Jesus' Intercessors

Jesus' Intercessors

 May you be filled with an adoration of our King as we remember and celebrate His birth this Christmas season. May we never lose the wonder of His majesty.

Let us look at two amazing intercessors, Simeon and Anna. Did these two actually pray-in the advent of Jesus? We know that usually intercession comes before a move of God. Clearly, God had burdened these two at that time in history to be intently looking for the Messiah to come to redeem Israel. It is truly remarkable that they knew Him when they saw Him, and they accepted that He was a baby.

Luke 2: 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Luke 2:36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years,[i] who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord,[j] and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

What burden is God laying on us to pray for? We can bring forth acts of God through our intercession. First God shares His burden/heart/desire with us (looking for someone to stand in the gap) and then we fill the bowls of heaven with our prayers until He determines the time is right to answer with His plan and purposes.

We want to thank each of you for praying with us again this year. Many of you have joined us throughout the years while others have been with us since the birth of this blog/prayer letter at the beginning of 2009. We have seen some amazing answers to our prayers, while we continue to contend for others. As we walk the land and do the work of the ministry, we count it a joy to have you pray with us and for us. You are making a difference in the heavenlies over this region!
 
Prayer Points:
1)    Pray for the churches of the Balkans, they are generally small and often inward focused. Taking Jesus’ love to the world is the exception and not the norm. Pray that Balkan Christians would share their faith more often and that it comes from a heart of true love.
2)    It is said that the Christians which do not attend church here is larger than those that do. There are various reasons for this, but one of the main reasons is having been hurt by church leadership. Pray that there is a true and deep repentance in church leadership for damage done to His bride. Let us also pray that God would raise up healthy church leadership. 
3)    At the core of our ministry, IST Group, there is a culture of honor. Pray that we honor and love others well, and that we can be an example of godly leadership. Jesus washed the disciple’s feet and we desire to do the same in our life and ministry.
4)    Christmas here in the Balkans is fast becoming commercialized and the focus seems less about Jesus and family, and more about the outward expression. Christians are trying to find what is the right place in all this. Pray that believers here would not lose or neglect the true purpose of the season. May we take the time to express our affection and worship to the One who came to take away the sins of this world.


Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know You Prayed.

Pray for IST Group

Pray for Intentional Strategies for Transformation

We continue to be so very grateful to the Lord for prayer warriors like you, who lift up the Balkans, the IST Group and us in your prayers! When we face challenges, we know that we do not stand alone. Thank you!
At IST we are involved with several initiatives, and of those we would like to highlight two main directions this week and ask your prayer for: The Upper Room Zagreb House Of Prayer (UR Zagreb HOP) and the Lika project.

UR Zagreb HOP 
We have been offered a new home! It is an attic much closer to the center and a much larger space! We really believe that this is God preparing to grow the UR Zagreb HOP, but we need roughly $25K for renovations.

We have two primary purposes in the HOP: First, to worship and lift up the Father, Son and Holy Spirit because the God-head is worthy and second, to pray and intercede for Croatia because God has given us the responsibility to bring forth righteousness in this land. Even as our team, faithfully comes weekly to pray and we take our place on the wall as watchman, there has been a desire to gain a deeper understanding on such things as worship and the principles of the Tabernacle or Tent of David. In order to more fully engage in the dynamics of worshiping in concert with the power of heaven, we need to put better language around this with our team. For this reason, we have decided to take the first Monday of each month and provide teaching on this, and related subjects.

This Monday Dec. 5th we will listen to Michael Mauldin of Upper Room Dallas as he taught on the Tent of David. (To see this teaching, follow the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljx3smmfzyA&t=4890s&list=PL53UyyJumifTsAXMCxlxcj1njrEG3Pf9B&index=16)
 
Lika
Next Friday Dec. 9th we will meet with the three Croatian families who have a burden for this region. Lika is an unreached area that actually lies in the heart of Croatia. There are three primary purposes to this meeting: Team Building and fellowship; Spending time to hear from God and pray together; Discuss vision and the way forward.
 
Prayer Points:
1)    Pray for the UR Zagreb HOP as we continue to grow and lift up Jesus over the country. Pray for the provisions for the renovation of this new space. It will be a blessing for many years to come!
2)    Praise God with us, for the many testimonies! We are not only seeing lives changed but things are changing for the better in economics and government. (We will have specific data on this soon)
3)    Please pray that those attending the prayer sets would realize and walk in their full potential as worshipers and intercessors.
4)    As we begin this new activity of bringing teaching, pray for deeper understanding and even more hunger in individuals.
5)    Pray with us that the worshippers would not only allow the Lord to purge their lives completely in the prayer room but would be fruitful in their daily lives. Lord, teach us the benefits of walking in Your joy and letting it spill over on those we encounter.
6)    Lord, we pray that we would not be satisfied with Your goodness but we would expect Your glory.
7)    Pray for the Lika meeting. Pray that God would bind our hearts together and that the meeting is productive. May each family hear clearly what their involvement is to be in this project and to what extent.
8)    Much sacrifice is needed from each parties in order to answer the call of God. Pray for His sovereign work, clarity and a deep commitment from all.
9)    Pray that we will continue to have favor and guidance from the pastoral leaders in Croatia.

Psalm 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

2 Chronicles 34:8
In the eighteenth year of his[Josiah] reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.
Thanks for standing with IST Group as we seek to bring transformation in this land of Croatia and the Balkans.