Prayer for China: A 365 Day Global Prayer Journey - April 5 (day 95)

China.

Just uttering the word brings a flood of thoughts - the political transformations that have occurred in the past 150 years; the social changes; the numerous international students; the faithful missionaries who pioneered the way for today's laborers; the suffering church; the underground church; the dynamic church. Names like Hudson Taylor, Gladys Aylward, Watchman Nee, Brother Yun. China yields itself to generalizations and broad brushstrokes.

That's why I'm glad that Operation World spends a full 2 weeks on China proper, and another few days on the Chinese territories. All told we will spend the next 19 days immersed in China. This country is one example of how I hope this blog can be helpful to us as we seek to pray through Operation World. I hope to help us truly learn more about China's nuances and to see all its beautiful hues. To give you an idea of where we're going, today we'll focus on an overview and the "Answers to prayer", then spend 3 days on the general prayer requests. After than, from the 9th to the 19th we'll break down the Provinces of China section, learning about just a few each day. Finally, from the 20th to the 23rd we'll address the territories. So don't be overwhelmed - just jump in, share what you know, and see what we can learn together!

For today, please read pages 214-217 (the blue box overview is especially helpful for a country this large). Praise God with me for what He's been doing in China!

My prayer for today: Lord, thank You so much for what You've done in China! What a surprise and blessing it was to discover the church had not only survived, but thrived during the closed years. Thank You for the amazing growth and the faith and commitment of these believers. Lord, thank You for their faithfulness in the face of persecution. Thank You for the Christians at every level of society, for the underground churches as well as the state churches that have genuine believers. Lord, thank You for the wisdom You have given them in engaging in social causes and for the missions vision of the church. Thank You for their growing unity and for the presence of Christian media. Thank You Lord for the positive changes in the government. Lord, You are good and You do good. Thank You for China. In Jesus' name, amen.