Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6:10 KJV)

We can understand Jesus’s teaching on prayer above to include a calling forth of the Purpose of God from the unseen realm into the seen realm. “Come, Kingdom of God! Be done, Will of God, in earth as in Heaven!” Sadly, too many Christians are praying, “MY agenda come; MY Will be done.” There is no time in my years upon the earth that this has been more obvious to me than right now, when we consider the geopolitical events transpiring across the globe. Since armed conflict began between Russia and Ukraine, some Western Christians have jumped in with both feet, praying out of their “souls” in a knee-jerk, emotionally fueled reaction to what they have been told from a totally corrupt media conglomerate.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24 KJV)

Too many precious believers order their prayer lives merely according to the “seeing of the eye,” or the “hearing of the ear,” rather than praying in the Holy Ghost until they get “in the Spirit,” and their heart begins to beat with the Heartbeat of God. Do not merely pray according to what you “like” or what you “think” or what you “wish” would happen. I am convinced that some believers actually pray contrary to God’s Purpose because they are motivated merely by what they perceive with their five senses.

Please understand that I have not “taken sides” in this European conflict, and at this point, it is my opinion and hope that the USA should stay out of it militarily. There are Born Again believers in Russia. There are Born Again believers in Ukraine. And from reports I have seen, Russian and Ukrainian Christians are meeting together for times of worship and intercession. It is primarily for them that I pray, because I have solid Biblical ground as to how to pray generally for other members of the Body of Christ. But so far as who the “good guys” are, if indeed there are any “good guys” in the governmental structure of either nation, I would not speculate beyond what the Lord might reveal. I encourage you to not allow any of the major “news” outlets (be they “left” or “right”) to set the tone for your praying. Rather, get in the Spirit. Pray in the Holy Ghost for those situations that you do not really understand fully with your natural mind. Realize that, as Pastor John Spann pointed out that the Lord recently spoke to him, “All is not as it seems.” Don’t simply pray “knee-jerk” reactive prayers to make yourself “feel better!” And don’t allow your own preconceptions and prejudices regarding either Putin or Zelenskyy to affect the way you pray. When we don’t truly know WHAT to pray for, there is a realm of spiritual prayer where the Holy Ghost takes hold with us against our inability (Rom. 8:26), empowering and enabling us to pray “according to God.”

I have read reports that Putin is a devout Orthodox believer who sees his actions as a type of divine mandate to counter the decadent and degenerate influences of the West that seem to be so prevalent in Ukraine. Yet I seem to remember another European fuhrer opining in the 1930’s that his actions were intended to counter decadent influences in the Fatherland. And we, along with six million Jews, know how that turned out. I am making no claims, just asking the question, “Could history be repeating itself?” On the flip side, I also know that Ukraine has been one of the more corrupt nations on the earth, and that it is a major hub for human trafficking. However, I can’t help but think that Russia calling Ukraine “corrupt” is like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

There is no way, apart from God revealing it, that I or anyone else could judge the sincerity of faith that resides in Putin’s heart. That is between him and God alone. Neither do I know the condition of Zelenskyy’s heart. I encourage you to not pray beyond what you actually know, either from Scripture or by revelation from the Holy Ghost. Times like these are one of many reasons that I am so very thankful for prayer in other tongues, that bypasses the limitations of my human intellect, allowing me to both pray INTO and to pray OUT FROM the Kingdom Purpose of God!

Although there is MUCH about these events that I do not know, here are some things that I DO know:

1. God’s declared Will is that His people live quiet and peaceable lives in all Godliness and honesty (I Tim. 2:2).
2. It is God’s declared Will that judgment BEGIN at the House of God (I Pet. 4:17). WE as the Body of Christ MUST repent for becoming comfortable and complacent in the Blessings that God has so lavishly bestowed. WE must repent for ALL compromise with “world culture.” WE must repent for clinging to ANY “identity” other than our identity IN CHRIST!
3. God has often throughout the pages of the Bible allowed one nation to execute judgment upon another. And the nation that He allowed to be an instrument of judgment was not always a more godly or righteous nation than the one being judged. Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Greece, and Rome were all barbaric and pagan empires. Yet they were allowed to chastise Israel as the result of Israel’s wickedness and rebellion.
4. Regardless of where one might stand doctrinally on the precise timing of Jesus’s return to Earth, there is NO Scripture ANYWHERE that guarantees that American Christians (simply because we are Americans) will be “raptured out” before we face seriously challenging days in this nation! We should never arrogantly believe that what has happened elsewhere could never possibly happen here. Yes, the “remnant” can pray and hold some things back for a season through intercession. But there comes a point where, unless there is genuine widespread repentance in the Body of Christ, the Law of Sowing and Reaping will come into effect. We have already seen the beginnings. It’s not too late, but WE must repent and pray and cast ourselves upon the Tender Mercies of God!
5. Historically, some of the most aggressive persecution faced by Pentecostals in BOTH Russia and Ukraine has been at the hands of the Orthodox religious establishment. This I know from the testimonies of eye witnesses with whom I am personally acquainted. Some have alleged that it was only because of corrupt bishops who were in bed with the communist party, and that the situation has been alleviated somewhat. We shall see.

The remnant “ekklesia” is indeed to pray governmental decrees from Heaven into the Earth. But we cannot merely pray out our own agendas. We MUST get into the Spirit, and discern, pray out, and proclaim the Kingdom Purpose of God, declaring only what we hear the Father say, and acting only in accord with what we see the Father do. Be Blessed!