Prayer Request 8/18 - 8/24

Tuesday
The recent typhoon brought the worst flooding in half a century to Southern Taiwan and ravaged many villages. Historically, the people in the villages in Taiwan are predominately Buddhist and they have been "hard soil" and very resistant to the gospel and church work. The people in the churches of Taiwan are not slow in going to help the needy but Christian efforts are easily dwarfed and overshadowed by Buddhist relief workers. Let us pray for the Christians in Taiwan that they will not be discouraged but will continue to be light and salt all over the island, especially in the rural regions.

Wednesday
To commemorate the 2008 Olympics, August 8th will also be delcared as a "National Fitness Day" and all public sports facilities will be free on that day. A year ago, Beijing mobilized 1.7 million young volunteers to staff five hundred information stations throughout the city for the Olympics. This year Beijing formally incorporated the spirit of volunteerism in the curriculum of all the schools from grade one through high school. Although historically the churches in China have been reluctant to be involved in social matters, since the Sichuan earthquake Christians have been more visible in social work and many churches have also had an attitude shift in community involvement. We thank the Lord for this change. May the Lord continue to cause believers to be more mature and churches to be more bold in showing the compassion of Christ.

Thursday
Many young people have graduated from seminary training in China but many of them are not clear about the true meaning of sacrificial service, or they are not so gifted or able to serve as those who worked in the churches in the past, and the drop-out rate is alarmingly high. There are those who say the quality of today's students is not so good as that of those in the years past. However, we know that God can use all who are humble and weak and so we keep praying for those who are being trained now. May the Lord give them wisdom, integrity, humility, and passion for His flock.

Friday
Ten million students took the college entrance examination competing for six million spots this year. Nearly all of them were born after 1990. Every year the Chinese essay portion of the exam draws lots of interest because it reflects the interests and experiences of the students. In Tianjin they were given the topic, "What Post-Ninety Means to Me". In Beijing the subject was, "I Have a Pair of Invisible Wings", a lyric from a pop song. We pray for campus ministries through out China this fall, as this new generation of young people enter colleges. May the Lord give us abundant harvest, a revival among young believers and more workers to reach out to the incoming college students.

Saturday
There are three hundred so-called clinics or centers in China offering Internet-addiction treatment which includes medications, confinement,or electro-shock as well as training with physical force. Recently a death at one of these clinics has exposed a great concern for the safety of the methods of treatment used there. The addiction of many teens to the Internet/computer game is a huge headache for many Chinese parents. Let us pray along with those Christian fathers and mothers who are struggling with their children' behavioral problems as well as the poor quality of their parent-child relationship, another common problem in China.

Sunday
Some urban churches try to rent adjoining units in commercial buildings as places for worship in China but this is deemed illegal in there so this has become a point of contention and confrontation between churches and local officials. Let us pray for churches struggling with the issue of obtaining a "legal location" and "legal identity" in order to expand their ministry. For many congregations, this is a long process and we pray for the building up of core team members as well as finding a consensus for the direction for each church.

Monday
In the churches of China it is very easy to find radical teachings, especially in rural areas. Some say that Jesus' coming is imminent and must stop doing everything now. Others place great emphasis on defeating the work of Satan or claim they have special supernatural powers. It is sad to see naive sheep led astray by the false prophets and teachers. When the government clamps down on these groups, they believe they have been singled out and persecuted. Let us pray that these lambs/sheep will come to rest in the true fold of Jesus.


星期二
莫拉克颱風重創南臺灣，帶來了50年來最嚴重的水災。嚴重災區大部分在鄉村地區，傳統上多篤信佛教，也是所謂臺灣「福音的硬土」。雖然教會一向在救難賑災上從不落人後，但一般臺灣百姓的印象裡，在災區穿梭的總是佛教的志工。讓我們為台灣的基督徒來祈求，求神激勵他們在各樣的善事上不氣餒，繼續成為島上的光和鹽，尤其在普遍是拜拜的鄉村地區。

星期三
中國國務院為紀念2008年奧運會，把八月八日定爲全民健身日，所有公共體育設施都免費向公眾開放。一年前，北京市動員了170萬名志願工作者，設立了500個志工支援的服務站。今年北京市更把志願服務精神教育正式納入中小學課程中。許多基督徒在四川地震後變得更積極關懷社會，一改過去對社會公益的不參與態度。我們為這種轉變感謝主，也求神繼續幫助祂的兒女能更成熟、勇敢地去回應社區的需要，彰顯基督的愛。

星期四
中國的信徒和傳道人雖讀過神學，許多卻不明白真正獻身的意義。其恩賜、能力與智慧大體上不及先輩，且中途離崗的人數之多令人堪憂。許多人認為神學生素質今非昔比。我們知道神能夠使用軟弱但謙卑的人，讓我們為所有神學生禱告，求主賜他們智慧，正直，良善和謙卑，及一顆熱愛主羊群的心。

星期五
今年有一千多萬考生參加高考，爭奪六百二十九萬個本、專科席位。每年高考作文題都花樣繁出，今年的天津作文題是《我說九零後》，北京作文題《我有一雙隱形的翅膀》引用了流行歌曲，讓人耳目一新。秋季將屆，又有新一代年輕人湧進大學，讓我們為每項校園事工祈求，願主祝福收穫豐盈，復興這一代的年輕信徒。又切求主打發工人收割莊稼，向這批新生們分享信仰。

星期六
全中國約有三百家治療網癮的診所或中心，大部分是採用強制性的打針吃藥、電擊、電療、禁閉、關押、打罵、恐嚇、暴力訓練等方法。最近因一個受「治療」的青少年暴斃被媒體曝光。許多家長為孩子沉溺網路而焦慮卻手足無措。信徒家庭也有面臨這種困境，不知該如何改善的；而許多質量低劣的親子關係也令家長們十分痛心。讓我們一起為這些父母親們來仰望神。

星期日
一些城市的家庭教會，聚會場地是租用寫字樓宇中相連的幾間辦公室。然而使用商用樓宇作宗教活動在中國是不合法的，因此不少這樣的教會與當地官員發生爭執和衝突。我們要爲所有爭取聚會點合法化和擴展事工正當化的教會來禱告，雖然這是個漫長的過程。我們也求神興起一批靈命成熟的教會棟樑，並在教會發展方向上，彼此同心取得共識。

星期一
中國有許多教會，尤其在農村地區，都有被極端教導滲入的跡象。或云耶穌即將再來，信徒要停止一切工作和活動，專心等待。另有些領袖宣稱自己有特殊預知能力，強調須致力打擊魔鬼的作為，或主張信徒必須向他承認自己是魔鬼，才能得救。現在政府對他們施加了一些壓力，但他們認為是為主受苦，益發火熱。眼見無知羊群被假教師、假先知導入歧途，著實令人痛心。讓我們迫切為中國教會禱告，讓真理能扎根，讓迷途的人都回到基督耶穌的恩典和真理中。