A round of applause for the Croatian national football team for their impressive performances in the 2018 & 2022 World Cup Tournaments. The economy of Croatia has been on the rise in recent years. This nation has also been host to an influx of refugees in the most recent years. Let us also lift up the work of the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic Church. Finally, Croatia is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women and children trafficked across national borders for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labor[1]. Let’s Pray…

-Holy Spirit, we thank you for the work you are doing in Croatia today. Father, we pray for your Holy Spirit to continue to break any division between ethnic groups through the blood of Jesus Christ. We pray for peace between Croatia and their surrounding nations.  May you raise up Godly leaders who can work together towards peaceful solutions within land disputes. 

-God we lift up your bride in Croatia. We pray for a renewal of the Holy Spirit within these churches. Let the gift of tongues be given to those who seek it. Let your prophetic voice be heard through your select leaders. May your voice and your hands encourage and equip this next generation of leaders to lead like your servant Joseph. We pray for each Christian to stand firm and be equipped with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, for their feet to be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, for their shield of faith, their helmet of salvation, and their sword of the spirit-the word of God. Finally, let these believers pray in the Holy Spirit on all occasions.*

-We lift up the church planting efforts at your fingertips Jesus. We pray for grace, unity, vision, and protection over the teams you use to launch churches in the areas you have selected. We pray a blessing over the land and communities these churches will touch. May fellowship amongst believers blossom and may Christ be at the center of these communities. We also pray for unity amongst the various denominations in Croatia. 

-We lift up the victims of human trafficking crimes in Croatia. God, we pray for angelic protection over each victim and potential victim in this nation. We pray that the fear of the Lord would rest upon these victims, and that your blood Yeshua would shatter their bondage and release freedom. We pray for emotional, mental, and physical healing over the captives, and we also pray for salvation for each captive. We ask for conviction to fall upon the guilty, and we pray your grace would lead them to repentance, salvation, and restoration.  

-God we lift up the refugee population and we pray over their integration into society. We pray for your help as they learn the language, as they seek out employment, and as they seek out housing. We pray that every refugee, stateless person, and person in need would find sufficiency in food, water, shelter, education, clothing, and sanitation facilities. Let your church bring glory to your name as they minister and care for each refugee. 

-We lift up the theological seminary in Osijek. We lift up the staff and faculty and pray that they would be rooted and grounded in you.  We pray that they would seek to love you God with all their heart, soul, and strength. May their influences upon the student body release love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.** 

-We lift up the national football fan base in Croatia as they recover from 2018 world cup finals loss. God, we pray your blessing over this nation and we pray that their football program can continue to grow towards all their goals.  

-Finally, we pray that you God would shut down the drug transit areas within Croatia. We pray for repentance to be spoken by those guilty of these sins. Amen.  

 Image Credit: Matthias Mullie

[1] Patt, Professor Martin (Date Accessed January 2015).

*Scripture quotations are based upon text obtained from New International Version of Ephesians 6:14-18, (2011).

**Scripture quotations are based upon text obtained from New International Version of Deuteronomy 6:5 (2011); Galatians 5:22-23, (1984).