Prayer for Ukraine and Russia!
The events of Ukraine connect me to my history and family. Watching these events unfold thanks to the internet is powerful beyond comprehension, and these images stir up deep, strong compassion, injustice, and righteous indignations.
Did you know that your pastor is 100% Jewish and 100% Christian? Part of his Jewish family is from Russia. He grew up with the stories of the “Russian Pogrom.” A Russian word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” Historically, the term refers to violent attacks on the Jews in the Russian Empire. The perpetrators of pogroms raped and murdered Jewish victims, looted their property. His Grandma’s sisters and parents fled from their Russian village escaping from Russia outside the Russian Magadan region. Did you know that in 1992 your Pastor was in Madigan sharing the message of Jesus not far from where his family had fled to the United States?
We are now witnessing an assault, unlike anything we have seen since WWII. We are witnessing the tragic loss of innocents, children, families, hospitals, young and old in Ukraine who are killed and injured by Russian forces. To date, two-thirds of the Ukrainian war causalities are innocent civilians, and it is a Russian Pogrom!
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” whose “goal is to protect people who the genocide of the Kyiv regime has abused for eight years. We will strive for the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians.”
There is no ongoing Jewish genocide in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government is not a Nazi regime. The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish; he speaks proudly of how his Jewish grandfather fought against Hitler’s army.
How can we watch these images and not pray? We can seek the Lord with passion and pray with power in the Name of Jesus. Praying in the Name of Jesus is powerful because when we pray in His name, we pray with His authority. God promises to answer whatever we ask in His name according to His will.
Therefore, we must know the will of God to pray with the authority of Jesus. This truth is wonderful because we assurance that He hears our prayers. Through prayer in His name, we shall make known among the nations what He has done.
John 16:23-24 says, “In that day, you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly, I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
Let us pray for the miracle of peace in Ukraine and Russia.
Pastor Steve