Tuesday
Today Olympic sports have come to symbolize the destiny and pride of the people of China and everyone is concerned about how many gold medals she will earn. Thousands of athletes trained for the Olympics but once they retire there are few cushy positions like coaching left for them. Since there are few retirement plans awaiting church workers in China, they are usually supported by their children. Let us pray for good health and good spirits for all the retired pastors and believers.
Wednesday
At the age of twenty-one nearly 80% of the people in China have had premarital sex. Young people in rural areas engage in sex earlier than those in the city and the number of young girls who seek abortions has increased alarmingly. Many children in the villages of China are left in the care of relatives and have minimal supervision while their parents work in the cities. Chinese parents tend to be mum in talking about sexual matters with their children and churches typically avoid it altogether. Let us commit all the young Chinese believers to God's protection.
Thursday
The involvement of Christians in the aftermath of the earthquake demonstrated a few facts about charitable work in China. Open sharing and distribution of gospel tracts are prohibited and were immediately shut down. It is difficult and can even be offensive to try to explain "the love of the almighty God" to those who have just suffered severe losses and are in extreme agony and misery. Let us pray for all the Christians committed to reconstruction in Sichuan, and for that matter, all the Christian ministries whose intentions are to help their clients know Jesus. We should be faithful in both sowing seed and in the harvesting of the fruit.
Friday
The earthquake relief effort has drawn together resources on an unprecedented scale from all sorts of organizations and individuals. This is the first time Chinese Christians got to fulfill their share of social involvement. Motivated by the love of God, Christian doctors, nurses, professors, teachers, artists, businessmen, engineers, workers, and farmers have come together from all over and given selflessly of their time, money, and labor to serve those who have lost their families and homes. This has been something never before seen in the history of the Chinese church and it is a magnificent testimony indeed! We praise God and ask that this may be a new beginning rather than just an aberration.
Saturday
In 1960, C. K. Yang was the first Chinese to win an Olympic silver medal. Later in his life, Yang, an aboriginal from Taiwan, retured to his hometown, Taitung, and became a "ji tong", a shaman, a spirt-possessed person in his own temple.We lift up to God the hundreds of aboriginal churches in Taiwan that serve among people who have a high rate of alcoholism, adultery and many who are in the dark bondage of spirit worship.
Sunday
Smoke from burning coal is the major source of pollution in China. The chief cause of pollution in Beijing, a steel factory, was moved a hundred kilometers away until after the Olympics. Over a million cars will also be taken of the streets there to ease traffic in one of the most congested cities in the world. Beijing has a new kind of church composed mostly of intellectuals who put great emphasis on prayer, missions, training, and social issues. They also like to engage in theological debates. Let us pray for all of the churches in Beijing, for their passion for the Word and their witness to all of China.
Monday
There are twice as many Chinese restaurants in the United States today as there were fifteen years ago. In New York City alone there are 2,300 of them and with the rising cost of food, it is very difficult to make a profit. Many of the people who work in these restaurants are illegal but that is a place for Chinese people to find work. Let us pray for those who are reaching out to these workers.
