He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1,2 ESV)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is almost two weeks old now. An increasing flow of reports from inside the country combine great answers to prayer with specific prayer strategies moving forward as the situation rapidly changes.

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Make sure you check IFApray.org every day for updates from Intercessors for Ukraine!

Before we turn our attention to the most recent developments and prayer needs, let us give thanks to the Lord for answers to some very specific prayers. Some of these come from Arise:life, a U.S.-based ministry which gleans them from their network of pastors in Ukraine. The most recent came from their Sunday morning update by Lead Pastor Peter Oswalt. I share them with a disclaimer: The draw-back of insider reports is that they are often difficult to verify, so to a degree we’ll have to take their word for it.

• Relatively limited loss of life despite heavy shelling and targeting of the civilian population.
• Russian progress to encircle Odessa and Kyiv has stalled, with heavy loss of life on the part of the Russians and many soldiers laying down arms and surrendering.
• Several pastors have reported on Ukrainian soldiers telling them that they were saved by “supernatural things” happening at night, and projectiles missing them.
• God is protecting civilians amid heavy shelling. The death toll is in the hundreds but could be much worse.
• President Zelensky has survived at least three assassination attempts and continues to speak with great clarity about the moral issues of this war. According to Oswalt, people inside Russia’s security service, the FSB, are providing intel to the Ukrainians about these attempts. This has also been mentioned in an article by BPR.
• Ukrainian civilians are boldly rising up in protest against the Russian military. Newsweek reports that in newly occupied Kherkov, Ukrainians took to the streets in huge numbers. Other news reports show civilians blocking Russian convoys.
• Belarus soldiers are refusing to advance to the border and participate in the invasion.
• Inside Russia, protests against the invasion are increasing, despite a tough law being passed last Friday threatening those who speak out against the government with up to 15 years in prison. The powerful Russian oligarchy is turning against Putin. The most pro-Putin of them, Roman Abramovich, has reportedly responded to a request by Ukrainian officials and become involved in brokering a ceasefire.
• According to the Arise:life update, the Ukrainian churches are unified and resolved in providing as much aid as possible to refugees and victims of the war, while reaching out to Russian soldiers with love as much as they have the opportunity. God’s light is shining brightly through them!

There is much to be thankful for, as the awareness of the spiritual battle behind the war is increasing and we see God’s hand at work in miraculous ways. May it encourage us to keep praying from a place of worship, hope, and deep faith that what Satan meant for evil, God is turning to good, a sentiment that was shared by several pastors in their social media posts.

Don’t let up praying because there is much that needs our sustaining intercession! Despite the stalled progress and the miraculous things witnessed in some areas, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ukraine, as well as in Russia.

In the encircled city of Mariupol, some 430,000 citizens are trapped. Although a ceasefire had been agreed upon to allow them to evacuate, Russian troops resumed shelling. Russia did offer “humanitarian safety corridors,” but only if they flee to either Belarus or Russia. That was, of course, rejected because it would have meant almost certain imprisonment.

Meanwhile, a report by the United Nations cited in the Dutch news site nu.nl estimates the number of Ukrainians fleeing the war at 1.5 million, with the majority heading into Poland. This makes it the largest refugee crisis since WWII. FIRE missionary Amanda Yesimova describes in her latest video update on Facebook how she and a group of other women and children from their center in Krivoy Rog were evacuated to Poland, and what that journey was like. Their husbands are staying behind to continue serving the community.

Some refugees are running into difficulties getting out of Ukraine. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Ukrainian nationals receive preferential treatment at the border, and foreign nationals, especially from Africa and Asia, are being forced off the outbound trains by Ukrainian police. And while many Ukrainian refugees are welcomed warmly, there are also reports of human traffickers trying to profit from them.

Not only Ukrainians are fleeing the war. According to a report by the BBC, a growing number of Russians are fleeing their home country, especially to Finland, in fear of increasing repression by the Putin regime. A woman interviewed at the border crossing summarized the sentiment of many of her fellow refugees, “This is Putin’s war, not ours.”

In light of these developments and needs, join me in these prayer requests, some of which were lifted from the Sunday morning video update by Peter Oswalt:

Prayer For Ukraine:

• Pray for the attempts to encircle Odessa and Kyiv to fail and the Russian progress to keep stalling.
• Pray for the weather to keep cooperating in hindering Russian progress and preventing a planned landing in Odessa.
• Pray for more Russian soldiers to come in contact with the love of Ukrainians and hear the gospel.
• Pray for the people in Mariupol to have courage, to receive food, and other basic needs, or to be allowed out to countries of their choice.
• Pray for God’s provision and empowerment of Ukrainian churches to receive humanitarian aid, distribute it resourcefully, and minister God’s love to the civilian victims of the invasion.
• Pray for the outpouring of aid from around the world to come into the right hands and be protected against black market profiteers or others who would prevent it from reaching their intended recipients.
• Pray that Ukrainian churches continue to courageously serve, pray, and model faith and peace in the midst of panic and despair.
• Pray that the resolve of Ukrainian leadership to stand and fight will lead them to God, and to a purging of corruption which for so many years has been an Achilles’ heel to the country.

Prayer For Refugees:

• Pray for the Church in neighboring countries to rise up, minister with love, and effectively receive and distribute aid, and for spiritual revival to sweep over the refugees.
• Pray for families to be able to stay together.
• Pray for the discrimination against non-Ukrainians, especially people of color, at the border to end.
• Pray for protection of vulnerable women and children against sex traffickers.

Prayer For Russia:

• Pray for accurate reporting to filter through government censure and propaganda and reach the Russian people, and for truth to bring clarity amid the confusion.
• Pray for the Church in Russia to rise up in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Ukraine, to unite in prayer, and provide hope and peace to the Russian people as economic suffering sets in.
• Pray for the fear of increased repression and a return to a new Soviet era to cause many to trust in Jesus and turn to Him for hope and freedom.
• Pray for a peaceful overthrow of Putin and Lukashenko (in Belarus) as they are becoming more isolated and may lead their nation into a hermit situation like North Korea.

Pray all these things in the knowledge that God is executing His plans in the midst of this crisis. Several prophecies have surfaced, some from as far back as 8 years ago, that He was going to cause a spiritual revival to come out of Ukraine through a major crisis involving Russia. Where we see Satan’s hand in spreading lies, fear, and panic, we pray for truth and light to prevail among both the Ukrainian and Russian people, and for God’s Kingdom to advance in the hearts of many. We are beginning to see that happening, and that gives us hope for a great revival.

How are you continuing to lift up the Ukrainian and Russian people in prayer?

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years’ experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the US. Born and raised in the Netherlands and pastoring his first church in Amsterdam, he moved to the US in 1986. He and his wife Jennifer currently live north of Atlanta, GA. When not writing books, he blogs and assists his wife as content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash