Happy are those who take refuge in You

With in their hearts the roads to You

They walk through a valley of aridity

It turns into oasis for them,

Rich blessing descends like rain to PS 84 verse 9

Steadfast spirit Thou keep in perfect peace,

Because they trust in You Isaiah 62 verse 3

When I found a sailboat at my disposal as a teenage boy, I found no greater pleasure in it than to fight alone with the element of wind and water in very rough weather.  I really enjoyed sailing as close to the wind as possible.  When there was a great gust of wind, it sometimes happened that my boat capsized and I had to try to get the boat back up. I had learned from another sailing friend how to do that, that you had to put the boat against the wind and that you had to stand on the ship’s leeboard and that the boat would get back up and then you could sail again.

In recent years, we have had to deal with “Heavy weather” in our European world and beyond, think for example of the Covid vicissitudes of a few years ago, the rising tensions between population groups, the war and threat of war due to the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, the migration problems. Our boat has often heeled and how often have we been on our side.  The hope for better times has been tarnished in many and fear of existence has gripped many.  Who will get our ship back on its feet?

Since February 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, we as the European prayer work of the European Evangelical Alliance have brought intercessors together monthly via zoom to stand in the gap for these countries, to pray in a non-partisan way.  We then noticed how much fear and unrest had been unleashed in Europe and how many there did not know what to do.  Fear is indeed a bad counselor, has a paralyzing effect.  Those who no longer have any perspective, become despondent and lose their resilience.

As I look back on these past stormy years in Europe, we have gone through a number of learning processes that have helped us not to give up, but to continue as intercessors for European peoples in need and threat, which I mention below.

1. The power of Bible passages such as the psalms to seek the Lord God in difficult circumstances.

Praying without biblical input and ground is like a car without fuel.  In the conditions of spiritual aridity and drought, epithets provided refreshment and encouragement to persevere in faith.  Many times we have experienced this together when we came together for prayer.  Ps 84 verse 9 is a striking example of this, The soft rain of God’s word caused a transformation to take place that was beneficial.

2. The Power of Corporate Prayer of Blessing for God’s Children on Both Sides of a Conflict Like Ukraine and Russia

Now that we had ended up in this situation of war with many victims and threats and a lot of social media unrest after a long period of relative peace in Europe, it is beneficial to discover that the Lord God does not know factions, but seeks truth in secret and assists His children in need and engages and motivates intercessors for this.  This is how we learned to pray the Lord’s Prayer in this way because God’s Kingdom wants to become visible in this way

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name;  in Ukraine and Russia

 let your kingdom come; in Ukraine and Russia,

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven in the Ukraine and Russia,

Give them this day your daily bread; in Ukraine and Russia

and forgive them, as they forgive those who are intruders against one another; in Ukraine and Russia,

and lead them not into temptation in the Ukraine and Russia,

but deliver them from evil. in Ukraine and Russia,

Out of you is the kingdom in the Ukraine and Russia,

power in Ukraine and Russia

And the glory in Ukraine and Russia,

Forever and ever in Ukraine and Russia,

Amen

3. Praying with both a historical and an eschatological perspective

In the recent period of concern and unrest about these developments in Europe, we learned to have an eye for both the historical and eschatological perspective.  In Russia and Ukraine, there has been persecution of Jews on a large scale.  That has not been without consequences.   But also the realization that we live in a time of the approaching end times with increasing hardening and conflicts is something that encouraged us as intercessors to take our mission seriously.  May God’s children be protected and preserved and that many more will hear the liberating message of the gospel and come to living faith

4. The prayer for the children, young people and refugee families, who are so rushed and weary.

One of the more striking learning processes was the continued attention to what a long-term impact this time of war, threat and unrest has on the young generations of children and teenagers and their refugee families.  The loss of good education and training, the many times of continuous, the traumas suffered, a damaged future expectation.  In Ukraine, many children have been kidnapped and taken to Russian families for re-education.  Fortunately, we also heard of successful attempts to bring back missing children.  That a war leaves its mark in many generations.  That there is good help and attention in the surrounding countries where they find shelter.

5. How in Europe there are many of the same mental processes and developments that are at play.

In our monthly prayer meetings the realization has really penetrated many European countries recently, parallel processes and developments can be observed.  We are in the same boat together and we have to deal with the same storms and threats.  I will mention the most striking examples.  The emerging Anti-Semitism  with very bad excesses. Because of it, many Jewish communities and institutions have become very difficult times of existence.  Populism is its many manifestations, but it has gained a foothold in almost all European countries.  With an appeal to Christian values such as marriage and family, people are misled and one-liners are presented as solutions.  The leaders in this movement are strongly autocratic and against European cooperation.  Radicalization within the Muslim communities  especially in the big cities, causing Ghetto-s like developments where own laws and norms apply.   Growing distrust of government agencies and managers, as a result of which there is no longer a basis for trust in society.   In Western Europe, secularization and secularization are taking hand over hand and the influence of Christian ideas is disappearing.  As intercessors, the prayer is for a spiritual revival and revival in Europe

Finally.

The image of a goldsmith who puts his raw gold ore in a crucible, subjects it to intense heat and thus liquefies the mass. The impurities come to the surface and are skimmed off. When the goldsmith is able to see the reflection of his face clearly reflected in the surface of the liquid, he takes it off the fire, for he knows that the contents are pure gold. So it is with God and us as his children.  Many of us know that in our time this purification is done on us, so that we will be all the more steadfast and hopeful because we expect it from our Lord God.   From Glory to Glory, gradually reflecting the face of our Lord.

By Robbert Jan Perk, Head of the European Evangelical Alliance Prayer Network (please link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prayernetworkHFE)