The world events happening lead us to ask questions. Where is God in all of this? What does this mean today, and what does this mean for the future of our world?
Then I was reminded of my friend Sean Baulch and a timely podcast post by Kevin East that gave me insight to what God might be up to. So here is a post for you to grab on to as we pray through this current circumstance of events and a reminder of who we are called to be in Christ.
We are also pleasantly reminded of what Paul speaks to in 2 Corinthians chapter five:
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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.
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