed in Hong Kong, except Buddha’s Birthday (lunar April 8th) replaced the Queen’s Birthday and the HK Special Administrative Region Establishment Day )July 1st) replaced the Liberation Day (from Japanese after the WWII). Let us pray for churches in Hong Kong which is in juncture politically and culturally. Hong Kong is also the leading sending base for cross-culture missionaries, especially in the Muslim countries. May the Lord continue to light the passion of mission among HK believers.

星期二
大字報盛行於文化大革命，是1950-1970年代最具煽動性的政治工具，毛澤東就善於用它來打擊政敵。雖然現今大字報已被取締，但是衆多的中國人仍習慣自義而無情地批判他人。當有信徒的神學觀點有不同時，求神使我們謙卑，幫助我們知道如何在主裏合宜表達自己。

星期三
第一份大字報在1957出現於北京大學飯廳的牆上，內容是攻擊與共產黨持不同觀點的人，隨之而來的反右騷動大肆給人貼「右派」標簽，並造成對那一整代人空前的集體大刑罰。今日的中國教會往往因彼此信仰教義上的堅持有所不同而互相攻訐，部分教會甚至將他人貼上「非正統」標籤。讓我們為教會和信徒在主裡的合一和謙卑來禱告。

星期四
估計每年中國自殺的人數約有38萬7千人，自殺率高過世界水平，也是唯一女性自殺人數比男性高的國家。農村婦女把自殺看作解決苦難和貧困最快的方法。在農村，其中大多信徒都經歷過鄰居自殺。我們以沉重的心情為所有喪失的靈魂禱告，求主讓眾教會能在絕望的人群中傳遞主的愛，分享有盼望的福音。

星期五
中國的農村婦女自殺率最高。常用的辦法是服農藥、投河及上吊。傳統觀念中重男輕女，並普遍對女性基本權益的貶抑，在貧困地區尤其嚴重，讓婦女看不到希望。貧困農村通常都有教會，但是嚴重的貧窮，以及缺乏裝備信徒的有關訓練，限制了福音的傳播。讓我們再次為中國極貧地區的福音工作禱告。

星期六
中國13億人口中只有1萬7千名精神科醫師。憂鬱症或其他精神病患求診者少之又少，在社會上受到歧視。中國信徒很少有機會針對個人私事向牧師尋求建議或輔導。而傳道人對羊群的需要亦束手無策，只能叫他們「多多禱告」。讓我們為從事栽培和訓練教會同工輔導和處理家庭糾紛的單位和信徒們禱告。

星期日
中國84%的自殺者住在農村，其中三分之一是文盲，自殺手法有三分之二是服農藥。西方普遍的自殺原因與酗酒和精神疾病有關，在中國並不多見。自殺在中國仍是一種普遍可以被社會接受的行爲，為國、為尊嚴而自殺者甚至被視爲烈士。我們禱告更多信徒能夠接觸到這些痛失親人的家庭，把安慰以及永生的盼望帶給他們。

星期一
自1997年後，香港大部份英治時代的公眾假期均保留不變（如聖誕節和復活節），而英女皇壽辰和香港重光紀念日假期則被佛誕（農曆四月初八日）和香港特別行政區成立紀念日（7月1日）所取代。香港是一個中、西政治和文化的交聚點，讓我們在禱告中記念香港的教會能靠主發光，成為這城巿的燈台。香港也是跨文化宣教士差派的基地，尤其是在回教國家。願主繼續點燃香港眾信徒心中對宣教使命的熱火。