Praying for our enemies...

Yesterday, October 15, 2023, I met a Russian pastor who is a former KGB agent. I was impressed with Pastor Sasha's ministry and his conversion story. Pastor Sasha said of his story, 

Julia befriended an American girl whose father was a missionary in Moscow. Natasha became their Russian language tutor. As the head of his home and a KGB agent, Sasha felt obligated to investigate these foreigners who had made such an impact on his family. He was awestruck by the humanitarian aid distributed by their church, and he was irresistibly drawn to their joy for life, for each other, and for the Lord. Step by step, he began to realize their generosity and joy stemmed from their love for God. At first, he gave God a 50/50 chance: since no one could prove God’s existence, then no one could deny him either. Sasha stepped away from his aggressively atheistic lifestyle. 

While praying at a church retreat, he had a vision. He saw God standing on the top of a mountain. He felt he was a jar of clay. God was pouring down the pure gold of the Holy Spirit into the jar—Sasha. From that moment on, he needed no evidence for God’s existence, for he knew God in Jesus Christ. He returned home that day, and when Natasha saw him, she said, “What’s wrong with you? You are smiling!” Sasha had never smiled before. But that day, Jesus made him smile. He admitted that he had become a Christian. Natasha, in turn, confessed that she had become a Christian earlier, but she was afraid to talk about it with her husband, a KGB agent! In July 1993, Sasha was baptized and openly proclaimed his faith in Jesus Christ.

At the end of our service, I had the opportunity to ask Pastor Sasha "How can I pray for Vladimir Putin?" Pastor Sasha thought for a moment, and he said "Pray that he is filled with the Holy Spirit. You can know the Bible, however, if you don't have the Holy Spirit it's all for naught." 

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 

So I ask my readers, please pray for Pastor Sasha and also pray for Vladimir Putin that he will come to truly know Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit.