Praying for Ukraine

Weekly Update – February 24th, 2022

This past Sunday, we took time to pray for the situation involving Ukraine. Since then, tensions have escalated with Russia now posting over 190,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border. It is expected that many peaceful Ukrainian cities will soon find themselves under Russian aggression. Send International is a missions organization, and they have posted 11 ways for you and I to pray for the Ukraine. Here they are below:

1. Ask God to redeem this situation by drawing many people to Himself. May Ukrainians and Russians discover that Jesus is the only true source of peace, safety, comfort, truth and freedom.

2. Pray that Ukrainians ultimately would hope not in governments, elections or diplomacy, but in Jesus Christ.

3. Ask God to deliver Ukraine from evil. May He have mercy and heal this land. May He give Ukraine peace and the chance to develop as a nation that values truth, justice and freedom, all rooted in the goodness of God.

4. Pray for a culture in which political disagreements don’t lead to hatred or violence.  

5. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia can spill over into personal conflict within families, especially when family members live on opposite sides of the border and are influenced by different sides of the “information war.” Pray for unity and a love for one another that supersedes the problems between the countries.

6. Ask God to bless soldiers’ wives and children with peace and safety while their husbands and fathers are gone.

7. Pray for the various world leaders involved in diplomacy over Ukraine. 

8. Pray that the evangelical church will remain united, even as it faces difficult questions, such as how involved believers ought to be in politics or in armed conflict.

9. In the past few years, the Ukrainian evangelical church has become much more passionate about sending its own cross-cultural workers to reach the lost. Pray that this conflict will not dissuade Ukrainians from taking the gospel message to Russia and to other lands.

10. Pray for Christians in the military. This is a challenging time; ask God to guide them as their faith is being tested in new ways.

11. Fears stemming from the conflict come up frequently in conversation. Pray that missionaries and other believers will have many opportunities to explain to their neighbors and friends the reason for the hope within them, even in this time of trial.

In addition to these prayer points, the International Mission Board has released some suggested points of prayers too. You can find those HERE

You can also give through Send Relief with the North American Mission Board. Every dollar given will help aid Ukraine during the Ukraine-Russia conflict. You can give HERE

As we consider this global crisis at hand, let us not recoil in fear. Instead, may we remember that it is our God who uses world leaders for his purposes and that he will ultimately have his way in the midst of any national or international conflict (Pro. 21:1; Lam. 3:37; Dan. 4:17; Amos 3:6; Rom. 13:1). Additionally, may we see this crisis as an opportunity to pray for the gospel to penetrate the hearts of all who are involved in ways that perhaps it never has.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson