Originally published in Faithwire
In the days leading up to what is unfolding in Ukraine, Christians and Jews came together in prayer.
Anatoliy Raychynets of the Ukrainian Bible Society posted photos earlier this month of Jewish and Christian leaders in Ukraine joining together in prayer. The gathering — an “appeal to the Almighty for the protection of Ukraine” — took place in St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, he wrote.
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Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, the chief rabbi of Kyiv, reportedly invited Christian leaders to join the Jewish community in praying Psalm 31, a hymn of protection, over the evolving situation in Ukraine, according to Eternity News.
“For me, as a pastor, that Psalm … well, I read it differently now, because it’s about our current situation in Ukraine,” the faith-based outlet quoted Raychynets as saying. “This ancient prayer — written several thousand years ago — now we see is so alive, is living.”
He also purportedly offered insight into what Christians and Jews are praying for amid the tension between Ukraine and Russia, which violently invaded the small European nation in the wee hours of the morning Thursday: “[W]hen people come to us asking questions, we pray together. We encourage them to stand for peace and to pray for peace. We don’t pray for victory over our enemy. We pray that the diplomacy of Ukraine and the whole world will bring a solution. We pray that God’s miracle happens because we know that it must be a miracle to stop this. So we read the Bible with people and pray.”
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Raychynets told Eternity News he and other believers are looking to John 1:5 — “That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it” — for hope (CSB).
Christians in Ukraine and around the world are turning to prayer in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, an unprovoked attack the government in Kyiv says has already resulted in casualties.
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