We join millions across the world this day to say this prayer to our Heavenly Father, for our brothers, sisters and children in Ukraine and Tigray.
Lord we ask for peace for those who need peace, reconciliation for those who need reconciliation and comfort for all who don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Lord may your Kingdom come, and Your will be done.
Lord God, we ask for you to be with all – especially children who are suffering as the crises in Ukraine and Tigray deteriorate. Lord for those who are anxious and fearful. For those who are bereaved, injured or who have lost their lives. And for those who have lost loved ones. Lord hear our prayers.
Lord, we ask that decision-makers hear Your voice. Parents protecting their families – deciding whether to stay or leave. Religious leaders as they support and comfort people. And Lord we ask for wise actions from global leaders – who have the power not only to start wars but to stop them too.
And Father God we cry out for an end to these crises. For mercy, peace, and truth – because You are our light, hope, power, and love. Amen.
The Sad Fact
At least 12 million people have fled their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) says.
More than five million have left for neighbouring countries, while seven million people are still thought to be displaced inside Ukraine itself.
Meanwhile, Almost 50 percent of people in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region are suffering “an extreme lack of food” following 15 months of fighting, the World Food Programme (WFP) has said, also sounding the alarm about rising hunger in neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.
In Tigray, a region of some six million people that the UN says largely remains under a de facto blockade, “families are exhausting all means to feed themselves, with three-quarters of the population using extreme coping strategies to survive”, the WFP’s report said.
It warned that 83 percent of Tigrayans were food-deprived, noting increases in begging and relying on just one meal a day.
The UN says that, as of 4 July, more than 5.2 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe. More than 3.5 million have applied for temporary residence in another country:
Russia: (estimated) 1,412,425 Ukrainian refugees recorded
Poland: 1,194,642
Moldova: 82,700
Romania: 83,321
Slovakia: 79,770
Hungary: 25,800
Belarus: 9,820
Others have moved on to other countries, especially those who crossed into Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. These nations have open borders with other EU states.
The UN says there are more than 867,000 Ukrainians in Germany, almost 382,768 in the Czech Republic and 141,562 in Italy.
Some Ukrainians travelled to Russia from the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are now mostly in the hands of pro-Russian separatist forces.
President Vladimir Putin said his forces evacuated 140,000 civilians from Mariupol and insisted none of them was forced to go to Russia. However, volunteer groups say they have helped thousands of Ukrainians leave Russia.
ORIGINAL PRAYER BY WORLD VISION
NEWS SOURCE: BBC
