ChangDe, Hunan - Praying for China

A military officer from Hunan Province once boasted to missionary John Griffith that his men were so full of glory and martial courage that “there was no danger of their ever believing in Jesus or of His religion taking root there.”

Although those words were spoken 140 years ago, they still characterize the spiritual state of Hunan Province today. The Hunanese people have a reputation for being independent and hardy. They view Christianity as a foreign religion and any adherence to it as a disgrace. Because of this, Hunan remains the most unreached province in China, besides Tibet. Changde City is located in northern Hunan on the shore of Dongting Lake. Of the more than 1.6 million people who call Changde home, only one out of every thousand are followers of Christ. Changde is rich in fertile soil and water supply, leading to bumper harvests and crops exported around the world. But most of the people of Changde remain in spiritual poverty, with no knowledge of the God Who loves them.

Ask the Holy Spirit to break through the pride and independence that is keeping the people of Changde from Christ. Pray that Christians from all over China would journey to Changde to proclaim the gospel there.

Pray that the more than 1.2 billion Chinese people who do not yet know Christ will have the opportunity to hear the gospel and will respond by accepting Christ into their hearts.

Pray that the Christians in China - up to 100 million - will stand firm despite persecution and hardship. Pray that they will be fervent in witness.

Pray that church planting movements may be started in communities all throughout China and that the gospel can be shared indigenously in a way that great numbers of people will come to know Christ.