Father of Lights, we praise you for your eternal glory. You are almighty, all-knowing, ever-present, and all-wise. All things come from you, belong to you, and bear witness to you. You are the source of all beauty, truth, and goodness. You are the light of the world, the truth our souls need. Lord, we praise you that you have given human beings the ability to create. We can write music, tell stories, develop science, build buildings, make computer programs. We thank you also for the promise that one day we will bring the fruits of our cultural creation into the eternal city.

Today we pray especially for the cultures of Taiwan. The different ethnic groups of Taiwan have their own special traditions. There is Taiwanese music, art, dance, and food. We ask that the things we create may more and more reflect the truth of the gospel. We ask that our culture may honor you, that it may help people to see you and know you. Let us create things that we may proudly offer back to you as thanks for your salvation.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for Taiwan’s artists, musicians, and scientists:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the privilege of following you. You are our King, our Lord, our God. You are of more value than the entire created world. It is better that we should have you and lose all other things, than that we should gain the world but not know you. Thank you that you have graciously called us to become your disciples.

Lord, we know that each Christian must pay some price to follow you. But there are many who must endure anger and rejection from their own families. Some are disowned by their parents when they choose to become Christians. Some experience years of ridicule from husbands, wives, parents, or children. This is so painful to us, because we love our family members! You have given us our families. You have taught us to love our spouses, parents, and children. And yet, at times we must choose between them and you. In those times, we know that we must put you first. 

Stand close to all who are experiencing this pain right now. Give them courage to persevere in faith, knowing that in the long run, they can do more for their family members by becoming strong Christians than they could in any other way. Give them patience with those who persecute them. Help them to fulfill their responsibilities. Remind them to pray. Give them hope. And give courage to those who are still trying to decide whether to become your disciples. Let each of us take up our own cross and follow you.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for those who experience family conflict because of Christ:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Our heavenly Father, today we think again of the importance of children and youth. You told the people of Israel that they must teach their children your ways. You have given the same responsibility to Christian parents. But we know that in our society the responsibility of educating the young involves not only parents but also schools and teachers.

Today we pray for the kindergarten, elementary school, and middle and high school that are affiliated with Tunghai University. We pray that you will give great wisdom to the principals and teachers of these schools. We pray that the standard of education will be high, and that our students will learn well. We also thank you for the Christian influence in these schools. Let these be places where children, parents, and teachers may hear the gospel and come to know you. Let many of them then become members of our church. Even when students do not become Christians, let their teachers plant seeds of truth into their lives, seeds that may later grow into faith. Give special wisdom to Christian teachers and administrators, and to Chaplain’s Office coworkers who minister in these schools, that they may carry with them the fragrance of Christ.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for the schools associated with Tunghai University:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Merciful, gracious God, we thank you again today for your mercy toward the whole world. You are not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. We thank you, also, that you have given to us the unspeakable privilege of being your witnesses.

Today we want to remember one missionary family in particular. We thank you for Wayne Chen, who grew up in our church. We thank you also for his wife Gail, and for their two daughters. We praise you that both Wayne and Gail sought theological education. They gained experience pastoring a church. And then, just when most couples would seek a stable, prosperous life, they took their daughters with them to a small island where there was no knowledge of Christ. They labored there for many years, learning two languages, explaining the gospel, translating the Bible, establishing a church. And now, through their school Radius Asia, they are teaching other people how to do this critically important work of reaching the unreached. Lord, we are so proud of them! We pray that you bless and encourage them. We ask that their school may succeed in training many good missionaries. We ask you to take away Gail’s cancer and give her abundant health. We pray for their daughters, that they may love you as much as their parents do. And we ask that Wayne may not be the last missionary produced by our church! Take the Spirit you have given to him and place that same Spirit on all of us.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for the Chens and for Radius Asia:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:17 ESV) 

God of eternity, our lives are hurrying by. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 ESV) As this day of rest comes to an end and we look toward a week of work, we ask for special grace to amend our ways and improve our habits. Daniel prayed to you three times a day; why is it so hard for us to pray even once? The Psalmist looked to you evening, morning, and noon; why do we go through entire days without thinking of you? Help us to develop a closer walk with you. Make us creative in finding time to spend with you. Cause us to hunger for your presence. Stir up in us a deep love of your Word and a great eagerness to present to you all of our desires and needs. Thank you for the way you have been encouraging our prayer lives in these last few weeks. Help us to grow still more. Prayer was central to the life of Christ our Lord. Let prayer also be the center of our lives.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for our own spiritual renewal:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Gracious God, we thank you today for the gift of government. You are our king; you alone deserve our ultimate allegiance. But we also belong to a country, and we are grateful for it. Thank you for our Constitution, our governmental institutions, our laws, and our leaders. In particular, we thank you today for our tradition of democracy. Democracy is often confusing and inefficient. Nevertheless, it is the form of government that seems most in keeping with your Word. All human beings are made in your image, and in democracy, everyone has a voice. All human beings are fallen, and in democracy, we have checks and balances to prevent any one person from gaining too much power. We have seen that democratic nations rarely begin wars of aggression. We see that democratic nations usually respect international laws and norms. The spread of democracy generally brings peace and prosperity. And so, Lord, we pray that democracy may continue to spread throughout the world. Let the world’s democracies be strong and united. Let democracy prevail in countries that do not now have it. We pray especially for China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and­­­­….

We continue lifting up our prayers for the world:

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Our Loving and Forgiving Father, we praise you for the wonderful way you have sustained and led your people through the ages. The Israelites rebelled against you time and again, but you never abandoned them to their rebellion; instead, you used their sin to teach us our need for a Savior. The church of Jesus Christ has often lost its way. It has become lukewarm. It has lost its grip on the truth and its love for the Lord. And yet, you have never abandoned your church. Instead, you have sent times of refreshing, times of renewal and revival.

We thank you today for the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, when you called us back to the authority of the Bible and the centrality of justification by faith. We thank you for the many great revivals that have occurred since that time, when whole nations have been shaken by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, we pray for revival in the church in Taiwan. Regardless of denomination, regardless of worship style, regardless of the language used for worship, let every church become alive to your Spirit’s leading. Let Christians see our sins and repent of them. Let us love one another despite our theological differences. Let non-believers be convicted of sin and led to faith. Let the gospel go out from us to all the world.

We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for specific churches and for the revival of the church in Taiwan:

In Jesus’ name, amen.