totallylovedbygod65
Member
- Mar 12, 2024
- 157
- 140
To see all my reach and teach devotions in Chinese/English and hundreds of devotions in English, please click on this link.
https://www.tblfaithnews.com/category/tbl-china
1 THESSALONIANS 1
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
。
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.
7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
We hear every day about China, we hear about church growth in China, and we want to pray effectively and help the Chinese church.
How can this be done, in this article, with the help of my dear Chinese brother David, who has lived in China and the USA, both of us have a unique vantage point.
First of all you must have a deep concern for China:
God alone can place that burden on your heart, ask him to put that burden on your heart.
Secondly, you must be PROPERLY informed. Knowledge of the harvest field is wonderful and up to date information is better, we need information that is effective and from the voice of the Chinese people themselves.
One of the best sources for information is:
https://chinapartnership.org/
You can pray systematically and practically for the Chinese church using this website.
Other websites to help you:
https://www.chinasource.org/about/
There are many other sites , you can use, such as:
https://incontextinternational.org/2024/04/18/a-call-to-uplift-the-chinese-church-in-prayer/
https://www.persecution.com/globalprayerguide/china/?_source_code=WBPGGPG20B
Before you start to pray effectively, you must understand these three things:
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT CHINESE CULTURE IS DIFFERENT
The gospel is the power of God to all who believe to all the nations.. amen.
But in a different cultural setting, it must be refined, note I said refined, not changed.
The Chinese culture is one based on benevolence, they believe that they are basically good. So confronting them with sin and stating that they are a sinner, is a difficult concept, for a Chinese person to understand.
Christ addressed several seemingly good people in the gospels, such as Nicodemus and Zaccheus. Paul spoke to Lydia and to Cornelius, who were good religious people.
Chinese people from an early age have been told that there is no God and that there is no morality.
Atheism is a thin veneer for all kinds of sin as Paul stated in Romans 1, we have witnessed to many Chinese and had to explain the existence of God.
Pray that God would move mightily in the hearts of the Chinese people, many who are saved come out of a life of atheism and Buddhism and they need a complete washing and renewing of their minds, as there are many alien concepts to them.
PRAY THAT THE CULTURE WILL BE CHALLENGED
2 CORINTHINS 10
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Christianity in China, is still seen to some extent as a foreign religion, so the best things western Christians to do is to pray.
As mentioned earlier Chinese culture is based on Confucius teaching and atheism, it has to be challenged by the gospel.
Women in the home are seen as dominant and this along with other unbiblical ideas, must be challenged.
The word of God is God's agent of challenge, but many of the things that it says and makes clear are alien to the Chinese and go against Chinese culture.
So there is a great need for a move of the Holy Spirit, in the hearts of the Chinese people. Many people including my Chinese wife come from a Buddhist background, so their minds must be washed by the word.
This may take years, that's why we need prayer warriors to pray, leading a Chinese person to Christ, is the easy part, now begins the difficult part, as the discipleship process starts.
Please pray that the Church, would be able to disciple in a biblical way and that God's people would grow in grace and love for his Word.
PRAY THAT THE CULTURE WOULD BE CHANGED
China is seeking to erase corruption from the country, this is virtually impossible, but there is a way that it could be, by changing people's hearts with the gospel.
The first six chapters of Daniel, show how a society, can be challenged by four men, who stand truly for God.
但以理书的前六章展示了四个真正为上帝站立的人是如何挑战社会的。
We are not here to change the government, only God can do that, that is something which is in God's hand Psalm 2.
How can we do this:
TRUE CONVERSION
Pray that people would come to be born again, like Paul, Nicodemus, Lydia etc.
Sad to say, many millions, have said the sinners prayers are still living in sin, because of false teaching such as The Shack and Purpose Driven Life. Pray that the true gospel, would be preached.
TRUE CLEANSING
There has to be deep repentance Psalms 32/51, many people come to Christ, carrying so much baggage from their past, such as the burning of paper money to ancestors and other occult practices.
Again these things have to be addressed and defeated by prayer.
TRUE COMMITMENT
In the parable of the Sower, only one seed bore fruit, pray that the seed of the gospel brings forth fruit and that this fruit grows. To do this, it must be watered by fervent intercessory prayer.
TRUE CHANGE
What is our aim by praying for China, it is to see not just the culture challenged, but people to be converted and changed. Only then can the culture be changed.
People hearts need to be changed and the only agent of change is the gospel, I hope you will join us as we pray for China,
In the second part of this article, we will be getting down to what we can pray for in specific terms.
For now, I am going to hand over to my friend David, who will add his personal words of wisdom.
Over to you David
My thoughts (from David, a Chinese Christian living now in the USA):
我的想法（来自大卫，一个现在在美国生活的中国基督徒）：
First of all, thanks for reading this. There are a lot of Christian information around, and your time reading this is appreciated. I will keep it short.
To pray for China, please first pray for the Chinese leaders, such as President Xi Jinping. The Poliburo members are also very powerful people. They are the true decision makers in Chinese politics. Pray for Premier Li Qiang, and Poliburo member Cai Qi. No matter who becomes the next President, that person would have already been in the current Poliburo.
As to prayers for the church, please pray that the house church leaders can petition the government to make house churches legal in China. This is an overdue issue. Some new laws need to be passed. Some prisoners released.
You should visit China. The western media paints China in a negative way. Therefore, come visit. Go to places like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and taste Chinese food. Unlike people in the west, Chinese people are generally more friendly towards foreigners. But please do not come in a condescending manner. Respect local customs.
I wish you all very well. God bless you.
David
https://www.tblfaithnews.com/category/tbl-china
1 THESSALONIANS 1
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
。
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.
7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
We hear every day about China, we hear about church growth in China, and we want to pray effectively and help the Chinese church.
How can this be done, in this article, with the help of my dear Chinese brother David, who has lived in China and the USA, both of us have a unique vantage point.
First of all you must have a deep concern for China:
God alone can place that burden on your heart, ask him to put that burden on your heart.
Secondly, you must be PROPERLY informed. Knowledge of the harvest field is wonderful and up to date information is better, we need information that is effective and from the voice of the Chinese people themselves.
One of the best sources for information is:
https://chinapartnership.org/
You can pray systematically and practically for the Chinese church using this website.
Other websites to help you:
https://www.chinasource.org/about/
There are many other sites , you can use, such as:
https://incontextinternational.org/2024/04/18/a-call-to-uplift-the-chinese-church-in-prayer/
https://www.persecution.com/globalprayerguide/china/?_source_code=WBPGGPG20B
Before you start to pray effectively, you must understand these three things:
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT CHINESE CULTURE IS DIFFERENT
The gospel is the power of God to all who believe to all the nations.. amen.
But in a different cultural setting, it must be refined, note I said refined, not changed.
The Chinese culture is one based on benevolence, they believe that they are basically good. So confronting them with sin and stating that they are a sinner, is a difficult concept, for a Chinese person to understand.
Christ addressed several seemingly good people in the gospels, such as Nicodemus and Zaccheus. Paul spoke to Lydia and to Cornelius, who were good religious people.
Chinese people from an early age have been told that there is no God and that there is no morality.
Atheism is a thin veneer for all kinds of sin as Paul stated in Romans 1, we have witnessed to many Chinese and had to explain the existence of God.
Pray that God would move mightily in the hearts of the Chinese people, many who are saved come out of a life of atheism and Buddhism and they need a complete washing and renewing of their minds, as there are many alien concepts to them.
PRAY THAT THE CULTURE WILL BE CHALLENGED
2 CORINTHINS 10
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Christianity in China, is still seen to some extent as a foreign religion, so the best things western Christians to do is to pray.
As mentioned earlier Chinese culture is based on Confucius teaching and atheism, it has to be challenged by the gospel.
Women in the home are seen as dominant and this along with other unbiblical ideas, must be challenged.
The word of God is God's agent of challenge, but many of the things that it says and makes clear are alien to the Chinese and go against Chinese culture.
So there is a great need for a move of the Holy Spirit, in the hearts of the Chinese people. Many people including my Chinese wife come from a Buddhist background, so their minds must be washed by the word.
This may take years, that's why we need prayer warriors to pray, leading a Chinese person to Christ, is the easy part, now begins the difficult part, as the discipleship process starts.
Please pray that the Church, would be able to disciple in a biblical way and that God's people would grow in grace and love for his Word.
PRAY THAT THE CULTURE WOULD BE CHANGED
China is seeking to erase corruption from the country, this is virtually impossible, but there is a way that it could be, by changing people's hearts with the gospel.
The first six chapters of Daniel, show how a society, can be challenged by four men, who stand truly for God.
但以理书的前六章展示了四个真正为上帝站立的人是如何挑战社会的。
We are not here to change the government, only God can do that, that is something which is in God's hand Psalm 2.
How can we do this:
TRUE CONVERSION
Pray that people would come to be born again, like Paul, Nicodemus, Lydia etc.
Sad to say, many millions, have said the sinners prayers are still living in sin, because of false teaching such as The Shack and Purpose Driven Life. Pray that the true gospel, would be preached.
TRUE CLEANSING
There has to be deep repentance Psalms 32/51, many people come to Christ, carrying so much baggage from their past, such as the burning of paper money to ancestors and other occult practices.
Again these things have to be addressed and defeated by prayer.
TRUE COMMITMENT
In the parable of the Sower, only one seed bore fruit, pray that the seed of the gospel brings forth fruit and that this fruit grows. To do this, it must be watered by fervent intercessory prayer.
TRUE CHANGE
What is our aim by praying for China, it is to see not just the culture challenged, but people to be converted and changed. Only then can the culture be changed.
People hearts need to be changed and the only agent of change is the gospel, I hope you will join us as we pray for China,
In the second part of this article, we will be getting down to what we can pray for in specific terms.
For now, I am going to hand over to my friend David, who will add his personal words of wisdom.
Over to you David
My thoughts (from David, a Chinese Christian living now in the USA):
我的想法（来自大卫，一个现在在美国生活的中国基督徒）：
First of all, thanks for reading this. There are a lot of Christian information around, and your time reading this is appreciated. I will keep it short.
To pray for China, please first pray for the Chinese leaders, such as President Xi Jinping. The Poliburo members are also very powerful people. They are the true decision makers in Chinese politics. Pray for Premier Li Qiang, and Poliburo member Cai Qi. No matter who becomes the next President, that person would have already been in the current Poliburo.
As to prayers for the church, please pray that the house church leaders can petition the government to make house churches legal in China. This is an overdue issue. Some new laws need to be passed. Some prisoners released.
You should visit China. The western media paints China in a negative way. Therefore, come visit. Go to places like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and taste Chinese food. Unlike people in the west, Chinese people are generally more friendly towards foreigners. But please do not come in a condescending manner. Respect local customs.
I wish you all very well. God bless you.
David
