Prayer is powerful but there’s nothing like an artillery explosion for punctuation as an amen.
Sirens
Sirens and shelling are the norm in Ukraine.
You hear the sound of sirens most often between 12am and 5am, however with Russia recently upping the frequency of attacks, anytime, anywhere is new the reality. I walked to church in Poltava to the sound of sirens, went to bed in Krivvy Rog with the sound of sirens, and delivered humanitarian aid in Kupiansk to the sound of artillery explosions.
On April 18th, Russia attacked the city of Dnipro, hitting the city centre. A residential building and two infrastructure facilities of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukraine’s state-owned railway company) were damaged. Two people were killed, and 20 were injured. Fourteen hours earlier we were driving in front of the attack zone.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Ukrainians are all too familiar with weaponry, made in Russia and supplied by their allies, Iran and North Korea:
TU-95s MIG-31Ks, Tu-22M3 bombers.
Russian-made Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Shahed Iranian drones.
North Korean-made Hwasong-11As.
Ukrainians have apps on their smartphones that warn them of attacks, what kinds of missiles and drones are coming their way and the expected time of impact. Sadly, Ukrainian air defence cannot protect citizens from all the rockets.
Rocket warning on my phone as we travelled into Kupiansk.
The puff of white smoke is what used to be a Russian drone. It was shot down near the village where my friends work.
My friends tell me that Drones sound like a motorcycle. As drones are shot down, locals head out to salvage any metal scattered across the fields. One time, four men were killed when the munition on a downed drone exploded as they attempted to salvage it.
One leader told me his story of seeing a rocket streak across the sky near his residence. The experience was intense and his reaction, severe. The trauma paralyzed his left arm for two days.
Prayer
To unify pastors and congregations in prayer against these relentless attacks, we suggested that 16:13 would be a good time to kneel in prayer in order to stand firm with courage. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” So we all set our alarms for 4:13pm Ukraine time to stop what we were doing and kneel and pray for Ukraine.
Ed Dickson, Pastor Vadim Ignatenko, Sergei and myself had just delivered food aid near the frontlines and our alarms went off. It was 4:13. We stopped the car, got out and knelt in prayer. On the amen, a huge artillery explosion rocked the area as a punctuation mark to our prayers. That was a close one.
The expression on Ed’s face says it all.
In Alberta, prayer time for Ukraine is 7:13am, and in Ontario it’s 9:13am.
Set your alarm. Pray for the protection and the victory of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s help is in the name of the Lord.
Please join the conversation and let us know you will be praying. Share this post with your friends. Thank you.
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