He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth – Psalm 76.12
From Dave Atkinson
If you are like me, you desperately want to pray about the Russian invasion of Ukraine but you struggle to know what to pray. So, when we feel this way, it is a great reassurance that Romans 8.27 tells us that God’s Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
But I have also been reminded, during this time, how valuable the Psalms are in helping us to find the words we’ve been searching for. But not just the words. The Psalms also provide us with the confidence to pray more vigorously, more directly than perhaps we would normally.
Just a few days ago, my daily readings included Psalm 76 – a Psalm that celebrates God’s sovereignty and protection. As I read the last verse, verse 12 above, I knew immediately that I should pray that God would break the spirit of Vladimir Putin.
In sharing this with someone, they said that they too had been helped to pray about Ukraine after reading Psalm 64.
And, just a couple of days earlier, I had seen the moving video produced by Bible Society of Ukrainians taking comfort by praying using the words of Psalm 31 – including verse 21, “Praise be to the LORD, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege.”
If you asked me to share my top ten Psalms, I wouldn’t have mentioned any of these. But God, in his perfect wisdom, has used the invasion of Ukraine to bring these to the forefront.
So, if you are struggling to know what to pray about Ukraine, I would encourage you to read these and other Psalms that you may not be familiar with, or have recently overlooked.
Yes ! I read Psalm 125 this morning and dedicated V2 to the situation…..The spectre of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous…….
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Thank you Dave. These 3 psalms are very useful for our prayers. We need the might of God to stop the atrocities in Ukraine. The old testament is full of accounts of the weak and oppressed being victorious over the stronger force and the proud tyrants brought low. We know that Jesus has the victory over evil and must pray in confidence for an end of the hostilities and the removal of Putin.
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