Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9-13
Shui Month of Prayer
The Shui people (pronounced “Sh-way”) are a distinct people group with their own worldview, language, and culture. They mainly reside in Guizhou, China, with a population of roughly 400,000. One of the most unique aspects of their culture is that they celebrate the Duan festival which is the longest celebration in the world. The Shui will celebrate for a total of 49 days and this will include gathering with family and villages to eat delicacies, race horses, and worship idols and ancestors. Each Shui village will not celebrate for 49 consecutive days but at staggered times, which is why the Duan festival lasts from early October to mid November. This is a strategic time in the calendar for the gospel to spread due to the Shui traveling to different villages. Please join in interceding on behalf for the Shui.
SUNDAYS • The Lord’s Prayer
For this year’s Shui Month of Prayer believers around the world are following the cultural example of the Shui Festival by gathering together in different places and different times to lift up the Shui. The plan is to walk through the Lord’s Prayer and highlight an aspect of God each day which will impact the Shui. Pray that many believers across the world will join in prayer for these people. Pray that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts of those praying, and that some would perhaps seek other ways to engage with this people group.
MONDAYS • “Our Father in Heaven” – God is Love
“Our Father in Heaven” describes intimacy within a familial relationship. God restored and adopted us and was willing to sacrifice His son for us. It is believed that there are a few hundred believers among the approximately 400,000 Shui people. Praise God for the Shui believers who miraculously have heard and responded to the Gospel. Although there are very few Shui believers, God can use those few to spread the Gospel to the rest of the Shui. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10) Pray for Shui believers to find encouragement in their faith and continue to persevere through difficult circumstances. Pray that the Shui believers would constantly experience God’s love and understanding of their adoption through Christ. Pray that they may be faithful in sharing the Gospel as well as demonstrating God’s love to the Shui around them.
TUESDAYS • “Hallowed be your name” – God is Glorified
Hallowed means holy, revered, honored, esteemed. We should approach our God with reverence. Ultimately “Hallowed be your name” means we glorify God. We glorify God because of who God is and because of what He has done. We desire for all the unbelieving Shui to hear and believe. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10) Pray that God would draw the Shui to Himself. Pray that God would open the hearts of the Shui and prepare them to receive the Good News. Pray that more Shui would come to faith.
WEDNESDAYS • “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” – God is Sovereign
Security in Guizhou Province, where the majority of the Shui live, is much tighter than in many other places in China. This makes it difficult to bring the Good News to the Shui. There is a need for more national workers who are willing to work among difficult areas. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14) Pray that God would raise up Christians around the world to be effective witnesses to the Shui. Pray for God to prepare and commission senders, intercessors and harvesters for His field among the Shui. Pray that Chinese Christians would be called and respond to work among the Shui.
THURSDAYS • “Give us this day our daily bread” – God is a Provider
Not too long ago, many Shui people lived in poverty. Currently, many of them are leaving their rural villages in an effort to improve the standard of living for themselves and their families. The desire to earn money and improve their standard of living is increasingly becoming the focal point of many Shui lives. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:25-27) Pray that the Shui may know the true meaning of life and live for eternity, rather than simply living to meet their temporal needs. Pray that the Shui will begin to wonder about their purpose for living. Pray that the Shui will recognize the need in their hearts that only God can fill and begin to search for Him.
FRIDAYS • “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” – God is forgiving
We want the Shui to know the forgiveness of God. We want to lift them up in prayer with brothers and sisters around the world and ask the Holy Spirit to give a conviction of sin so that the Shui may enter into the peace of Christ. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (John 16:8) Pray that God will burden many more hearts around the world to intercede for the Shui. Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict hearts. Pray that the Shui would enter into God’s forgiveness through Christ.
SATURDAYS • “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – God is a Deliverer
The Shui, who are animists, believe that all things have a spirit or soul, including animals, mountains, plants, rivers, the moon and the sun. Each being is considered a spirit that can offer help or harm to humans. As such, spirits must either be worshiped or appeased. Animists offer sacrifices, prayers or other forms of devotion to these spirits in hopes of blessing or protection from harm. Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36) Pray that the Shui would see the beautiful creation around them and understand that God is their Creator. Pray that God may set the Shui people free from the fear that surrounds them. Pray that they may know His power so that they have peace and freedom that comes from Jesus.
Continue praying!
If you would like to continue to pray for the Shui we would love to provide you a 30-day prayer guide that contains more information and prayer points. Please contact us at us.prayer@omfmail.com to continue to intercede for this unreached people group.
Click here to download the November 2023 Prayer Powerlines.
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