Evangelicals Now
Christian news worldwide
magnifying glass Search archives
home Home check the archives Archives Subscribe Subscriptions Advertising Information & booking of classifieds Adverts Find a local evangelical Church Find a church for the search engines and extremely curious! About us Contact us Site Map
Printable
Version

The Commentary

How to pray for Britain

Our country is now in a time of change politically. At the beginning of September the ongoing battle between Tony Blair and the chancellor Gordon Brown came to a head. The result is that Mr. Blair has promised to step down as Prime Minister within the next 12 months.

The expectation is that Gordon Brown will move into Number 10 Downing Street, but a number of prominent Labour Party voices have questioned whether he really is the man for the job. Hence, the country is entering a time of uncertainty. And, with the terrorist threat and British soldiers under pressure in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is not the best time for the Government to be in a state of flux.

But evidence of a country in confusion has been mounting anyway. The turmoil in the NHS is manifest. There is befuddlement over emigration with the announcement over the summer that the population now tops 60 million without anyone being quite sure how it happened. On one day recently, my daily newspaper told me that research has shown clearly that marriage is the best environment for bringing up children. The very next day, though the Government’s teenaged pregnancy strategy — based on sex education and the availability of contraceptives — has clearly failed, the newspaper reported that Government advisers were urging that condoms should be made freely available at sports halls, shops and swimming baths, to children as young as 12. It is bewildering. We obviously need to pray for Britain.

Arguing with God

All the great people of prayer we find in Scripture come to God with strong grounds and convincing arguments as to why he should grant their requests. But how can we plead with God for the good of our country when we have so clearly forsaken his laws and deserve his judgement? Surely he will not listen. What reasons can we possibly bring to humbly argue with the Lord that yet it would be right for him to bless us? Though we might think no such logic exists, we would be mistaken.

First, we can plead for the prospering of the gospel in our land according to the promise of God the Father to Christ. In Psalm 2 Christ is promised that the nations shall be his inheritance and that none will be able to resist his power. ‘Lord, you see how hard our land is. But you have promised that none is too hard for Christ to conquer. Fulfil your promise among us and show that even the secularised sinners of Britain can be conquered by our Saviour.’

Second, we can plead the mercy of God. Prayer is actually never heard on the terms of our deserving but always according to God’s grace. Remember the way repentant Daniel (and we need to be repentant too) prayed for Israel’s captivity in Babylon to end. ‘Give ear, O God, and hear…We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.’ If there is one thing we know, it is that Jesus is merciful.

Third, we can plead the name and glory of God. ‘O Lord, you have blessed our land in the past. For whatever reason it is still known as a Christian country. Lord, will you now let this country sink, and let other gods, which are not gods at all, take over here? O Lord, what then will that do for the name of Jesus and to your reputation?’

E.M. Bounds wrote, ‘Prayer can do anything that God can do’. God can save our nation. So pray.

John Benton