Have you been watching the news? Most of us have been. And this is indeed a time for God's people to be aware of what is going on around us. I have been concerned about Ukraine for a long time. And I was tempted to put off my devotional time one morning to hear the details of the Russian invasion. That is the worst thing I could have done.
My confidence and peace depend on my closeness to God. My close friend Thame Fuller, pastor of Meadowdale Community Church in the Seattle area, posted this verse on Facebook that day.
"Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident…
For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling."
- Psalm 27:3 & 5
I can trust God even for Christian brothers and sisters in a country that I love. And the most important thing I can do for them is pray.
This will still be true when our own neighbors, our own country, our own families and lives are under seige in events prophesied about these last days. The secret of faithfully enduring them will be our consistent nearness to God.
My devotional time today was in Acts 6 and 7. Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin by the people who would stone him before he finished his defense. In Acts 6:15 we read,
“And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”
Earlier in Acts Peter declared to the Sanhedrin that there was no name but Jesus whereby we must be saved. When the council saw the boldness of these ordinary fishermen, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Extraordinary bible-focused prayer is the most important thing we can do for our world and for our witness in it. I pray that people around us will see the difference Jesus makes in us. Having said this, let me include two specific requests from people asking prayer for Ukraine.
First, from Sammy Tippit:
I spoke this morning with Vasie Bynzar, who directed STM during the days of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is from Moldova and his brother is now in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. Vasile said that his brother could hear fighting at the nearby military base. When I ministered in Ukraine, I preached in Krivoy Rog, Nikolayev, Odessa, Kherson, Zaparhozhia, and Kiev.
I tried to contact my friends in Kiev. However, it appears that the Internet has been knocked out by Cyber warfare. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters there. Please ask all the prayer warriors to lift up the people of Ukraine. There are followers of Jesus who came to Christ in all the cities that I mentioned. In the photo below, I have circled the cities where there are people who came to Christ through our ministry. I have also circled Moldova to see the location of Moldova to Ukraine. Many Christians in Moldova are concerned that the Russian military will also try to take Moldova.
Thanks.
And Kathleen Cliver posted something from a Missionary on the field in Ukraine:
“For us this is no surprise. We all knew it was coming.
Still, to officially announce you are in a full-scale war with a delusional dictator in 2022 is a horrific thing. So many people are going to die. And for what?
Please don't forget us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't despair and don't grieve like those who
have no hope. Instead stand firm on the promises of the Lord.
Reading and praying over Psalms is really getting me through right now. It's good to remember that God
always gets justice in the end. Eternity is waiting.
Fellow believers, I beg of you, cry out to God to save the Ukrainian people! Open a map of Ukraine on
Google and pray over it. Ask the Lord to put His hand
of protection on Mariupol, on Kharkiv, on Sumy, on
Dnipro, on Kherson, and on and on and on. If you hear a news report please pray for the city mentioned.
There is no greater weapon you have to help us than your prayers.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
Cry out to God for a spiritual awakening among the Russian and Belarussian people. Pray that God would do a miracle in the Slavic nations who call themselves our brothers and that they would cast off their chains. Pray that evil will be defeated.
May God bless and keep Ukraine!”
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