Urgent appeal from Ukrainian Christians: 'Please keep praying'

Around 7 AM on March 2, a handful of people gathered in Freedom Square in the heart of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. They knelt on the cold ground to pray for peace — just as they have done every day since the war in Ukraine began.

Less than an hour later, a deadly rocket hit that same square.  

I’m humbled by the faith of these Ukrainian Christians who risked their lives to pray together. I try to imagine what it would be like for my own city of Philadelphia to be under siege: tanks rolling down Broad Street; apartment complexes in Old City gutted by missiles; children falling asleep in our subway stations to the wail of air raid sirens.

Would I dare to pray out in the open?

One local pastor reports he has been coming to the square in Kharkiv since the prayer group began. “I believe that common prayer is the most powerful weapon,” he told one of our colleagues from the Ukrainian Bible Society.

Prayer is our weapon. But it is not a weapon that kills and destroys. Instead, it is a weapon against fear, despair, and darkness. It is a weapon that the Ukrainian church has wielded with great faith as they serve their people. And it is a weapon that Christians around the world can take up as we support our brothers and sisters.

Over the past week, our staff at American Bible Society have received daily updates from our colleagues at Ukrainian Bible Society. Most are brief, containing only a few sentences. Situations change dramatically by the day, but one message is repeated: Thank you for praying for us yesterday; please pray for us today! Each day, I look for that update — and I thank God that our dear friends and their families survived another night and are continuing their powerful ministry.

The stories are harrowing. In southern Ukraine, where the fighting is fierce, local Bible Society staff risk their lives to visit bomb shelters with Scriptures and sustenance, seeking to encourage people trapped in the conflict. And in Kharkiv, one staff member solemnly reported that the school he and his children had attended was destroyed by shelling. Although lives will always be more valuable than buildings, it’s hard to measure the impact of seeing a place filled with memories laid to waste.

For many Americans, these horrific images are new. But our Ukrainian brothers and sisters have lived with this conflict for nearly a decade, losing loved ones and facing grieving without end.

Now the war is escalating — destroying people’s homes, forcing them to flee, and stealing their hope. Our Bible Society colleagues have found themselves responding to more than just the overwhelming plea for Scripture. The need for food, shelter, and medicine is dire, especially in besieged cities. Staff and volunteers travel around cities like Kyiv, bringing food, water, and Bibles to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Churches in western Ukraine shelter refugees fleeing from the war. And the Bible Society has launched a plan to print and distribute more than 50,000 Bibles plus other Scripture resources to Ukrainians and are asking American Christians to support them as able.

Amid all these needs and efforts, our brothers and sisters ask for one thing above all else: prayer.

In our culture, prayer has become little more than a hashtag — an expression of sympathy during a crisis. But the Christians praying in the square in Kharkiv show us that prayer is more than that. Prayer is not an afterthought. And prayer is not always safe. Sometimes prayer is getting on your knees in a public square in the middle of war, knowing that at any moment, another rocket could hit. Prayer is the church’s weapon of peace and hope against the present darkness we see in our world (Ephesians 6:12).

As our attention is focused on an endless flood of devastating news from Ukraine, I am asking God to help me pray constantly, specifically, and boldly for the requests our Bible Society colleagues have shared. I invite you to pray with me:

Pray for the Ukrainian and Russian soldiers caught in deadly conflict. Pray that these men and women would experience God’s saving grace through the Bible. Pray for the families of soldiers and civilians killed in this war as they grieve on both sides of the border. Pray for an end to this war.

Pray for the hundreds of thousands of people walking long distances to reach safety. Pray that God would preserve them through hypothermia, illness, and hunger. Pray that God would protect all refugees fleeing Ukraine from discrimination at the borders. Pray that churches in Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary, and other countries would lead their nations in welcoming the stranger and serving the oppressed.

Pray for vulnerable people left behind: orphans, widows, people with disabilities, the elderly. Just a few days ago, our Bible Society colleagues delivered food, medicine, and children’s Bibles to an orphanage in Kyiv. There were a few women who stayed with the children, prepared to sacrifice their lives for these little ones. At the sight of the desperately needed supplies, these brave women broke down in tears. Pray for these women and children, that God would be their protector, and that no harm would come to them.

Pray for the Ukrainian church as it seeks to reach people with God’s Word, even across borders. Ukrainian Bible Society is working with other Bible Societies in Europe to make Bibles available to Ukrainian refugees sheltering in their countries. Pray for Ukrainian Christians who are ministering to their fellow refugees. Leaders are providing spiritual first aid through Bible-based trauma healing resources — helping others begin to heal even as they grapple with their own grief and loss. Pray for hearts burdened with pain and despair to find hope in God’s Word.

Pray for the Russian church as those who call for peace face harsh punishments. Pray for ongoing unity and cooperation between churches in Russia, Ukraine, and neighboring nations as they respond to this crisis together.

Whether we pray in public squares or in homes and churches far from the war in Ukraine, God promises to hear and answer us. He is a fortress beyond bomb shelters or anti-aircraft weapons. So, in basements, metro stations, and refugee camps, Ukrainian Christians keep praying, claiming God as their refuge with the words of Psalm 31: “I come to you, LORD, for protection; never let me be defeated. You are a righteous God; save me, I pray! Hear me! Save me now! Be my refuge to protect me; my defense to save me.” (1–2, GNT).

Will you get on your knees with me and join them today?