Like so many in the world, I was totally appalled the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Russia had to be stopped! So many people were hurting, so many civilians were dying!

I wanted to do something. Oh, I had faith that God was in control, but the the book of James teaches us that faith without works is dead (See James 2:17). “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:14-16 NIV). I certainly didn’t want my faith to be dead! Dead faith doesn’t move Russian army “mountains”! As a result, I wanted to do something. But what was I, a Belgian born Canadian residing in Canada’s biggest province, supposed to do? I could yell all I wanted. I could jump up and down and wave my hands. I could stomp my feet. I could protest, I could write articles, etc., but none of that would ever make one iota of a difference.

No, none of these things would make any difference. In fact, there was only one thing I could do that would make any difference at all: I could pray!

And I did. And as such, my faith wasn’t dead at all. It was alive and well, because it was accompanied by the works of my prayer!

My wife and I organized group fasting and prayer, we fasted and prayed ourselves, day and night we pleaded with God to intercede on behalf of the Ukrainian people. We prayed for God to intervene and stop the war. We prayed for God to protect the Ukrainian people. We prayed for God to give world leaders wisdom. We prayed for humanitarian aid for the many displaced refugees. We prayed for love and peace and forgiveness and reconcilliation. And as we prayed, we began to feel an affiliation with the people of Ukraine.

That one act made a world of a difference.

First of all, we felt empowered. When we prayed, we knew that we were wearing Jesus’ righteousness. We didn’t earn it or deserve it, but we had it nonetheless. As a result, we, ourselves, were considered righteous, and what does the Bible say about the prayers of the righteous? “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16 NIV). What a blessing it was to be able to do something!

Secondly, prayer was really what was needed. For reasons that I don’t understand, God has set up the universe in such a manner that our prayers are required for Him to unleash His power. Thus, the more we prayed, the more of God’s power could be unleashed!

And thirdly, prayer helped us to understand things from God’s perspective. For example, we couldn’t understand why God didn’t just stop Putin and his advisors. It was during prayer that God revealed His love for Putin. I’ll admit, it took me by surprise. I mean, how could God love someone responsible for so many civilian deaths? But wait. God loves … me! No, I didn’t start a war and I’m not responsible for anyone’s death, civilian or otherwise; but any and all unforgiven sin keeps us from Heaven, and God bent over backwards for years just trying to save me… God loves the sinner! “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31b-32 NIV). No matter how hardened, no matter how unrepentant! He loves sinners! And He loved Putin, and was doing everything short of taking away Putin’s power of choice to get him saved. After that realization, my prayers changed from, “Lord, STOP HIM!” to “Lord, work on his heart! Bring him to his knees in repentance before you until he admits his sins, confesses, and accepts Your gift of salvation!”

What major “battle” has just entered your life, leaving you completely helpless and distraught? Why not apply the prayer fix? It’s the best thing out there!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries