Among a heap of broken bodies and crushed spirits – Christians in Ukraine are still in the trenches, living through the horrors of an attack on their country.
And while many people around the world have already turned their attention to other things – there is a palatable desperation in Ukraine that demands our urgent attention.
In fact, once you hear the specific prayer requests and personal stories of those in the middle of this death and destruction – you’re bound to cry out to God and ask Him to intervene as only He can.
Mykola Romaniuk is the senior pastor of Irpin Bible Church, a large Baptist church in Wheaton, a suburb of Kyiv.
The bombings forced his church congregation to flee throughout Ukraine and beyond, and he’s praying for strength as they help both fellow believers, and those who do not know Christ.
Christianity Today reported his prayer request:
“I am praying for my heart, identical to David’s when he was surrounded by an identical army of deceitful and evil men (Ps. 43:1).
A young brother, a member of our church, was murdered on the street while helping others, as our peaceful cities suffer daily bombardment. I am praying for those stuck in the cold and the snow, and the Christian refugees, that they might find spiritual community in their relocation.”
Amen.
Now more than ever, believers need to gather together and be strengthened by each other.
And while some churches still meet, others have been displaced.
The enemy works through isolation and despair, so we must continue to pray that in midst of this unspeakable horror, believers will find fellowship and comfort with one another.
In addition, we must continue to pray that those who don’t know Christ will come to know Him in a mighty way – and that Bibles will continue to sell out in stores because so many people are buying them and seeking His truth!
And it’s important to remember it’s not just churches who are experiencing unconscionable suffering.
Valentin Siniy, president of Tavriski Christian Institute (TCI), states that he’s no longer able to provide seminary education and instead has switched to help with evacuations.
He spoke on the personal struggles within his own family, and his prayer request of a heartfelt desire for Jesus to fix the brokenness of this world.
When asked what Bible verse was helping him to persevere, he quoted 1 Corinthians 15:51–52:
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
And as he confessed the grief in his heart, he also expressed hope that God would use all of this for good.
Christianity Today reported request:
“It is hard to find the right Scripture that can comfort our hearts. But I recalled this verse as I drove away from my home city, hearing behind me the rocket launchers bombing it. This war will transform us—for good—and we will never be the same.
I am praying for my family and the emotional hell we are going through. We hardly slept last night, we got food poisoning, my sister-in-law has a bad medical condition, and we are far from the doctors and hospitals that we know.
But as I see this sinful world and the kingdom of destruction, I am asking God that more people would condemn the sin of war. We need his heavenly kingdom to come and restore his original purpose for creation.”
Fellow believer, as we continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms in our nation – may we never stop praying for those in Ukraine.
For the orphans without a home, the believers in the trenches, and all those who don’t know Christ, may the Lord hear our hearts as we cry out to Him to do what only He can do.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17
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