Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, believers around the world have united in prayer for the Ukrainian people. A OneWay board member wrote the following prayer for Ukraine, which we want to share as together, we cry out to the Lord for healing, peace, and the ultimate defeat of the evil one.
Our great God, Lord of the nations, we lift up to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the land of Ukraine and its 44 million people.
FOR THE UKRANIAN GOVERNMENT
We pray that the decision-makers of Ukraine, under the leadership of President Zelensky, would look first and foremost to You for Your guidance and protection. We also pray for Vladimir Putin, that You would miraculously visit him with Your presence and convince him of the path that he should take. We pray for a minimum of bloodshed on both sides and for a minimum of civilian injuries and casualties.
FOR THE UKRANIAN CHURCH
We pray for the Bible-believing local churches in Ukraine who together are providing food, clothing, shelter and a gospel witness to the hundreds of thousands who are fleeing. We pray, Lord God, for sympathy and a willingness to receive the Ukrainian refugees on the part of the bordering countries, especially Poland.
FOR THOSE STRANDED AWAY FROM HOME
We pray for Ukrainian citizens caught outside of Ukraine when the fighting began and who are trying to get back in and help their families. We pray, Lord God, that the leadership of western nations, including our own country, will seek You for wisdom and courage to act according to Your perfect will in this situation, no matter how hard that may seem to be.
FOR MANY NEW BELIEVERS
We pray against the devil, who is willing that all should perish and none should come to repentance, and we pray that the Body of Christ in Ukraine will grow deeper and wider despite and even because of these desperate days. We pray that Russian soldiers will be saved as they see the courageous and loving response of the Ukrainian believers.
And we pray all these things in the powerful and loving name of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
A brief history of Ukraine
Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, located on the southwest border of Russia. Ukraine has borders with six other countries besides Russia, and many Ukrainians are trying to flee to those countries.
Ukraine has 44 million people. It is known as the breadbasket of Europe because of its vast and rich agricultural land. Ukraine is also known as the Bible Belt of the former Soviet Union because of great spiritual harvesting that took place there due to missionary activity between World War I and World War II.
More than 80 percent of Ukrainians identify themselves as Christians, though many of them are Christian in name only, especially those who are within the Ukrainian Orthodox or Russian Orthodox churches. That being said, there is a strong and vibrant evangelical, Bible-believing population in Ukraine. It is, by far, right now, the greatest missionary sending country in
Europe, with most of its evangelical Ukrainian missionaries serving in the largely
Muslim Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan).