totallylovedbygod65
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- Mar 12, 2024
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This Week's Prayer Guide
May 18 - This week, pray for the needs of churches in Wuhan. Pray for churches in Wuhan to be transformed by the gospel of Christ.
May 19 - A pastor in Wuhan shares, “We initially thought that under the tremendous impact of the three years of the pandemic, the church would be able to do something significant or experience some growth. But the results were very disappointing. The church simply wasn't strong enough or prepared for such a shock. As a result, we experienced significant losses in terms of both attendance and giving. Many churches simply disappeared. This has led to a lot of self-reflection. What happened to our churches? Why didn't we build a strong foundation? Why haven't we influenced the world?” Pray for God to help give these churches wisdom as they self-reflect, that he would rebuild the church and give it a strong foundation.
May 20 - “The persecution has intensified,” says a Wuhan pastor. “Both the Three-Self Churches and the house churches are facing significant persecution.” Another pastor says, “[The local government] wanted us to incorporate things like the national flag, the national anthem, religious regulations, socialist core values, and so on—all very secular things. We flatly refused. This led to persecution.” Pray for these churches to hold fast to Christ in the midst of persecution.
May 21 - As a result of increasing persecution, one pastor in Wuhan shares that, “Our church has moved many times, and I dread moving. Every time we find a place, the authorities find us, invite us for ‘tea,’ and show their ‘concern.’ They come to our community, and the community police, usually plainclothes officers, come to see us. We constantly deal with them. Of course, we're not afraid, by God's grace. But the key issue is that because of the constant moving and relocating, renting and finding new places, our members are becoming weary and discouraged.” Pray for a permanent location for this church, and for God to give them strength in the midst of weariness and discouragement.
May 22 - A pastor in Wuhan shares, “We've managed to survive in this environment. The brothers and sisters have been greatly refined through this experience [of pandemic and persecution]. We've done online, offline, large gatherings, small groups—everything. We've trained a large number of co-workers, and they're all handling things well. This tension with the government hasn't ended, but we've become accustomed to it. This is our reality. We're just taking it one step at a time, relying on God's grace, and continuing to move forward.” Pray for this church to continue moving forward and to rely on God’s grace.
May 23 - “We need to rightly handle the word of truth,” says a Wuhan pastor, “and bring people to God. When God's word is clearly explained, its power and comfort will help the congregation persevere in their faith during persecution.” Pray for preachers and teachers who can rightly handle the word of truth and model Christ with their lives.
May 24 - As a result of pandemic and persecution, one Wuhan pastor reflects: “Unlike before, churches are no longer focused on building impressive buildings or comparing attendance numbers or giving amounts. Now, the focus is on helping brothers and sisters deepen their faith and better fulfill the church's purpose in this city.” Praise God for refining his church, and pray that he will deepen the faith of the brothers and sisters in Wuhan.
May 18 - This week, pray for the needs of churches in Wuhan. Pray for churches in Wuhan to be transformed by the gospel of Christ.
May 19 - A pastor in Wuhan shares, “We initially thought that under the tremendous impact of the three years of the pandemic, the church would be able to do something significant or experience some growth. But the results were very disappointing. The church simply wasn't strong enough or prepared for such a shock. As a result, we experienced significant losses in terms of both attendance and giving. Many churches simply disappeared. This has led to a lot of self-reflection. What happened to our churches? Why didn't we build a strong foundation? Why haven't we influenced the world?” Pray for God to help give these churches wisdom as they self-reflect, that he would rebuild the church and give it a strong foundation.
May 20 - “The persecution has intensified,” says a Wuhan pastor. “Both the Three-Self Churches and the house churches are facing significant persecution.” Another pastor says, “[The local government] wanted us to incorporate things like the national flag, the national anthem, religious regulations, socialist core values, and so on—all very secular things. We flatly refused. This led to persecution.” Pray for these churches to hold fast to Christ in the midst of persecution.
May 21 - As a result of increasing persecution, one pastor in Wuhan shares that, “Our church has moved many times, and I dread moving. Every time we find a place, the authorities find us, invite us for ‘tea,’ and show their ‘concern.’ They come to our community, and the community police, usually plainclothes officers, come to see us. We constantly deal with them. Of course, we're not afraid, by God's grace. But the key issue is that because of the constant moving and relocating, renting and finding new places, our members are becoming weary and discouraged.” Pray for a permanent location for this church, and for God to give them strength in the midst of weariness and discouragement.
May 22 - A pastor in Wuhan shares, “We've managed to survive in this environment. The brothers and sisters have been greatly refined through this experience [of pandemic and persecution]. We've done online, offline, large gatherings, small groups—everything. We've trained a large number of co-workers, and they're all handling things well. This tension with the government hasn't ended, but we've become accustomed to it. This is our reality. We're just taking it one step at a time, relying on God's grace, and continuing to move forward.” Pray for this church to continue moving forward and to rely on God’s grace.
May 23 - “We need to rightly handle the word of truth,” says a Wuhan pastor, “and bring people to God. When God's word is clearly explained, its power and comfort will help the congregation persevere in their faith during persecution.” Pray for preachers and teachers who can rightly handle the word of truth and model Christ with their lives.
May 24 - As a result of pandemic and persecution, one Wuhan pastor reflects: “Unlike before, churches are no longer focused on building impressive buildings or comparing attendance numbers or giving amounts. Now, the focus is on helping brothers and sisters deepen their faith and better fulfill the church's purpose in this city.” Praise God for refining his church, and pray that he will deepen the faith of the brothers and sisters in Wuhan.
