PRAY
for Chinese people & society
CHINESE CHRISTIANS
More than anything else Chinese Christians ask us to pray! They face a daunting myriad of challenges which can only be effectively addressed by God’s own supernatural intervention and grace. Here are some of the primary prayer points:
Pray for the hundreds of millions of Chinese who have never heard the gospel, or even the name of Jesus—especially those in unreached people groups—to be reached and churches planted.
Pray for Communist Party members and military members, who are prohibited from believing in any religion, though many secretly do.
Pray for wisdom and courage for Christian leaders facing intensifying persecution and pressure to compromise
(I Peter 5:10-11).Pray for effective ministry to the younger generations, generally very different and somewhat alienated from their parents and grandparents, and for healthy marriages and families—which are not the norm even among believers.
Pray for foreign Christian workers in China to manifest the glory of God and understand their specific roles
(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).Pray for the embryonic development of cross-cultural missions by mainland Chinese to be effective, with proper training, nurturing and support.
Pray for overseas Chinese around the world to be burdened and activated for God’s call on their lives, and their wealth and talents harnessed for his glory.
Pray for righteous rulers to be raised up in government, education, business and media; that “Sauls would be changed into Pauls” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Pray for adequate supplies of Bibles and other Christian materials to be provided and accessed.
Pray for effective leader development among aspiring Christian leaders.
MIGRANT WORKERS
The greatest migration in human history happened in China as hundreds of millions of rural Chinese migrated to the cities looking for work.
This continues to be a common pattern in China. As migrants leave their country villages to find work in the city, many children are left in the village homes to be cared for by their grandparents. Some will not see their parents again for many years.
Children who move with their parents to the cities are unable to attend the city schools without a city identity card. Because of this, many of these children get into trouble or find themselves in crime rings, and as they grow to adulthood, are often forced to take some of the lowest paying jobs.
More recently, the pattern is partially reversed as the migrants to the cities become disillusioned and some return back to their rural home areas.
Pray for the elderly and their grandchildren who live in the villages while parents work in the cities.
Pray for migrants and children who have moved to the city. Many of these migrants are from unreached peoples and are more easily reached with the gospel when they’re living in cities.
Pray for children’s ministries to effectively reach migrant children in their moral vacuum, their difficult economic struggles and isolated social circumstances.
COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBERS
Tens of millions of Communist party members are required to take a vow of atheism and prohibited to affiliate themselves with any religion. The same is true of anyone in the military.
Pray for party and military members to come to Christ and for those who know Him to be given wisdom on how, when, and with whom to share the gospel.
UNREACHED MINORITIES
The majority ethnic group in China is the Han Chinese.
The 130 million Chinese in approximately 500 minority groups making up the rest of the population, many reside in southwest China and are considered among the most unreached people groups in the world.
Pray for the unreached minorities to be reached for the gospel and for reached minorities to be burdened by and mobilized to bring the gospel to unreached minorities. It is widely recognized that Chinese minority believers can reach their unbelieving kindred more effectively than anyone else.
MUSLIMS
There are about 35 million Chinese Muslims in a number of different minority groups, mostly in Northwest China. The exception is the Hui people, who are scattered throughout China in almost every county in the country; they are racially Chinese but culturally Muslim, and among the most devout Muslims
in China.
Pray for Muslims to know God as their heavenly Father and turn to Him (Romans 10:1).
Praise God for some small but historically significant gospel breakthroughs among several Muslim people-groups.
CHILDREN
Because of the growing affluence in China, children of this generation have experienced more comfort and security than generations past. For that reason, many children are spoiled and are commonly referred to as the "little emperors."
Pray that these children would have humility, come to the Lord, and use their tremendous influence to bring their parents and grandparents to the Lord.
Pray their hearts would turn away from the love of money and status, and experience the incorruptible love of Christ (Ephesians 6:24).
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
It’s difficult to get into a Chinese university. For those who do, they will go on to comprise the highest ranks and fill the most influential roles in Chinese society.
Pray for the conversion of university students who will become the leaders of China.
Pray for Chinese students and scholars studying abroad, many of whom will make up the elite in China, to hear the gospel and be discipled.
Pray that the 75% of Chinese students studying abroad who don’t return to China to hear the gospel and be discipled.
Pray that Christian Chinese students returning from studying abroad will be able to re-culture into Chinese society, find well-suited fellowship and discover their calling in Christ.
Pray that those who are studying abroad will be open to God’s call to return to China once they complete their studies.
Pray for fruitful sharing of faith to foreign university campuses to mainland Chinese students (Ph. 1:4-6).
OTHER SOCIAL FACTORS
China has no models for understanding the calling of what it means to be a Christian businessman. Pray that Christian businessmen would grow in their gospel understanding, and be given mature models of conducting business from a biblical context.
Pray for pro-life efforts in China, which are embryonic.
Pray that the gospel would permeate every sphere of society (arts & entertainment, religions, government, education, family, business and media).
Pray that, even in the current atmosphere of hostility toward Christians, holistic expressions of the gospel would continue to develop.
Pray for Christian English teachers in China and that God would supply more of them to help evangelize and disciple Chinese students.
Other Prayer Resources
