{"id":5774,"date":"2015-09-07T14:54:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T11:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T13:57:05","slug":"seventeen-reasons-why-i-will-not-stop-praying-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/seventeen-reasons-why-i-will-not-stop-praying-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Seventeen Reasons Why I Will Not Stop Praying For Ukraine!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning, what I’m about to write is personal, which means you may not agree with it and if you don’t you’re certainly not alone!<\/p>\n

I write this not because it’s a middle ground that everyone can agree upon but because it’s not.<\/p>\n

I’m taking a position, it’s my position and it’s where I’m standing now and will continue to stand<\/p>\n

For a while now I’ve been asking people to join me<\/a> in praying for Ukraine, but recently I realized that not everyone is excited about praying for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

You see some people, like these women<\/a>, would rather spew hate, spread bitterness, and call for revenge than pray for peace in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

That’s why I thought it would be useful to write out my reasons for why I am praying for Ukraine and why I think you should too.<\/p>\n

Here goes:<\/p>\n

Why I’m praying for Ukraine.<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Ukraine has been attacked by an enemy and it is still at war.<\/li>\n
  2. I want my kids and all Ukrainian children to grow up free from the worry of, mortars landing in their backyard, tanks rolling into town, and masked gunmen taking over.<\/li>\n
  3. Ukraine is still one of the freest countries of the former USSR and I want to keep it that way.<\/li>\n
  4. I have many good friends who have fled for their lives and as of yet do not have the opportunity to return to their homes, some of them no longer have homes to return to.<\/li>\n
  5. Ukraine is the largest country in Europe with great untapped potential.<\/li>\n
  6. Ukraine is much more than fields and hills, it is a collection of kind, hardworking people.<\/li>\n
  7. Ukraine is not the country of my birth but it is my adopted country and I love her people.<\/li>\n
  8. Nearly 7,000 lives lost, 17,000 wounded and 2.5 million refugees means Ukraine is deeply hurting now.<\/li>\n
  9. Ukraine has some of the strongest evangelical churches in Europe.<\/li>\n
  10. Ukraine has great potential for sending missionaries beyond her borders to countries where Western Christians are not welcome.<\/li>\n
  11. This is a unique time in Ukraine’s history when the number of people ready to listen and respond to the Gospel is unusually high.<\/li>\n
  12. Ukraine is in desperate need of an honest and fair government who has the people’s best interest in mind.<\/li>\n
  13. If Ukraine looses the war, it looses much of its religious freedoms.<\/li>\n
  14. Dozens of churches in the war-zone have already been wiped out or have gone “underground.”<\/li>\n
  15. God tells me I should pray for peace and freedom for the Gospel to go out. (1 Tim 2:1-4)<\/li>\n
  16. Many people in Ukraine are still in need of a greater peace that only Jesus can offer them.<\/li>\n
  17. I pray for Ukraine because God has called me to serve the Ukrainian people, he has given me a heart and passion for Ukraine and especially for the Church in Ukraine. I can not simply stand by and watch a country I love be destroyed, I must fall on my knees in prayer to the King of kings, God of the heavenly armies!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A Prayer for Ukraine<\/h2>\n

    God of the heavenly armies save and protect Ukraine.<\/p>\n

    Comfort her young whose eyes have seen what\u00a0the violence has done.<\/p>\n

    Speak softly to her mothers whose tears wet the graves of lost sons and brothers.<\/p>\n

    Embrace her fathers who leave their families behind to face the enemy on the front line.<\/p>\n

    Defend her elderly whose legs can not run from the sound of an approaching gun.<\/p>\n

    Give courage to her young men\u00a0to stand their ground and the helpless defend.<\/p>\n

    Embolden the church within to share God’s love and forgiveness from sin.<\/p>\n

    Join us for 30 days for prayer for Ukraine!<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Warning, what I’m about to write is personal, which means you may not agree with it and if you don’t you’re certainly not alone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[370,193],"tags":[383,338],"class_list":["post-5774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new","category-ukraine-2","tag-pray-for-ukraine","tag-ukraine-war"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/DSC05385.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-1v8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3871,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/praying-for-ukraine-a-7-day-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":5774,"position":0},"title":"Praying for Ukraine -A 7 Day Guide","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"April 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently our team of missionaries decided that we need to raise awareness of what is happening in Ukraine and to encourage people to pray. We created a facebook page called \"God at Work in Ukraine\"\u00a0 and we developed a 7 day prayer guide to help you effectively pray for Ukraine.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ukraine"","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Camera-Roll1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Camera-Roll1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Camera-Roll1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3519,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/will-you-pray-for-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":5774,"position":1},"title":"Will You Pray for Ukraine?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Ukraine needs your prayers! The protests in Kiev continue with no end in sight. The people demand change. They recognize that something is wrong in their country. (This video gives a good picture of what is happening in Ukraine now.) What many don't realize is that it's not just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ukraine-needs-prayer.PNG.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ukraine-needs-prayer.PNG.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ukraine-needs-prayer.PNG.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3749,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/how-to-pray-for-ukraine-after-russia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5774,"position":2},"title":"How To Pray For Ukraine After Russia’s Occupation of Crimea","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Things are changing so fast in Ukraine that it's hard to keep up with the news. \u00a0We've been watching events unfold almost on an hourly basis through Youtube and Twitter and we've also been talking with family in Ukraine on a daily basis. Your prayers for Ukraine are vital this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ukraine"","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/russian-troops-0011.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/russian-troops-0011.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/russian-troops-0011.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5719,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/after-24-years-of-independence-ukraine-needs-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":5774,"position":3},"title":"After 24 Years of Independence Ukraine Needs Your Prayers","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 26, 2015","format":"video","excerpt":"Yesterday we celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day with much more enthusiasm than we have in years past. We all donned our vyshyvankas and headed to downtown Odessa. 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In the last few weeks the world's eye has been on Kiev and the clashes between protesters and riot police. In this episode of\u00a0Now is the Time\u00a0I describe for you the scene as I experienced it earlier this week walking around downtown Kiev. 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