Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Pray for Zagreb

Pray for Zagreb,

This week IST Group is hosting a seminar on healing and how to pray for the sick. The guest speaker is Michael T. Miller, who is the Pastor of Upper Room in Denver, Colorado and the founder of www.Thomasministries.org. There are five churches/groups in the city of Zagreb who helped organize the event and believers from other churches will attend as well. This is significant because of the freedom Michael’s teaching and training will bring. It is also significant because a group of pastors who have been meeting to plan and pray for this event! Unity is very hard to come by in the Balkans and it is beautiful to see this flourishing.

The following story is one of the oddest things…

Man in wheelchair robs bank
By AFP - 11 March 2016 @ 11:31 PM 

ZAGREB: A Croatian man in a wheelchair robbed a bank after passers-by helped him to enter the premises, local media reported Friday.

“I have a bomb!” shouted the 35-year-old disabled man to shocked employees in a branch of Austria’s Erste Bank in downtown Zagreb, before forcing them to hand over the cash,...

The crime occurred on Wednesday evening only a few seconds after the man had politely thanked passers-by for helping him to enter the bank in his wheelchair, the paper said.
After employees handed over 50,000 kunas (US$7,300) the robber wheeled himself to a nearby taxi station where a cab driver helped him get into the car and put his wheelchair in the trunk.

Unaware of his client’s recent activities, the driver took the man towards the northern town of Bjelovar, where he was eventually arrested. –AFP http://www.mb.com.ph/man-in-wheelchair-robs-croatian-bank/  

This story odd as it might be, reveals the desperation rising in the citizenry. Crime has been relatively low here, but stories like this remind us of the looming economic troubles ailing this young nation.

Prayer Points
:1) We are looking for signs following those that believe. Pray that the city of Zagreb will not be like Nazareth where in Mark 6:5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Let us pray for, Mark 16:17-18 instead. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
2) Lord Jesus, we look for Your visitation in Zagreb. Come and Make Yourself known like never before!
3) We are already seeing a shaking in the city among the Christians. Believe with us that churches will be changed as Jesus makes Himself known in the city.
4) It is believed that there are more Christians in the city that do not attend church than there are those who do. These were touched by Jesus but they were hurt by the church. Pray that they will see the real Jesus, forgive and move forward into the destiny God has for them.
5) Zagreb is a Catholic city, but God is stirring their hearts. We are beginning to see Catholic fringe groups who are awakening in Zagreb and in other parts of the country. Let us pray for these to come into the fullness and pray that they are welcomed by the Body of Christ. Because of the huge Catholic influence on this country, evangelicals tend to be very critical towards the Catholics.  These groups going through awakening can experience rejection from both evangelicals and Catholics alike.
6) Let us never forget to pray for the lost. With only about 1,000 believers that attend church in Zagreb, it is like swimming against the tide. Pray that mercy will be extended and Jesus lifted high.
7) Just like the bank robber in the wheelchair, we know there are many economically and spiritually desperate in Croatia. Pray for Gods wisdom and His solutions to be revealed for this city.
8) We ask special prayer for a lady that has been a great blessing to Croatia and many other Balkan nations. This faithful servant of the Lord was recently diagnosed with cancer. Pray that she would be healed and continue the work of the Lord!

For more information on ISTgroup go to www.istgroup.org
Thanks for praying for the Balkans with us. God hears.

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