Michael Zhovnir

The time we are living in is very special. Many people agree with this statement. Some people call this time difficult, some call it complicated, and some call it last time. Anyway, everyone can agree that we’ve entered the time of special development or decline of the humanity. The 21st century brought a lot of unexpected and sudden things. It has also brought the events that made us think, and analyze ourselves and things that are around us, to determine our attitude and place in everything that is happening.

Unfortunately neither new millennium, nor new century became a time of consolidation and union. Quite the contrary, they’ve marked their beginning as of the period of a special confrontation, opposition to everybody, as the period of crisis and ruin of financial and business systems, including the crisis of relationships, trust, common understanding, as the period with lack of ideals, degraded prospects, or better to say the lack of these prospects, uncertainty and fear. In a way it is a prelude to chaos.

Thinking about this reminds me about towns Sodom and Gomorra, and Abraham talking to God, Whose angels were going to destroy those towns. When Abraham heard about this he started to worry about his relatives who lived in those towns. And he started to ask God if He would destroy those towns even if there were at least 50 righteous men. And God replied that He wouldn’t destroy the towns even if there would be just 10 righteous men. But the tragedy was that unfortunately there were not even 10 righteous men.

Prime Minister of Albania - Sali Berisha, National deputy of Ukraine Pavlo Unguryan, U.S. Representative Heath Shuler, Michael Zhovnir

On the first Thursday of February each year the National Prayer Breakfast takes place in Washington, DC. It is also called the Presidential Breakfast. This year it was already a 57th meeting like this. The peculiarity of these meetings is that the initiators of these meetings are neither churches, nor religious organizations nor a definite denomination. The initiators of these meetings are members of Senate and Congress of the USA. They are united in so called small groups where they have the opportunity to communicate with each other, to share their personal needs and to discuss the current issues. And it is really important. But more important is that senators and congressmen can read the Bible together and to pray together for each other and for the issues of the day they are confronted with and need to solve. And there is also one more interesting thing – the groups are formed not according to the party or coalition the members belong to. One group can unite democrats and republicans, representatives of different denominations and even of different religious groups at the same time. For example, Christians and Jews, Catholics and Orthodox, and even the people that don’t belong to any religion.

U.S. Representative Heath Shuler, Michael Zhovnir, Nikol Davis Shuler

What does unite these people, who have the authority, the responsibility and high position? It is surprising to Ukrainian, and not only Ukrainian, politics, businessmen and just successful people. The name of Jesus unites them, the Jesus from Nazareth, the One the Bible is talking about. For some people Jesus was just a Good Teacher, prophet or a good man, and for some people He was the Son of the Living God, Messiah. And now, twenty centuries after, in one of the developed world’s countries, in one of the richest and strongest country of the world, Jesus is the One who can unite people, who can ruin the walls of estrangement, distrust, hostility and enmity.

Yes, for some participants of these meetings He is just a Great Teacher, or just a Great Prophet. And it is true. Was Jesus the Greatest Teacher? Yes, He was! He is the Greatest Teacher of all times and of all nations. Was Jesus a Prophet? He was not just a prophet. He was one of the Greatest Prophets. He was and He is a Son of the Living God. But as it was at that time, it is so today. Our Heavenly Father reveals it to those who are ready to listen to Him and to accept Him by faith.

This Jesus unites people of different countries and nations, different cultures and traditions.

As it was said at the beginning, on the first Thursday of February each year at the Washington Hilton Hotel a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners that are called the National Prayer Breakfast take place. Leaders of many countries, parliament representatives and governmental delegations from more than 180 countries take part in this event.

Ukrainian delegation meets with U.S. Representative Joseph R. Pitts

This year on February 4th, a large international lunch was organized for governmental and parliament delegations and also diplomatic representatives in the USA. The Senate and Congress members, well-known public and political men also took part in it. It was a great privilege for me for the fifth time to coordinate and to introduce Ukrainian governmental and parliament delegation that took part in the meetings in the context of the National Prayer Breakfast. Besides, that day Ukrainian parliamentarians had the opportunity to have a number of meetings with their colleagues from US Senate and Congress. One of the meetings was with a congressman Joseph R. Pitts in the House of Congress. He shared with Ukrainian colleagues what place does prayer in small groups has in his life, and how it helps to overcome the difficulties and disagreements, and not to bring them into personal relations.

On Thursday, February 5th, 7:30 a.m. the National Prayer Breakfast took place.

Around 4 000 people were present at this event, including the US President Barak Obama, First Lady Michele Obama, former Prime-Minister of the UK Tony Blair, Prime-Minister of Albania, Prime-Minister of South Korea and many others. The main speaker at the Breakfast was Tony Blair. He shared how Christ influenced his personal life, and how it is important to trust the One, Who gives strength and wisdom, especially in this unstable time.

Address from President Barack Obama

US President Barak Obama in his speech shared that his way to Christ wasn’t easy. His father was a Moslem and his mother denied any religion. His wife’s parents had Baptist and Methodist background… But when he came to Christ his life changed. It was very important to hear a declaration like this from a man, whom many representatives of liberalism pin their hopes on. And may be that’s why just in a few hours Obama was criticized by media for that openness. In the conclusion Barak Obama asked to pray about the world and that God would give wisdom in this difficult time to do right and would help to make the right decisions.

It is true, that if a Parliament, a President and many public agents have not only political programs, and their personal visions and concepts, and don’t hold their own grounds but communicate with each other around the name of Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit can make incredible things. And everything will change then.

I know, that skeptics will say that it’s naïve and foolish, and that it’s just for babes in the wood. But just this simplicity can lead to the greatest changes not only in souls, families but also in the country and in the world.

An interesting remark was made by a representative of Russian delegation. He said: “We had difficult intergovernmental negotiations for three days, but have got an insignificant result. And here, in a friendly atmosphere everything seems simple and everyone understands each other and to reach common consensus is a lot easier”. And this is true. Jesus Christ can transform the energy of confrontation into the power of mutual understanding and respect. And He can do much more than that. He gives eternal hope.

Michael Zhovnir, 79th United States Attorney General John David Ashcroft, National deputy Michael Sokolov with his wife Eugenia

In the context of the National Prayer breakfast there was an opportunity to meet with many interesting people, like Tony Blair, former Attorney-General of the USA John Ashcroft, Dick Foss and Michael Kicklinger – the founder of the Mason University in Washington, European Parliament representative Paul Petri, and Congressman Joseph Pitts, and many others. It was a great pleasure to hear them wishing Ukrainian nation and especially young people not to lose hope and to look at Jesus Christ.

Michael Zhovnir and Prime minister of South Korea Hun Seung Soo

On Friday, February 6, in the morning the 3rd Ukrainian Breakfast took place at the Washington Hilton Hotel. About 40 people attended this event, including ambassador of Ukraine in the USA Oleg Shamshur, Doug Coe, one of the founders of the National Prayer Breakfast, Dough Burly, Congressman Jim Slatary, European Parliament member Paul Petri, Ukrainian deputies Mikhail Sokolov, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, Leonid Kozhara, Victor Shvec, Pavel Unguryan and Yuri Artemenko. The speakers emphasized the importance of extending relations and concentration of attention on the things that can really unite. At the end of the meeting deputy Pavel Unguryan prayed that God would bless Ukraine and that meetings like these could become a part of life of Ukrainian Parliament for the unification and spiritual consolidation of Ukrainian politicians and of all Ukrainian society.

Team from Alpha and Omega

This event became a special blessing for the Youth Christian Centre “Alpha & Omega”. For the first time the students, members of the “Alpha & Omega” were given the opportunity to attend the National Prayer Breakfast as volunteers. It is really precious and unforgettable experience.

Let’s get back to the beginning of this article, when I talked about the question of Abraham to God if He wouldn’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there were at least 10 righteous men. So may be that’s why God blessed America because many people who are in power in this large country trust the Living God and try to build personal relations with Him through prayer and fellowship around His Word. Only God can bring to unity the opponents like republicans and democrats. He can also change a situation of complete disorientation and confrontation in Ukrainian society and bring us to mutual respect, honest attitude to our civic and public duty, to high spiritual standards. And the Ukrainian society would be able to rise from the knees of humiliation, discords, dissension, mutual disparagement and economic instability, when bends its knees before the Living and True God.

Michael Zhovnir

President of ICSS “Alpha & Omega”,

Head and Co-founder of the Ukrainian Breakfast in the context of the National Prayer Breakfast in the USA