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| Ogosta dam Montana in Bulgaria. Too serene ♥ |
Hi everyone! Catherine again over here. Welcome to my first post on my post-renovated Blessed Wonderfully. I will share to you a little about my nerve-wrecked and fidgety feelings as of the moment knowing that I will be asked to pray for the nations tomorrow morning! Bless me...
If you used to read my blog in the past few months, you would've been probably shocked...at the new look. Not just the fact that I decided to do a completely new reno on the blog, but also the shocking absence of posts. Yes. I deleted them. I really just wanted to have a new fresh start for the blog and I believe it will take a lot of work to get everything up to scratch like last time. But bear with me. The changing, shifting and disassembling of widgets and layout patches won't be going for too long...
If you used to read my blog in the past few months, you would've been probably shocked...at the new look. Not just the fact that I decided to do a completely new reno on the blog, but also the shocking absence of posts. Yes. I deleted them. I really just wanted to have a new fresh start for the blog and I believe it will take a lot of work to get everything up to scratch like last time. But bear with me. The changing, shifting and disassembling of widgets and layout patches won't be going for too long...
Okay, so this post will mainly be about Bulgaria - or rather, my first time praying for the nations during the youth service tomorrow morning. I love public speaking but I don't know why I'm currently feeling so helplessly fidgety and nervous at the moment. I think the presence of microphones really bother me for a lot of reasons that I can't quite pinpoint. If you're reading this, please understand. And that is definitely why I will need my whole tongue to be in sync with God's heartbeat tomorrow. I just can't risk my nerves taking over me and possibly ruining the entire prayer. After all, this is my first time praying on stage with a mic on and I'm praying for a good start =)
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| The vast lands of Bulgaria, intersecting between Romania, Greece and Turkey. |
With a medium population of 7.3 million, Bulgaria is relatively in touch with its spiritual side. Christian Orthodox by nature, this country has had a long history of Turkish settlement which defined Islam as its second largest religion. Although I have never traveled to Bulgaria before, its traditions and history are really starting to attract me. Bulgaria (capital city: Sofia) marks the crossroads between Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and the borders of the Black Sea. As an East-European nation, it goes by without saying that the nation has always co-existed with a strong sense of ethnic and religious division. Compared to its eastern counterparts, Bulgaria is still better off a nation in terms of her financial prosperity and international reputation. However, we should never stop praying for greater awareness and sensitivity of God's voice in this nation.
Bulgaria needs a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit. Let's unite our hearts together in asking for heavenly anointing to befall upon the Bulgarian government and the old churches so they could witness the glory and power of our Lord Jesus Christ in their daily lives. It goes by without saying that we should pray for the younger generation of this nation too. Due to its complex history, it is very difficult for the younger generation to lead and follow Christianity wholeheartedly. If I am a young Bulgarian teenager, i would certainly be having similar thoughts too. How can I fully pursue the lifestyle of a Jesus follower when everything in school and at home taught me otherwise?
Let's pray for more holy revelations of our Lord to this younger generation. Let what God promised truly happen in this nation! That the youth will prophecy and display heavenly manifestations, that the elders of the community and of the church will receive visions and dreams that will propel the nation in a Godly movement. Talk about ethnic discrimination, we should be praying for bravery and passion more than ever! All throughout my life I have never felt what it's like to be ethnically discriminated in my own country. Back in Indonesia we used to have a massive citywide riot every ten years or so. The most recent one was when I was around four years old. Was I expected to remember much of it? It was probably horrendous and traumatic for me to witness, so I naturally forgot it as time passes. Having no recollection of how heartbreaking it actually was, I don't want to take the safety and comforts of living in Australia for granted. If we living comfortably with great access to technology, to food and to education, we should never fail to think of others whose lives are absolutely deprived of these necessities. What may seem normal and ordinary to us could be a dream for them. Can be a gold experience. Can be as worthy as diamonds.
So I guess it all starts from us. Earnestly ask God to reveal our eyes to see the pain and the grief of this world. There are many more people who are suffering terrible grief, who are caught in an irreversible addiction, who are chained in spiritual bondage, and who are facing a dead-end street. Pray that we may possess even more compassion that we will never stop praying for our dear relatives who are facing much more difficult lives than what we are facing now.
Last but not all, I sincerely hope that you would remember to keep praying for Bulgaria throughout this week and the weeks to come. I believe that a hymn of united prayers from those who truly believe is a sweet song for our Father. Pray that His perfect will be done on this nation and that He will strengthen every national pillar; the government, law, education, social welfare, politics, media as well as science and technology in Bulgaria. Pray that nothing will be missed and believe in it ♥
So I guess that is it from me now readers. It's getting late here down in Melbourne and I really need to catch up on some terribly lost sleep. See you all dearest in my next post. Till then!
xx
Catherine.