Recently, I shared the story about a ring we bought years ago when traveling in Russia and the former Soviet Union. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we were visiting Christians and establishing relationships with the long oppressed Church.
Jerry has worn the ring occasionally through the years, but since Russia invaded Ukraine, she is wearing it steadily. We are calling it “a ring of prayer.” Hundreds have responded to Jerry’s specific “call” to pray for a Damascus Road experience for President Putin.
As people have responded some have questioned the Scriptural foundation of this kind of praying. The simple answer is, prayer is God’s idea. Jesus was a praying person and he called us to pray. As a part of the Jewish religious framework in which he was raised, Jesus would pray a minimum of three times a day. Beyond these dedicated times, Jesus prayed to hear the Father’s voice and to intercede for others.
The Epistle to the Hebrews gives a powerful description of who Jesus is, and his call to his followers. Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (7:24-25 NIV). If Jesus “ever lives to make intercession,” then certainly the same call is upon us.
Think about it: being a part of our “ring of prayer” for President Putin is an extension of the ongoing ministry of our Risen Lord. This ministry does not belong to anyone; it belongs to God, and through God’s grace, we join in God’s grace at work. As Christians we are “joined to Christ, and we participate in all that is of Christ himself. It is called “the priesthood of all believers.”
Let’s expand the “ring of prayer.” Continue imagining what might happen if President Putin, had a “Damascus Road” experience like Paul.