By Kees van der Knijff
We were sitting around the table with our small kids. As we are used to, at the end of dinner we were about to pray together. The kids had been exposed to rumors of war on this first day of the conflict in Ukraine. It was not difficult for them to come up with something to pray for: Ukraine. When I asked whether we should also pray for the Russians I received bewildered looks. They may have never heard of the two countries before, but that day a line had been drawn.
The next day I had a brief conversation with a colleague at ABTS. He shared how the pastors of his church had decided to call for prayer for Ukraine. He had suggested to pray for peace instead. His point was considered, but it was decided that in the current circumstances calling for prayer for Ukraine was the right thing to do. Again, a line had been drawn.
Since those first days, I have literally received hundreds of prayer requests for Ukraine in general and for specific groups or persons in Ukraine in particular. The stories they shared are often heartbreaking and without a doubt warrant urgent calls for prayer. Reading about seminaries similar to ABTS going through a severe crisis while trying to do whatever they can for suffering people around them is painful and heart-warming at the same time.
And yet even here, apparently a line has been drawn.
Amid all those prayer requests for Ukrainians, prayer requests for Russians were almost absent or thrown in as a bullet point deep down in the article. Apparently, we are supposed to pray for Ukraine and against Russia. In wartime we are prone to drawing firm and clear lines.