Praying for the Philippines

The heart of PRAYERCAST is for those who do not know Christ. Like Andrew Murray, they believe that, “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”

Today we highlight the country of THE PHILIPPINES. To view the Prayercast Filipino video presentation click here.

THE PHILIPPINES: “Often ignored by potential visitors because it’s on the less traveled east side of the South China Sea, the Philippines is a beautiful country with much to offer.  South of Taiwan and east of Vietnam, the world’s second largest chain of islands boasts a tropical climate with coral-fringed coasts and volcanic mountains.  The influence of four hundred years of Spanish and more recently American rule in the Philippines can be seen in its architecture, governmental structure, and religion.  It is the only Christian nation in Asia and has the third largest English-speaking population in the world.

Once the second richest country in Asia behind Japan, political instability and poor economic decisions by Filipino leaders over the years have transformed the nation into one of Asia’s poorest. Roughly one third of the population lives in poverty. The gap between the wealthiest two percent and the nation’s poor is a wide one.  The representative democratic government has made some progress in improving the economy, and it is helped considerably by the four to five million Filipinos, nearly five percent of the population, who work overseas and send home billions of dollars.  For several decades, the Filipino government has fought against the Moro National Liberation Front from the southern island of Mindanao and the communist New People’s Army, with active members found throughout the country. No lasting peace has been made with either group.

The Spanish brought Roman Catholicism to the Philippines in the early sixteenth century.  Centuries later, Christianity in the Philippines is widespread, with over 90 percent of the population having Christian beliefs. Most Filipinos are Roman Catholic and the church and its leaders exercise a powerful influence on politics and daily life.  The smaller, but strong, five percent Muslims are generally in the southern islands, where they seek to consolidate four Philippine provinces as a separate Islamic state.  The Evangelical Christian church is growing and denominations are working together to advance the gospel.  Filipino churches across all denominations are training and sending missionaries around the world.”

There are more than one million Chinese in the Philippines as well. Historically speaking about 98.5% of the Chinese people in the Philippines are said to be of Hokkien descent.

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for the Hokkien Harvest team as we seek to better understand needs among Hokkien in the Philippines.  • Pray for more Filipino churches to raise up and send out missionaries committed to worldwide evangelism.  • Pray for the church to stand firm on biblical truth and to be unified with one another  • Pray for honesty, justice, and fairness to replace corruption and greed in the government.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  – John 14:14

Praying for Malaysia

The heart of PRAYERCAST is for those who do not know Christ. Like Andrew Murray, they believe that, “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”

MALAYSIA: Today we highlight MALAYSIA. To view the Prayercast Malaysia video presentation click here.

MALAYSIA: “Divided into two landmasses by the South China Sea, Malaysia is both physically and socially split by culture, language, and ethnicity.  The diversity of the Malaysian people is both a blessing and a curse.  It has aided the country in developing a cosmopolitan atmosphere that connects it with the many societies surrounding the small country, including India, China, Indonesia, and the Islamic world.  However, the multiplicity of cultures and religions has prevented the development of connection between the citizens.  In spite of the fractured national identity, unity is found in the continued development of one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Even in the face of financial success, piracy remains a problem within Malaysia.  Even more prevalent is sex trafficking, with an entire black market based on the buying and selling of human lives for sexual exploitation, prostitution, and forced labor.  Though the nation has developed a diverse and stable economy, it came with the heavy price of oppressive rule, human rights abuses, and social repression.  Malaysia is situated close to the “Golden Triangle,” where Burma, Thailand, and Laos produce and ship some of the world’s largest amounts of opium.  Though several peace accords have been signed and the majority of violence subsided in the 1990’s, bitterness between the various ethnic groups of Malaysia still incites discrimination and mistreatment towards minority groups, particularly toward the indigenous Indians.

Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity can all find followers within the borders of Malaysia.  Though freedom of religion is permitted and tensions between the various faiths is moderate, Christians are forbidden by the state from witnessing to Muslims.  Due to the diverse languages and dialects, there is a desperate need for Bibles and instructional materials to be translated.  Those same educational tools also need funding to be published and distributed to those who are in need of them.  Malaysians have themselves been metaphorically trafficked by their own leaders, who have cheapened, neglected, and abused their countrymen to build and maintain their own power.  But God has bought Malaysia at the highest price, and soon the people will see how valuable they are in the eyes of Christ.

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for religious freedom that would facilitate a loving and persistent witness to Muslims.

• Pray for the Malay people, one of the world’s largest unreached people groups, to be evangelized both at home and abroad.

• Pray for pan end to the ever-increasing pressure on Malaysians to adopt shari’a law.

Continent: Asia

Capital City: Kuala Lumpur

Population: 25,715,19

Major People Groups: 50% Malay, 25% Chinese, 7% Indian

Religion: 59% Muslim, 21% Buddhist, 9% Christian, 5% Hindu

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  – John 14:14

Praying for Singapore

The heart of PRAYERCAST is for those who do not know Christ. Like Andrew Murray, they believe that, “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”

SINGAPORE: Today we highlight SINGAPORE. To view the Prayercast Singapore video presentation click here.

SINGAPORE: “Known as the cleanest and greenest city in Asia, Singapore is an island located just north of the equator in Southeast Asia and is one of the world’s most prosperous nations.  Singapore was founded as a British trade colony in 1819 and was under British rule until 1959. Full independence as part of Malaysia came in 1963, but after a short couple of years of unification, Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965 as a result of differences in political beliefs. Since then, Singapore has been led by the People’s Action Party which has dominated elections under a parliamentary government.

Singapore is known as one of Asia’s economic “tigers,” and its economy ranks second out of 41 countries in the Asian-Pacific region. Its large, free port is among the busiest in the world and contributes significantly to Singapore’s position as one of the greatest commercial centers in the world. Due to its booming economy, the nation is becoming increasingly materialistic, and many Singaporeans are preoccupied with pursuing the five C’s: career, cash, car, club, and condo. Family structures and relationships, traditionally strong, are suffering today because they are no longer a societal priority.

Singapore is a multi-religious society, with Buddhism (40 percent), Islam (13 percent), Hinduism (4 percent), and Christianity (16 percent) practiced.  Religious tolerance and harmony are government priorities and resolute action is taken when these are threatened. The Church is growing, though Christians struggle to maintain their spiritual fervor in the highly materialistic, competitive, and achievement-oriented culture. Associated with these is an underlying sense of insecurity, which also affects the Church. Many Christians struggle to prioritize spiritual riches and development over worldly riches and personal achievement. Excessive competitiveness within society has also sub-consciously crept into the Church, weakening unity among congregations.  The many achievements of the nation and the Church feed a sense of pride that at times seeks to withhold glory from God. Pray that Christians will have Spirit-led sensitivity and wisdom to present Singaporeans with a Christ-glorifying witness of vibrant and relevant faith in contemporary society.”

Prayer Points:

• Pray for wisdom, boldness, and freedom to openly speak of Jesus Christ.

• Pray for more ministry directed to largely poor immigrant laborers.

• Pray for affluent believers to remain strong and not become ineffective material worshipers.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  – John 14:14

 

Nick is coming to Kaohsiung

Dear friends, we have a special opportunity in our city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Sunday, December 15. Nick Vujicic is coming to speak and the word is out —- Please pray for:

Nick as he shares his story * Pray for non-Christians who attend to come to know Christ * Pray for believers to make the effort to invite family, friends and neighbors

Below is a letter from Nick to introduce himself. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer.

Hi Friend, my name is Nick Vujicic and I am thankful to have been born 30 years ago with no arms and no legs. I won’t pretend my life is easy, but through the love of my parents, loved ones, and faith in God, I have overcome my adversity and my life is now filled with joy and purpose. I reside now in California with my wife, Kanae, and we both love seeing people’s lives changed for the better or touched in some way. It is my hope that your life is positively impacted by my story.

I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and it was a shock to my parents that I arrived without limbs. There is no medical reason for it. My parents did their very best to keep me in the mainstream school system and give me every opportunity to live to the fullest. I was blessed to have a brother and a sister as my best friends too.

We later moved to Brisbane, Australia, where I lived for 14 years before I made the move to California. At age eight, I could not see a bright future ahead and I became depressed. When I was ten years old, I decided to end my life by drowning myself in a bathtub. After a couple attempts, I realized that I did not want to leave my loved ones with the burden and guilt that would result from my suicide. I could not do that to them.

I wasn’t depressed my entire childhood, but I did have ups and downs. At age thirteen I hurt my foot, which I use for many things like typing, writing and swimming. That injury made me realize that I need to be more thankful for my abilities and less focused on my disabilities.

When I was fifteen years old, I sealed my faith in God and from there it has been an amazing journey.

A janitor at my high school inspired me to start speaking about my faith and overcoming adversity when I was seventeen. I spoke only a dozen times to very small groups over the next two years. Then I found myself in front of three hundred sophomore (grade 10) students and I was very nervous. My knees were shaking. Within the first three minutes of my talk, half the girls were crying, and most of the boys were struggling to hold their emotions together. One girl in particular was sobbing very hard. We all looked at her and she put her hand up. She said, “I am so sorry to interrupt, but can I come up and hug you?”

She came hugged me in front of everyone, and whispered in my ear, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. No one has ever told me that they loved me and that I am beautiful the way I am.”

Her gratitude inspired me to go across 44 countries and speak 2,000 times. I realized that we all need love and hope and that I was in a unique position to share that with people around the world.

While majoring in both accounting and financial planning at a university, I also worked on developing my abilities as a speaker. I worked with a speaking coach who helped to cultivate me as a presenter. He especially worked on my body language as my hands flew everywhere at first!

I spoke on motivational topics after creating the company, attitude is altitude. I also launched a non-profit ministry, life without limbs, to spread my messages of faith and hope around the world.

Whoever you are, wherever you’re from and whatever you are dealing with, I hope that you will be inspired by my story and my message. Please enjoy browsing around this website where I share with you my thoughts on faith, hope and love to encourage you and to help you overcome your own challenges.

Dream big my friend and never give up. We all make mistakes, but none of us are mistakes. Take one day at a time. Embrace the positive attitudes, perspectives, principles and truths I share, and you too will overcome.

Sincerely,

Nick

Praying for Taiwan

The heart of PRAYERCAST is for those who do not know Christ. Like Andrew Murray, they believe that, “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”  

Today we highlight the island country of TAIWAN. To view the Prayercast Taiwan video presentation click here. 

TAIWAN: “The Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, is an island of 24 million people about 160 km off the coast of China. When the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lost mainland China to the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War following World War II, its government relocated to Taiwan. Taiwan became the refuge of those who claimed to represent all of China.

While the government of Taiwan has been democratized over the years, the possibility of Taiwan becoming a truly separate state from China has heightened mainland Chinese military and diplomatic pressure on the islanders. The tension between the two countries colors most of the political life in Taiwan, and attempts at declaring formal independence are continually met with opposition by mainland Chinese authorities.

Despite this tension, Taiwan has survived politically and there has been significant economic growth. The principal city, Taipei, with a population of 2.9 million, is the political, economic and financial center of Taiwan. It has a thriving entertainment scene and commercial and economic growth; it has become a modern international metropolis.

Taiwan is a secular state with freedom of religion. The majority of the population follows a unique blend of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Christian growth has been slow, with an estimated 6% of the islander claiming to follow Christ. Prayer is needed to address nominalism and the great need for more pastors and Bible teachers, including adequate giving levels within the church to support them.”

PRAYER POINTS:

• The working class often feel “too dirty to go to church.” May those who feel out of place in a church setting have the opportunity to know the unconditional love of Christ.

• Many people in Taiwan are tolerant of many religions. Jesus said, “No one can come to the Father except through Me.” Pray for this truth to be revealed.

• Pray that Christians will depend on Jesus and not be bound by fears and superstition. May their neighbors see that Jesus can be trusted.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  – John 14:14