Prayer Request 4/26 – 5/2

Tuesday
The Vatican has put a Chinese Catholic scholar who lived nearly five centuries ago, on the path to beatification. Paul Xu Guangqi, who lived from 1562 to 1633, was a scientist, astronomer and mathematician; he was a disciple of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci and converted to Christianity under the Ming Dynasty. We thank the Lord for all those who brought the Gospel to China in the past. We remember the blood of all who were martyred and those who are still being persecuted. We remember all faithful Chinese believers of Jesus, in the Three-Self or the house churches. May the Spirit of God accomplish His purpose among us.

Wednesday
Shanghai government is working hard to be the financial powerhouse like Hong Kong and London. In 2010, Shanghai overtook Singapore as the busiest containers-shipping port in the world. A recent collective dissatisfaction by angry truck drivers - they protested the high fuel price and fees - nearly paralyzed the busy port. Shanghai is the "seat" of Three-Self churches, but churches there suffer malaise in general. It is said, the more prosperous a city, the weaker the churches. For believers in big cities, there are so many things competing and distracting their commitment to God. We pray that our hearts will not grow cold or merely become lukewarm.

Thursday
In China it is considered a good deal for a female college student to spend $4,500 (30,000 yuan) for plastic surgery on her chin since she feels that having a smooth oval face will undoubtedly bring a good job and a nice boyfriend as well as a beautiful image to admire daily in the mirror. We pray especially for parents who are believers and have a daughter. May the Lord give them good parent-child relationships. For the father we pray for gentleness as well as being a model of godliness and showing affection in concrete ways, unlike traditonal Chinese fathers who are stern and distant.

Friday
The government in China has set some lofty goals for the residents of interior China to accomplish before 2015. These goals include: raising the life expectancy of the citizens from 73 (as of 2009) to 74.5 years, basic medical insurance coverage for outpatient visits, improving the standard of county hospitals, and an out-of-pocket medical cost of only thirty percent. Giving in the rural churches tends to be poorer than those in the city and people are afraid of high medical costs so they must keep money for that just in case. Again, we lift up all the believers in rural China and especially those who know they do not have savings to cover any major illness they might have.

Saturday
Before 2000 the people in China used to enjoy free medical care but now the majority of the citizens must pay more than half of their medical expenses. Back in 2001 people had to pay more than 60% of the cost themselves but in the past five years with the new insurance plans, people pay only about 40% of the cost themselves. We pray for peace and genuine security in God for believers, especially those who have chronic illnesses and know they will be a financial burden for their child once the illness worsens.

Sunday
The graying of the population is a huge problem for China. By 2010 there were 170 million people over sixty years of age--about 12.8% of the population. Aging along with the rural-to-urban shift presents a special challenge for the planners. Officials are now considering delaying the mandatory retirement age or making women as well as men retire late. The people of China seem to save money madly because they fear their savings will not last through their lifetime or will be wiped out if they become ill. There is little sense of financial security. Let us remember in prayer those believers who have just retired, for their adjustment at home as well as psychologically. May the Lord give them "holy ambition" to serve in the church a lot more.

Monday
The labor supply in China far exceeds the demand so the problem of unemployment remains severe. Every year 25 million new people enter the job market but there are only 12 million jobs available, leaving more than 10 million newly unemployed people yearly. There are many unemployed believers some of whom have given up looking for work because they are older (more than forty years old). We pray the Lord will answer their prayer, not merely providing them with an income to meet their need financially but also give them the dignity and self-respect everyone needs.

星期二
梵蒂岡教廷曾經在上海封聖明朝政治和科學家徐光啟。他曾作過禮部尚書，文淵閣大學士，是耶穌會傳教士利瑪竇的學生，向利瑪竇學習西方科學知識，並信奉了基督，是中西文化交流的先驅。我們為過去幾世紀將福音帶到中國的傳教士們感謝神，也記念他們犧牲殉道的鮮血，至今仍影響億萬心靈。也為正為主受逼迫的肢體禱告，不論屬家庭教會或三自的肢體，都求聖靈保守他們忍耐到底，以成就主的旨意。

星期三
政府正努力將上海建成能與香港和倫敦匹敵的國際金融中心。2010年上海港取代了新加坡，成為世界上最繁忙的集裝箱港。這繁忙的港口最近遇到卡車司機集體控訴，不滿油價及雜費暴漲，癱瘓港口運作。上海是三自教會的「首府」，但遠不如其他城市的教會興旺。通常城市越繁榮，弟兄姊妹分心的事就更多，教會就越冷清。求主憐憫我們，不在穩妥的事業、幸福的生活中，忘記主恩，失落起初的愛。

星期四
中國女大學生認為4500美元（約合人民幣3萬元）修整臉頰是非常合算的，一張鵝蛋臉能讓人擁有「一份好工作，一個好男友，還能讓自己更喜歡鏡子裡的我。」我們要為家中有閨女的信徒禱告。求主幫助他們建立美好的親子關係，讓孩子長大有健康的自我形象，讓父親們能以溫柔取代舊式不茍言笑、難以親近的嚴父形象，讓孩子在他們身上具體地看到神的慈愛與關懷。

星期五
五年的新醫療衛生計劃為內陸居民勾勒出一幅美好的圖畫。其目標是所至2015年底能提高平均壽命從2009年的73歲到74.5歲；基本醫療保險覆蓋所有門診病人；提高的有縣級醫院醫療水平；自付的療費降至30%以下。農村教會在財政上遠不及城市教會，原因之一是高昂的醫藥費使人生畏，都想盡量存錢以備不時之需。我們再次求主堅固農村教會與信徒，特別看顧保守那些得病，也沒有積蓄接受治療的信徒。

星期六
90年代實行的醫療改革，絕大多數居民無法在享用幾近免費的公費醫療，大多數居民支付的醫療費用都在一半以上。2001年，居民個人支付的醫療費用達60%，其餘部分由政府和新興的社會保險支付。過去5年，比例雖有所下降，但仍然在40%左右。求主讓信徒們從神得到真正的平安和保障。尤其慢性病患者，疾病的纏擾加上自知將成為孩子長期的經濟負擔，這雙重壓力求主親自撫慰。

星期日
人口老化是現今中國非常大的挑戰。到2010年底，中國60歲以上者已達近1.7億，占人口的12.8%；且老齡化又處在城鄉二元結構的背景下。官員認為延遲退休年齡或男女同齡退休應是解決問題的選項之一。許多中國人瘋狂儲蓄，一怕後半生不夠用，二怕有病沒錢醫，在經濟上沒有安全感。我們為剛退休的信徒在心理上及在家中角色調適得宜來禱告，願神給他們有「神聖的抱負和使命」，參與更多教會、社區的服事。

星期一
中國勞動力供大於求，就業形勢仍十分嚴峻。每年城鎮需要安排的勞動力在2500萬人左右，而實際能夠安排的勞動力在1200萬人左右，事實上大約還有近1000萬人的就業缺口。無職待業的信徒不計其數，一些年紀較大的（年過四十），早已放棄就業希望。求主特別眷顧他們的所需所求，除了供應他們經濟的需要外，更讓他們能夠擁有基本尊嚴和肯定自我的價值。