Encountering the King in Our Brokenness
In February 2022, we are looking at how the Psalms speak to us in our brokenness. Below, you will find week-by-week guides to help you use the Psalms to pray for the church in China in the midst of brokenness.
Week 1: Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Prayer Requests
February 6 – This month, we are praying prayers of brokenness alongside Chinese believers. Pray for true repentance over sin.
February 7 – Pray for true understanding of the gospel, that Chinese Christians would know the Lord's unfailing love and redemption (Psalm 130).
February 8 – Pray for believers to believe that Christ has covered their shame.
February 9 – Pray for God’s light to shine on and heal Chinese Christians, and that they would wait for the Lord "more than watchmen wait for the morning" (Psalm 130).
February 10 – Pray for Christians not to avoid gathering with other believers because of shame.
February 11 – Continue to pray for the prayer movement in China. Pray for upcoming prayer camps.
February 12 – Pray for an upcoming counseling camp in China, for hearts to grow in wisdom and love.
Your Shame Has Been Crucified
Read a reflection on Psalm 130 from a Chinese Christian.
Week 2: Psalm 6
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Prayer Requests
February 13 – Pray that the Lord would comfort Chinese believers who are mourning, despairing, or grief-stricken. (Psalm 6)
February 14 – Pray for the families of Chinese believers in prison, that their families would be comforted in the Lord.
February 15 – Pray for an upcoming Bible seminar in China as believers study the book of Mark together.
February 16 – Pray that Chinese believers in distress would be delivered by the Lord in his steadfast love. (Psalm 6)
February 17 – Pray for wisdom for Chinese believers as they navigate new regulations that make online religious activities more difficult.
February 18 – Pray that the Lord would “hear the plea and accept the prayer” of Chinese believers who are calling out to him. (Psalm 6)
February 19 – Pray that Chinese believers would comfort and sit with their brothers and sisters who are experiencing loss.
Turn Our Sorrow Into Prayer
Read a reflection on Psalm 6 written by a Chinese Christian.
Week 3: Psalm 88
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.
Prayer Requests
February 20 – Today, pray the words of Psalm 88 for Chinese believers, who cry out to and are cast down before the Lord.
February 21 – Today, pray for China and the world’s struggle with COVID. Pray this pandemic will not be wasted.
February 22 – Pray for God to provide care for attorneys serving persecuted Christians. Pray for these lawyers to be cared for.
February 23 – Pray for Chinese Christians serving online, through managing websites, editing, or handling communication.
February 24 – Pray for an upcoming preaching camp for Chinese pastors to be fruitful and helpful.
February 25 – Pray today for Chinese Christians who are hurting from chaotic church environments.
February 26 – Pray for those who have experienced church hurt to be open to reconciliation.
He Knows You and Accepts You
Read a reflection on Psalm 88 written by a Chinese Christian.
Week 4: Psalm 42
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Prayer Requests
February 27 – Pray today for those whose soul is thirsty for the living God to find him. (Ps. 42)
February 28 – Pray today for those struggling with anxiety about their jobs and about providing for their families.
March 1 – Pray for Chinese believers who are discontent with or addicted to their jobs.
March 2 – Pray today for church planting institutes in China, for God to bless and help their work.
March 3 – Pray for Christian publications and magazines in China.
March 4 – Pray for Chinese believers to remember God’s steadfast love to them. (Ps 42)
March 5 – Praise God for being with his people in China through all circumstances.
Resurrection as the End of History
Read a reflection on Psalm 42 written by a Chinese Christian.
In 2022, we are using the Psalms to guide our prayers for China.
When you join our prayer team, you will receive a weekly prayer email with the Psalm for the week and a prayer request for each day. You will also receive a monthly newsletter. Additionally, you can text Text “pray4china” to 33222 to receive the prayer requests by daily text.
