On February 1, 2024, the second Ecumenical Prayer Meeting titled “Christ, the Light of the World!” was held in the Croatian Parliament, where Christian ministers gathered to pray together for Croatia. The meeting brought together representatives from the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Greek Catholic Church, as well as representatives from Evangelical Protestants. The event was attended by Dalibor Kraljik, the dean of the Evangelical Theological College, in his capacity as the General Secretary of the Protestant Evangelical Council in Croatia. Below is the prayer pronounced by the dean at this gathering in the Croatian Parliament:
Prayer of Dean Dalibor Kraljik:
“Lord,
We humbly come before You knowing that we are approaching our Ruler and Lord. We come to Your throne with our praises, petitions, and prayers, knowing that You hear and listen to us, for You are the living God, the God who decided to incarnate and be one of us, to dwell among us, to give His life for us so that we might live.
We thank You for the gift of life, for the gift of friendship, for this fellowship into which You have united us as brothers today. Thank You for inspiring Your servant Marin through Your Spirit and using him as a tool in Your hands, a tool for fellowship and peacemaking, as a bridge to bring prayer and what is sacred into the public and secular space. Lord, that is Your space anyway, the space for which we pray that You continue to fill with prayer and with people who will seek Your face and the guidance of Your Holy Spirit in their service to the people entrusted to them by You. I pray for the spiritual awakening of all those serving in this house who were once faithful to You, who sought Your will for their lives, but who perhaps, due to earthly concerns, have neglected You, forgotten about You, and spiritually fallen asleep… Especially, I pray for the spiritual awakening and revival of many who serve here, who may seek You and need You, that by Your living Spirit, our Life-Giver, You may clearly reveal Yourself to them so that they may come to know You, be convicted of their sin, and understand the necessity of repentance and conversion, turning from themselves to You, to Your cross where You defeated sin and death, and become Your servants and tools of change in Your hands.
Lord, I pray for our authorities, as the Holy Scripture teaches us that we should obey them, for those who govern have received authority from God, who is the ultimate Ruler and King over all creation. I ask for forgiveness when we forget this and neglect the necessary act of praying for those who govern, either out of negligence and omission or perhaps due to personal favoritism and various ideological preferences. Therefore, I ask for our President, our President of Parliament, and our Prime Minister, as well as for all their officials in cabinets and offices, ministers, parliamentary representatives, county, city, and local councilors, and for all those elected to serve others with Your blessing. I pray for their good health and well-being, but especially for Your guidance and wisdom in the services entrusted to them. Lord, I pray that You remind them that everything they have is because You allowed it and gave it to them. Encourage them to always seek Your will for their lives, but also for Your will for our people and our country. Teach them, Lord, and remind them by Your example, that politics is first and foremost about service, not ruling, serving not oneself, but serving others, the neighbor, the nation, and the land, even serving those who disagree with us, and even our enemies. Transform, Lord, the politics of ruling into a politics of serving, so that our politicians, as state and public servants, may be transformed into humble servants in Your vineyard, faithful to You and thankful for even the smallest tasks You entrust to them. I pray for a change of mind for them, a true metanoia, a change of heart and attitude, from a position of ruling to a position of serving.
Our King, I ask You to give us the strength and humility to overlook and overcome the differences among us, whatever they may be—national, religious, ideological, or any others—but that we may first see in each other God’s creation, a person, and a brother. I pray that these prayers of fellowship, spoken in the same Spirit, continue to follow and connect us in the same Spirit, so that we may truly be not only hearers but also doers of Your Word and Your commandments. I pray that You bind us even more firmly together, all of us who pray to You, the only true God, in Your love for us and our love for You, but especially in love and respect for one another. Help us, Lord, to overcome all differences and bridge all gaps among us, which are often the result of our own unbelief, pride, and sin. Also, I specifically pray for unity and unanimity among Your servants in this House, be merciful to them, Lord. Do not allow them to miss the purpose of the service entrusted to them, for missing the purpose means missing the purpose of their mission, missing Your will for their lives, and ultimately, missing the goal means sinning against You and our neighbors.
God, truly protect Croatia, and let this not just be a song, but our true daily prayer for our country. I pray for our people, for all nationalities, members of Christian communities, and other religions, all races, perhaps invisible but sadly present social classes, ideologies, and all other attributes that make us different from each other, protect us from letting them ever become a cause of division among us, but that our differences may enrich us, that we may joyfully reach out to each other and learn from one another, and that they may bless us and make us better people.
Son of God, Your prayer was: “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us…” And this is our prayer today for all of us gathered around You, at Your feet, in this place; that we may be one in You, one by Your Spirit who is at work right here among us now, to the glory and honor of Your holy name.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!”
