In a surprise announcement at the European Congress on Evangelism Tuesday evening, evangelist Franklin Graham revealed he had met earlier that day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pray for peace amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, urging delegates to join him in interceding for an end to the conflict.
Graham took the stage to share news of the meeting and led delegates in a time of prayer for an end to the war. The congress, hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which he heads, is gathering this week in Berlin to focus on proclamation evangelism, drawing 1,000 evangelical leaders from 56 countries.
“I thought I would just say a word about Europe,” Graham told delegates. ”We see war again on this continent. And I have had the opportunity in the past of meeting [Russian] President Putin and sharing with him what we as Evangelicals believe.
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“Now, when I said that to him, he kind of listened very politely, but maybe it was the first time he understood. He was probably thinking this is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t know.”
Graham disclosed that BGEA had written to both Zelensky and Putin about the war, and encouraging prayer for peace.
“Today, I had the privilege to meet with President Zelensky,” said Graham. “And I prayed with him that God will give them wisdom and that God will give them a path forward for peace.”
The “complications” in Ukraine and Russia were deemed “very difficult” by Graham, who pointed out that “only God can solve this.” Then he called upon the delegates to pray aloud about the situation.
“I think the most important thing maybe we can do for the next few minutes is to pray, and to pray for Ukraine, to pray for Russia, for the leaders of these countries and for the president of my country (U.S.), President Trump, that God will give a way forward.
“As God leads us, pray out loud for the leaders with heavy hearts as we think about fighting in the war and the people that have been killed, the families that are hurting, have lost loved ones.”
Delegates at the Berlin Congress then raised their voices for several minutes, interceding for the war to end. Graham closed the announcement and prayer call with his own closing prayer.
“Father, we pray tonight for President Putin,” he prayed. “And Father, we pray that you would give him wisdom, that you would work in his heart, and that he would desire to have peace.
“And Father, we pray for President Zelensky, that you would work in his heart, And that desire for peace would be in his heart as well.
“And Father, we pray that you would give them a path. A path that would allow them to move forward.
“Father, we believe you’re the only one who can do this.
“We pray for President Trump. Give him wisdom as to what to do and what to say and how he can use his office to bring peace to this part of the world or to help bring it.
“So, Father, none of this can happen without you. We’ve got to have your help. That you would guide and direct. You can open doors and you can close doors.
“So, God, we thank you and we praise you. So tonight, Father, we give you the glory. And we pray all of this in the name of your son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
The announcement of Graham meeting Zelensky follows a press conference on Tuesday at which Christian Daily International/Christian Post asked the evangelist if he had a particular message of encouragement for European Evangelicals feeling affected by the war in Ukraine and the sense of fear on the continent with governments ordering families to prepare food rations in case a wider conflict happens.
“Prayer is the most important thing we can do,” responded Franklin Graham at the time, “and that is to pray for President Putin, President Zelensky, and the leaders in both countries that God would work in their hearts to find a solution to this war.
“Thousands upon thousands of people have been killed. No one even actually knows the numbers, but we know it’s horrific. And it needs to come to an end. We need to pray for those, but we also need to pray for President Trump, who’s trying to help mediate it. You know, try to get them started at least talking to one another, and that’s so important to talk.
“And so pray that God would somehow touch the hearts of these men and bring them to a point of reconciliation. And at least where the killing would stop, and they could negotiate instead of trying to blow each other up. And that’s what I would encourage the church to do.”
This article was originally published by Christian Daily International.
Christian Daily International provides biblical, factual and personal news, stories and perspectives from every region, focusing on religious freedom, holistic mission and other issues relevant for the global Church today.
