Pray for Greece - Economy may Crash - Greek Orthodox Church

Week of April 27 - May 3, 2015

<< Also read prayer needs and update on European Initiative Balkans' in left column.


In the News: If Greece falls, no one wants their prints on the murder weapon

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - "We're going bust." "No, you're not." "You're strangling us." "No we're not." "You owe us for World War Two." "We gave already."

Europe's political leaders and central bankers and Greek politicians agree on only one thing: if Greece goes down, they don't want their fingerprints on the murder weapon.

"We are doing everything we can to save Greece from itself, but in the end, it's up to them," is the message pouring out of Berlin, Brussels and IMF headquarters in Washington.

[Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras revived demands for reparations for the Nazi German occupation of Greece in 1941-44, which his government put at 279 billion euros ($303.5 billion) - more than its 240 billion euro bailout from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund.
Berlin responded that it had already compensated victims and a 1990 agreement with the four victorious World War Two powers on German unification had put an end to war claims.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been careful to express goodwill and tried to build a relationship of trust with Tsipras while insisting Greece must meet its lenders' reform conditions, which include fiercely resisted pension cuts and labor reforms
.
Prayer Points:
1)    The Greek position is very weak in that it was agreed in the 1990 reunification of Germany that all reparations were canceled. Pray for Greece as it faces difficult decisions.
2)    Greece is in deep financial trouble due to mismanagement of state funds, for which it does not want to take ownership. The Greek government simply must take fiscal responsibility and make though decisions. Pray that Greece would accept the bitter medicine.
3)    The pill of humility is hard to swallow; pray for Greece to accept this reality. May the Lord help the Greeks to accept this reality.

The Greek Orthodox Church is important to the Greek people; their identity as a people rest upon this Church and its teachings. It is the national religion. To see a full revival in Greece you must ask the Lord to do one of two things, 1) bring a move of God in the Orthodox Church, or 2) the Greek people need to be convinced GOC is irrelevant to their current needs and a renewal of first century Christianity break out. The Greek Orthodox Church is deeply entrenched in tradition, gripped by a religious spirit, and a stiff-necked attitude. Their worship of the holy Fathers and the belief that their cathedrals are the manifestation of heaven on earth are just not resulting in changed lives.

The Orthodox Church  observes Easter and the fifty days that lead up to Pentecost. (You can google Bright Week or Orthodox Easter to learn more) The Western Catholic Church puts an importance on the 40 days before Easter (Lent), while the Eastern Orthodox put importance on the 50 days following Easter. The fifty days lead up to Pentecost. These days are filled with special rituals and meetings that do present the Gospel message. Interestingly, there is a day when the Holy Spirit is esteemed with great honor. Honoring the Holy Spirit is rarely seen among protestant denominations.

4)    Let us ask the Lord to use this time of Bright Week and the days leading up to Pentecost to break into the hearts of Greeks and Orthodox believers everywhere.
5)    Let us pray for angelic visitations to intervene as the priest conduct these traditional rituals.
6)    Lord Jesus, have mercy on the Orthodox Church and bind those religious spirits that would operate during these fifty days. Let Your Word come forth in authority as it is read. Lord, we know that Your Word does not return void.
7)    Most of all we want to see the Greek Orthodox Church (GOC) changed and come alive; Lord, release freedom. Let us pray that many Greeks would be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Orthodox Church is steeped with the bondage of religion and is lifeless. Sometimes you have to just let the dead bury their dead and go follow life in another direction. However we pray that God would call forth the remnant from among them.

Let us pray for the second scenario, GOC becoming irrelevant. To many Greeks this has already happened, especially the younger generation. Simply, Lord, show them where to turn. Lord, show them you are not just an icon but rather You are there to comfort them in their times of need.

8)    May the Lord raise up ministries that will flow with the Holy Spirit to draw Greeks to true salvation.
9)    Let us pray for Greeks that will go hard after God. Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
10)    Let us pray for evangelist to reach the people of Greece. Lord, release those that will have a love for Greeks and a burden to see them come to know Jesus.

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

Pray for Greece (week of Jan.5-11, 2015)

I spent most of my research time this week reading about political, economic and anti-proselytizing developments in Greece; though for the last 12 hours I was burdened for the churches. So while I am listing a few article’s web addresses of the political and economic concerns at the bottom, we will focus our prayer here on the churches.

<< Don't forget to Pray for EI-B needs also (Left panel)

Prayer Points:
1) This is the beginning of 2015. Lord, we ask for a better understanding of Your heart for the Balkans. Looking at the Balkans from a north/south, vertical view; the Balkans rest upon Greece. In the early centuries of Christianity Greece was a foundation stone European sit upon. Many evangelist were sent the corners of Europe, Asia and North Africa in those early centuries of the church.
2) Lord, we ask for an increase of intercession for Greece. Lord, we ask that evangelical church communities would seek You earnestly for Your presence.
3) May this be a year of Greek churches turning from tradition that creates stagnation to allowing the Holy Spirit to move freely. Lord, answer the desperate prayers with waves of freedom and joy.
4) Let us pray for the churches to be transformed. May they find their purpose in the surrounding culture and communities. Let them see their responsibility to be the place of redemptive hope for Greeks.
5) Unity of the pastors in a community is so important. Let us pray for Greek pastors to see their need for one another. Pastors in unity scares the devil more than anything because he knows transformation is then possible. I had a mental vision of pastors linking arms. When they were in unity, physical and emotional healing starts breaking out.
6) We ask for a coming forth of evangelist in Greece. May the Lord stir up a fire and passion for the lost. May they be sent to the lost sheep of Greece.
7) Lord, let the anointing fall on these evangelist. May they be fearless for the Gospel of truth.
8) Let us pray for the release of money to provide for these evangelist.
9) Let us pray for venues to open up for these evangelist to preach to thousands and thousands.
10) Let us pray for Greek churches throughout the world to have their hearts fully turned toward the country of their roots.
11) The Greeks boast about taking the Gospel to the world, but that mantel was lifted many years ago. Let us look to a day when that mantel is dusted off and returned to an exuberant Greek church.

For further intercession:
Greece dissolves parliament for January vote - http://www.updatednews.ca/2015/01/01/greece-dissolves-parliament-for-january-vote/
SYRIZA Leader Tsipras Invites Leftist Parties, Ecologists to Join Forces -  http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/01/03/syriza-leader-tsipras-invites-leftist-parties-ecologists-to-join-forces/#sthash.o7i1iAlh.dpuf
Greek Evangelist Faces Prison Time for Proselytizing -http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/October/Greek-Evangelist-Faces-Prison-Time-for-Proselytizing-/

Pray for Greece

Week of Oct. 6-12, 2014

Prov. 6:1-5  My son, if you become surety for your friend,
   If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
   You are taken by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
   For you have come into the hand of your friend:
   Go and humble yourself;
   Plead with your friend.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes,
   Nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
   And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

It seems like every time we pray for Greece, we pray for the economic situation. Many writers, in their commentaries of the Greek society, speak of the economic problem as a mirror of what ails Greece. The government has made promises it can’t keep. The promises of decent pensions for all can’t be paid now that the government is broke. To pay those pensions, taxes have to be raised and that takes money from families in the workforce. Greece finds itself in an endless cycle that seems to have no end. 

Prayer Points:
1.    We as people go through times of reverse progress. If we adjust our ways then we progress again. Let us pray that Greece would adjust and correct negative decisions of the past that led to these problems.
2.    In times of war great sacrifice is required. Greece needs to go to war against its economic dilemma. Let us pray that a sense of urgency and sacrifice would rise up in the Greek people.
3.    Usually it takes a man of wisdom and boldness to lead a nation out of this time of troubles. Pray that a statesman full of God’s wisdom will appear. (For inspiration read up on Cyrus the Great; he ruled the Babylon Empire and saved it from disaster. He also blessed the Jewish nation. We also must remember that a Greek/Macedonian warrior, Alexandra the Great, defeated and disassembled Cyrus’ kingdom of Persia.)
4.    Greece has borrowed money and pledged financial agreements with foreign banks. Greece as a nation is servant to the lender. (Prov. 22:7) This is an uncomfortable position to be in but it can work humility into the soul. Let us pray for Greece to swallow the bitter medicine with grace.
5.    Let us pray for Greek churches throughout the world to have their hearts fully turned toward the country of their roots. It is time to minister to the homeland. Although the leaves have blown across the world, it is time for those leaves to be made into fertilizing mulch and be mounded up around the tree. (I know this may be a strange picture, but I see mulch being gathered from the far corners of the earth and it being placed around a withered tree. I see the rain coming from heaven and the nutriments from the mulch soaking down in the ground to the roots.) 
6.    Lord, we pray that not only will Greek Christians seek to bring the Gospel back to Greece but Greek businessmen will sacrifice to mulch the tree.

Mulching is the most beneficial thing a home owner can do for the health of a young tree. Mulches are materials placed on the soil surface to improve soil structure, oxygen levels, temperature and moisture availability. Properly applied, mulch can give landscapes a handsome, well-groomed appearance.

Mulch must be applied properly. If a mulch is too deep or if the wrong material is used, it can actually cause harm to trees and other landscape plants. Mulch should usually be 2-4 inches deep.

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

Pray for Greece

Week of July 7-13, 2014

The Church of Megalochari on Tinos island is one of the most important pilgrimages in Greece. On this holy site, the icon of the Virgin Mary was found, after a vision of the nun Pelagia. Tradition has it that the icon is miraculous and visitors arrive by thousands to pray and ask for help (usually for health issues). The church is located on a hill above Chora and pilgrims go on their knees from the port to the church entrance. Inside the monastery complex lies a great chapel and a lovely fountain with holy water.  http://www.greeka.com/greece-culture/churches/

This is an example of how traditional the Greeks have become toward religion and their churches. They are considered holy sites, the icons have special power, and mother Mary is often given honor above Jesus. The church of Megalochari is such a holy place that visitors crawl on their knees up it’s steps seeking a touch from God.

In doing research on Protestant churches in Greece the only denomination that had a significant number were the Pentecostals with an estimated 12,000 members in about 200 churches. This is very few considering among the 11 million in Greece over 90% give a national allegiance to the Greek Orthodox church. “To be Greek is to be Orthodox” as the saying goes.

A good prayer directive is from Operation World http://www.operationworld.org/gree
Ethnic Greek evangelicals are few. Please pray for:
a) Courage to witness in a society where the extreme majority claim to be Christian yet do not have a living faith and relationship with Jesus. Greek society is not just secular and post-Christian, but is subject to a faith that is syncretistic – the amalgamation of Christianity, inherited superstition, atheism, paganism and such.
b) Wisdom in outreach and witness. Greek Protestants acknowledge that proselytism is unnecessary, but that evangelism is. Greeks are more likely to experience new life in Christ through a revitalization of the Orthodox Church than through Protestants drawing Greeks away from their Orthodox background. Pray for ways that allow evangelicals to urgently communicate the need for salvation while respecting the great legacy and heritage of Orthodoxy.
c) Unity in the Spirit. Unfortunately, divisions still exist even among the various Protestant denominations; division can compromise the message they preach. The Pan-Hellenic Evangelical Alliance works as a mouthpiece for all evangelicals and challenges illegal discrimination. Pray for all believing churches to join together and for the Evangelical Alliance to represent them with wisdom and clarity.

We know the story of the jailer in Acts 16 that had an encounter with Paul and Silas in the jail. He and his whole house joyfully accepted Jesus after seeing God bring about a miraculous deliverance for Paul and Silas through an earthquake. Think of today’s Orthodox priest as jailers holding back the true message of the cross. The message is there but it is locked up.

1)    Let us pray for such a shaking in the Orthodox church that the priest fall on their faces in repentance.
2)    After the earthquake the keys in the jailers hand were of no use anymore; so let us pray that God would miraculously set free the Gospel in Greece.
3)    Let us point our finger at the demon of “religion”, and rebuke his power over the Greek people. Let us ask for the same rage Jesus had when he cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.

[A desperate plea comes from a missionary in Greece], “We need missionaries to come long term and just love the Greek people.” With all of the biblical surroundings, “the Greek people are very close to the reality but have little real experience,” according to Creel.
Nearly 2,000 years have passed since Paul made two missionary journeys to this country. The spiritual need is as serious today as it was in the early days of apostolic ministry. Paul considered himself a debtor to the Greeks (Romans 1:14). He fulfilled that debt by preaching the gospel.
This land so abounding with biblical history desperately needs workers — missionaries and Greek nationals — to assume the role of debtor to the Greeks. http://pentecostalevangel.ag.org/Articles2006/4800_Greeks.cfm

4)    Let us pray for missionaries that will truly love the Greek people to be sent to Greece by the Holy Spirit.
5)    May these missionaries boldly go like Paul and Silas willing to suffer for His name in order the see Greeks truly set free.
6)    May the Lord raise up bold Greek believers that will proclaim the Gospel in a way that will shake off the chains of tradition.

Pray for Greece

Week of 3/31 - 4/6, 2014

In the News:
The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund agreed last week on the release of long-delayed emergency loans, after seven months of negotiations. The next bailout tranche is due to be released "well before" Greece faces a large bond redemption in May, an EU official said in Brussels on Thursday. Eurogroup finance ministers are expected to discuss Greece's latest reform pledges when they meet in Athens next week, with a view to formally concluding the agreement by the second half of April. The eurozone's rescue fund still has 10.1 billion euros (13.8 billion dollars) available for Greece. Greece has been granted 240 billion euros in bailout loans since 2010. In exchange, it is required to cut public spending and implement economic reforms. -  

Social support in Greece not adequate enough to deal with crisis, says OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Total household income in Greece dropped by 1/3 between 2007 and 2012, with average anual losses of some 4,400 euros per person.

At 49 percent, the share of working age people in employment is the fourth-lowest among 34 OECD countries…

The social protection system in Greece was ill-prepared for the economic and social crisis.

The share of people saying that they cannot afford food has doubled, putting this subjective measure of economic distress at a higher level than in some emerging economies…

Young people in particular have been emigrating in increasing numbers, reducing potential future economic growth and further accelerating population ageing.

http://www.macropolis.gr/?i=portal.en.society.1072&itemId=1072 

Prayer points:

1. Europeans are very concerned about the failure of the economy in Greece. Let us pray that solutions for Greece will be released from heaven.
2. God has an answer to crises in nations. Let us pray that godly wisdom be welcomed by policy leaders. Lord, we call forth the Solomon’s of this age, whom You anointed for this time to bring Your solution into the chaos.
3. When will Greeks look to You for help? How much pain does it take to humble a nation? Lord, we ask for a paradigm shift in Greece that awakens Greeks and brings them to Your table to cry for mercy.
 

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase
 
…the sovereign debt crisis in Greece has caused many to question the government support and tax breaks given to the Greek Orthodox Church. Some 100,000 people have joined a Greek Facebook page, "Tax the Church." Church finances, tax payments and assets lack transparency. However campaigners claim that [the] Greek Orthodox Church owns more land than any entity other than the state and owns 1.5% of the National Bank of Greece. The government spends 268 million Euros each year paying the salaries of 9,000 priests as well as pensions for retired clergy. The Church says it paid 1.3 million Euros in taxes last year. The Church says payments of priests' salaries are justified by the fact that the Church handed over 96% of the property it owned to the state when Greece became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1821. Also several ministry buildings, universities and hospitals in Athens are on church property that is leased to the state for a nominal amount.
 
Prayer points:
1) Let us pray that the Greek Orthodox Church would stop using the state for financial gain. (Investment)
2) This church/state union reveals the corruption in the church. Let us pray against this unholy union. The church cannot speak against sin in government if they are part of the government. Lord awaken your remnant in the Orthodox Church and give them boldness to speak out against this perverted gospel their church is promoting.
3) Lord, we ask that You would send the true Gospel of redemption across Greece. Raise up evangelist who will boldly proclaim the pure Word of God.
4) Let us pray that Greeks would wake up to the fact that Jesus saves, and not a religious system bound by tradition.
5) Let us pray for the Greek Orthodox Church. Lord, we ask for an invasion of the Holy Spirit. Lord, let mercy triumph over judgment!
Please leave a Comment or reaction so we will know you Prayed

Pray for Greece

Week of Sept. 23-29, 2013

The Greek people and their heritage begs our respect. We have all heard ministers sharing the Word of God and say, “Now in the Greek, it means…”  I don’t know how the Gospel translates in other parts of the world but to the Western mind, the Greek language was the vehicle God used to share His truths. History shows that the Greek scholars of the Word, in the first, second and third centuries, were faithful to take the Gospel far and wide. Truly, God used the Greek language to explain to us western believers how He dealt with the Hebrew people and what Jesus taught. Although the Apostle Paul was not Greek, he had the anointing to put the Gospel into the rich and scholarly Greek language of his time.

I believe God prepared the Greek culture with their scholarly and meaningful language, to bring clarity of the Gospel to the Gentile world.

1)    Lord, I believe it was Your plan that the Greeks publish Your Word. As we pray for Greece and the Greek people, may we reach deep into God’s heart for these precious ones and show respect as He used them through history.
2)    Let us pray for the Greek people to be used greatly once again in the end time. May they see their God-given gifts as a tool to reach the world.
3)    Lord, we pray for the Greek people to come back to You. Stir up that desire to embrace the Gospel like they did in the first, second and third centuries.
4)    The Greek Orthodox Church knows this history well, how God greatly used the Greek people. May the GOC seek to translate their history into the modern world not continue to take the modern world into past history.

Acts 17:1-4 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

IN THE NEWS: Greek Youth Unemployment Hits Record 65%
The jobless rate rose from 27 percent in April and 23.8 per cent in May last year. Young people were by far the worst affected, with unemployment among job-seekers aged 15 to 24 standing at 64.9 percent.

Greece has been depending on funds from international rescue loans since May 2010, after years of profligate spending and fiscal mismanagement left it with a massive budget deficit.

The country is currently in the sixth year of a deep recession.

5)    Let us pray for the youth of Greece. There seems to be no hope so we ask for the God of Hope to intervene.
6)    May the body of Christ in Greece catch a burden for the young adults that are suffering all around them.
7)    We pray that Christians would gain Godly strategies that will create jobs.
8)    Let us pray for the development of employment training centers in churches.

Pray for Greece

Week of July 8-14, 2013

This past week, while reading an article, I was shocked to learn that there are currently no mosques in Athens, Greece, a city of 5-6 million, with 500,000 Muslims.

In the News: Athens has come under criticism by human rights groups such as Amnesty International for being one of the few European capitals without a mosque.

Repeated plans for a mosque in Athens began in earnest in 1980, with an act of parliament, but all fell through, including one timed for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Reports in local media that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered to fund a mosque in Athens have also sparked anger in Greece, which spent four centuries under Turkish Ottoman rule.http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/463300-athens-mosque-exposes-greece-divisions.html

In the Greek capital Athens, where almost half the country’s 11 million people live, there is a 500,000-strong Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Many of those are faithful and want to express their faith by praying in an appropriate place. Well, there is no such place – there isn’t a single “official” mosque in the wider area of the Greek capital. 

Instead, they have to rent flats, basements, old garages and all kinds of warehouses and transform them into makeshift mosques to cover their need for a place to hold religious ceremonies.

Greece is a country where the vast majority of people are Orthodox Christian and a country that has lived under Turkish Ottoman rule for approximately four centuries.

http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2013/06/27/the-search-for-a-mosque-in-athens/

How do you pray into this situation? Ethnic tensions in Greece are very high. The Greeks tend to be very nationalistic. As Christians we are generally concerned by the presence of a mosque as it contradicts our beliefs. In the case of Greece, there is a nationalistic mindset that seeks to repay the Muslim Turks for having occupied Greece for four hundred years.

Let us pray:

1)      First of all we thank You, Lord for preserving the Greeks over the centuries.  Let us pray that they would find their destiny and national purpose in the Lord. Greeks were greatly used in the first, second and third centuries to spread the Gospel.

2)      Let us pray for the Greek Orthodox Church, even though it long ago lost its spiritual edge, it is still the conscience of the people. Lord, restore the life giving Gospel to the Orthodox Church.

3)      Since the priests in Greece are highly honored, let us pray for a revival among them. Lord, stir a hunger in their hearts for You. Cause them to want more.

I did a Bible search of Moses’ commands to the Jewish people on how to deal with the foreigner in their land. What I found was that they were directed to be kind to the foreigner but not to consider them an equal. The foreigner was not to have full rights. The fact is, foreigners are people and our attitude toward them is important to the Lord. The reality is that governments have to govern their nations, and there is much wisdom that can be gained from how Moses governed by God’s divine direction.

4)      Let us pray for the government of Greece, may seek out ancient wisdom on how to deal with the foreigner in their midst. (God does judge nations for their actions) 

Deuteronomy 29:21-23  (NKJV)²¹ And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law, ²² so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it: ²³ ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’

 The Apostle Paul instructed us with the following:

Eph. 2:19,14-18

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Also:

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵ having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

5)      Let us pray for the Christians in Greece to soften their hearts toward the foreigners. Lord, heal them of past injustices. Let them be used to lead forth in seeing the Greek mindset toward foreigners changed.

6)      Let us pray for the Greek Christians to seek the Lord for a plan to reach the Muslims (foreigners) with the Gospel. Lord, show every Christian that righteous acts of kindness are more effective than hate and segregation.

Personal Note: Many people worry about the Arabic/Muslim people over populating Europe, but this might be the perfect opportunity to reach them with the Gospel. They are no longer under the controlling Arabic countries of the middle-east and Christians are free to engage them with the truth.

7)      Lord, teach us as Christians how to reach the Muslim immigrants among us. Give us methods of encounter that will break their yoke of bondage.

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

Pray for Greece

Week of March 18-24, 2013

Grace + Gratitude + Glory = Goodness
I was asking the Lord how to pray for Greece and the above formula came to my mind. I ask the Lord to put the formula into my heart so I may know how to pray.

Definitions:
Grace - unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
Gratitude - a feeling of appreciation or thanks
Glory – 1) great beauty and splendor : magnificence       2) state of great gratification or exaltation
Goodness - the quality or state of being good 

The history lessons tell of the former glory of Greece. Early Greece developed into a higher educated civilization than the nations around them. The people valued man’s ability to reason and would freely let men express their opinions. This led to innovations of engineering, a more peaceful civil society and appreciation of art which resulted in influencing other cultures. Actually I believe this was God at work to prepare the Greeks for the Gospel. They had an open mind to hear foreign views.

Acts 17:22-24 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:  “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 

We see that the Apostle Paul was able to reason with the Greek wise men because they were open to hear the Gospel and some embraced it. Then what happened as Greeks accepted the Gospel the glory shifted from the secular to spiritual. The Greeks begin to send missionaries into all the then known world.  The Greeks had advanced merchant shipping throughout the Mediterranean Sea and this made it easy for missionaries to go to other lands. From the first through fourth centuries the Gospel was greatly enabled by the Greek infrastructure. 

Pray:
1.    Let us pray for the return of the former glory of Greece. Let us pray that Greece would be repositioned to the place of taking Goodness/Good News to the world again.
2.    Lord, we know You are ready to bestow Grace upon the Greeks once again. Your loving-kindness is there and all they have to do is accept it. Let us pray for the present day Greek Christians. May they dig up their past history and celebrate how God had used them to spread the Gospel.
3.    Let us pray that a healthy Gratitude would arise in the Greek churches. May they be thankful for the legacy they have in history. May they be re-taught the Glory they had; especially the spiritual glory. Lord, help them to understand that their glory was designed by You. Lord, help them to realize it was Your Glory working through them.
4.    Let us ask the Lord to release His Glory once again through the Greek people.
5.    Let us pray for the Greek Orthodox churches. They are very aware of how Greece was used to spread the Gospel; but they still have it in an old wineskin. Lord, help them to un-cap the old wineskin and pour the Gospel into a new wineskin.
6.    May new wine come forth. In the production of wine, grapes must be smashed so the sweet juice can come forth. We see that through the present financial crisis, riots and racial tension Greece is being smashed. Let us pray that Greeks would repent and be humbled so they once again can pour out the new wine.
7.    Lord, thank You for Your Grace that is available to Greece. May they develop an attitude of Gratitude so they may see Your Glory once again. May there be fruits of Goodness coming out of Greece to bless the world.

Among the marble walls they sat and read God’s Word.
They read Isaiah, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Tears came forth as they thought of peoples that had not heard the Word.
Their hearts were stirred and they knew their prayers were heard.
They went down to the sea and booked passage because the prophets had confirmed.
They followed His glory and many never returned.
We may not know their story but their crowns lay before the throne in Glory.

Pray for Greece

Week of  Nov. 26 - Dec. 2, 2012

 

IN THE NEWS:

Greek commerce sector report paints bleak picture - Bradenton Herald

ATHENS, Greece — Employment in the Greek commerce sector shrank by over 12 percent in the past year and there is going to be no improvement in 2013, a report by the sector's main association claims.  

CNN: Greece’s Disappearing Middle Class

… Greece’s disappearing middle class is included among October’s most popular videos, which show how the financial crisis and the austerity measures are turning Greece’s middle class into newly-poor.

The video shows the everyday life of Greeks who used to be well-off, but within two years had their lives ruined. An example is a widow, former nurse, struggling to live on a 200 euro allowance. The reporter also shows the 7-member family trying to get through the daily agony of putting food in their empty refrigerator.  According to recent research, over 900,000 families are facing poverty. In total, 2,341,400 people are living below poverty line.

Malaria makes a comeback in southern Greece - Aljazeera.com 

Forty-years since the last recorded case of malaria in Greece, the disease everyone thought was a thing of the past is back. There have been 28 cases among the Greek population in the southern agricultural land of Laconia in the last year alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V8IA8e33Xw

After reading all that bad news, I thought of the following scriptures:

Psalms 25: 12-15.
Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net. 

1.       May the Fear of the Lord come upon Greece and have their feet plucked out of the net.

2.       Their government is so messed up, corruption has been a curse, men are giving up because of a lack of hope and there is a demand for sacrifice from the people. Truly Greece is a government that needs divine intervention. We pray for a healthy humility to come upon the people of Greece.

3.       We ask You Lord, to prepare the people of Greece to receive tough love. As they go through this time of breaking, may they call upon the Lord for help.

4.       Lord, Greece needs Your help. Greece needs a move of God, a revival. When the Gospel was first brought to Greece by the Apostle Paul, the Greeks and Macedonians had an open mind. Paul talked about how that the people of Athens spent their time seeking out new philosophies (Acts 17:21).  Lord, open their minds and hearts once again.

5.       There are many evangelical churches in the country. Lord, show these churches that this is the critical hour for them to reach out to the hurting of Greece.  Since the government can no longer guaranty support in hard times may the churches bring relief, house to house.

6.       We ask for a coming forth of evangelist in Greece. May the Lord stir up a fire and passion for the lost. May they be sent to the lost sheep of Greece.

7.       Let us pray for the release of money into the churches. May Greeks throughout the world see an opportunity to help their countrymen financially. Let the money come from Greek Christians worldwide.

8.       Lord, we ask for You to stop this malaria outbreak.

9.       I have heard of a House-of Prayer in Athens but have not made contact. Let us pray for the protection and the blessing on it. Lord, draw your intercessors there to pray and grow in intimacy.  As the depth of the convent is reveled may they understand the secrets of the Lord and His plans for the Greek people. We pray for an open heaven of revelation as they confront the sins of their nation.

Good News: 

150,000 Bulgarians in Greece for Christmas Holidays

Thousands of vehicles from Bulgaria are expected to flood the Greek roads as our neighbors are visiting Greece to celebrate Christmas. The massive tourism wave is expected on Christmas and New Year’s Day according to the Bulgarian newspaper Telegraph <READ MORE>

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Pray for Turkey

Asia Minor (Turkey) was once the center of Christianity. From the church in Antioch, mission outreaches went north into Asia Minor and had great success proclaiming Jesus to the Greek and pagan idol worships. Then starting in the 11^th century the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia begin to move in through conquest. They had embraced Islam so they slowly drove the Christian culture out, usually at the point of a sword. There was a backlash from European Nobles and the organized church. They sent forth the Crusades with the main objective of recapturing the Holy Land. The Crusades were defeated and the final conquest was marked by the fall of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 1453. This was a massive blow to Christendom, and the Ottoman Turks thereafter were free to advance into Europe without an adversary to their rear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople

 

Now in the modern age, Turkey is a solid 99% Islamic nation. Having a population of 75 million people, Turkey has an estimated 100,000 Christians and only about 7,000 are evangelical.  

  

   1)       Let us pray for this vast amount of people that do not know Jesus as savior.

  2)      There is a serious concerted effort of intercessory groups praying for Turkey. Lord, we ask that You encourage them daily with direction, favor and most of all Your presence. Show these dedicated intercessors Your plans for Turkey. Help them to raise up Houses of Prayer in the vital cities and ports of entry. Lord, we ask that these houses of prayer have an open heaven where revelation flows freely.

  3)     Let us pray for the Christian tent-maker, marketplace ministers the Lord has sent to Turkey. Open the market place positions where they can apply Biblical solutions to business problems.

  4)      As technology spreads out across Turkey may many Turks login to Gospel Internet sites.

  5)      Let us pray that the Gospel will be broadcast louder than Western humanism over radio, television and the internet.

  6)      Lord, raise up evangelist that have a burning heart for the Turkish people. Open the doors into the cities for these evangelist to proclaim the Gospel.

  7)      Let us pray for Turkish Facebook evangelist, keyboard evangelist with zeal to reach Turkey.

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Pray for Greece

Week of June 25 - July 1, 2012

In the News: Economic collapse in Greece is finally sinking into the consciousness of its citizens

On Sunday, June 17^th, voters narrowly elected a center-right New Democracy Party to take the reins of power in a country that, besieged by debt and teetering on the brink of insolvency, is literally in chaos. For months now, Greece has only managed to exist, not thrive, as successive bailouts of its government by the European Central Bank (led mostly by German efforts and money) have kept Athens from tumbling headlong over an economic cliff that, frankly, its leaders should have seen coming years ago.

Life in the capital has come virtually to a standstill. The streets are less congested, sure, but because few can afford to drive. And while less trash goes to the landfill, it's because people are consuming less because they have to.

Giorgos, a 27-year-old economics [said] "There is a depression in the Greek people, in all my friends," ... "They keep saying: 'I can't take it. There's depression about our jobs, depression on the news, depression about the economic situation, depression in our family, depression and fighting among friends.'"

The Financial Times reports that violence, hate, polarization, fear, resignation and despair are rife across the country. It's so bad, in fact, that the country is developing the same characteristics of the German republic in the early 1930s, before Adolph Hitler rose to power.

In the News: Greece still in trouble as talent leaves country

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/327284#ixzz1yl3kxM76

Brain drains are insidious. Like cutting away at muscle, they leave a country emaciated, unable to respond to crises and too lethargic to work hard to get where it has to. Then there’s the damaging effect they have on morale. Those who are left behind are either too old, too poor or too unskilled to be able to leave the country. This creates a deep sense of disillusionment, apathy and lack of national pride just when you need the exact opposite to get the country out its difficulties.

      Romans 1:16 (NKJV)
      For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for

     everyone  who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

1)      Jesus primarily ministered to the Jews but He sent Apostle Paul to the Greeks. Let us pray for apostles to be sent again to Greece for this time of great need. Men and women anointed to guide the country out of this critical economic situation. – Apostles to the marketplace –

2)      The enemy would love to bring an Adolph Hitler, but let us stand in prayer against such an outcome.  

Acts 17:21-23 (NKJV)

For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

3)      Upon Mars Hill (Areopagus), Paul pointed out to the Greek philosophers that there was a benevolent God beyond their myths and idols. Greeks have bowed down to new idols of self-sufficiency and a socialist state. Lord, as You shake this false trust, remember mercy.

4)      We see that when Paul arrived the Greeks had an empty place in their lives to hear the Gospel. Lord, we ask that that empty place will be exposed once again. Soften their hearts.

5)      Let us pray for the Evangelical churches in Greece. May this be their greatest hour. Lord, send them into the streets and homes with the good news. Give them a word of comfort and assurance for their countrymen.

6)     Burning hearts for Greece. Lord, raise up Your intercessors that will declare on earth as it is in heaven Your blessing for Greece.

7)      It is likely that things will get worse before getting better so let us pray for an influx of aid to come from Christians worldwide and be funneled through the Greek Evangelical churches.

8)      As mentioned in the news report above, when things turn bad in a country a brain-drain results. This has been a problem in all the Balkan countries for the past twenty years. Lord, we ask that You guide them to countries where they can find You. 

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