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Pray for People of Ukraine

August 28, 2014
Appears to be a military activity near Krasnodon, Ukraine.

Appears to be a military activity near Krasnodon, Ukraine.

Digital Globe, released August 28 by United Nations

Christian Reformed World Missions missionaries based in Eastern Europe are calling congregations to pray for peace in Ukraine where news reports say violence is growing as Ukrainian government forces are battling the Russian military.

In the face of the crisis, the church needs to rely upon the power of prayer, seeking God’s intervention to stop the fighting, says a missionary.

“We depend on God to move souls, to change lives, to make Christ-followers – join us in praying such prayers of dependence,” says the missionary. 

“The main petitions we would like to offer to God are on behalf of the innocent Ukrainian people, that God would spare them injury and death.”

Twenty-three years ago this week, Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union, and “we are all troubled deeply by the war taking place on the territory during the last months between the two closely related peoples, Russian and Ukrainian,” says one missionary.

Especially troubling, the missionary says, is that fighting has caused injury, death and disruption to hundreds of innocent people.

The U.N. Security Council has called for an emergency meeting for Thursday, following reports that Russian forces have crossed the border and are operating in areas of Ukraine, says the newspaper USA Today.

Here are specific prayer requests:

  • Pray that the church in Ukraine would proclaim peace and reconciliation by the blood of Christ.
  • Pray that the church in Ukraine would live out peace and reconciliation while also promoting truth and justice.
  • Pray that we would be wise in our interactions and activities so that we would be agents of health and healing to the churches.
  • Pray for the refugees (UN says more than 350,000), especially children, who are living in fear and uncertainty.
  • Pray for those who have not been able to leave the conflict zones around the cities of Luhansk (population of 450,000) and Donetsk (population of 1,000,000), especially the elderly and the sick.