For 4 years from 2010 – 2013 churches throughout Scotland and from many different backgrounds took part in The StAnd – praying for the nation in a whole variety of ways on 30 November - St Andrew’s Day – on whichever day in the week that fell. This included large multi-church gatherings initially in Edinburgh and then in Glasgow.
This didn’t happen in 2014, mainly because of the prayer focus on the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow that summer and the Independence Referendum that September and its aftermath. In 2015 and 2016 the focus was on the UK and Scottish Parliament elections and then the ‘Brexit’ Referendum – we seemed to be in a constant season of elections and referendums!
In 2018, as we enter the final phase of the Brexit negotiations with all the challenges and uncertainties swirling around this crucial time, there is a growing sense that once God’s people need to come together in prayer for the nation on St Andrew’s Day – Friday 30th November.
The publicity is spreading, church leaders are giving their support, and churches are starting to respond and decide how they will take part. There is no set programme for the day – we are simply asking churches in every community to be involved in some way, in the same way they took part in the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ day of prayer just before the 2014 Referendum:
Individuals and groups of friends praying in homes.
Churches opening for parts of the day for anyone to come in and pray – at the start of the day before work, for the morning, over lunch and for the afternoon.
Churches in a community sharing the day with at least one open each hour in a ‘rota’ so that there is somewhere folk can join others in prayer at any time.
Evening praise and prayer events – ideally with several churches in a community coming together.
2018 is a year when the Church in Scotland, to an extent not experienced for many years, has started to respond to the prayer of Jesus in John 17….’that they would be one as we are one’… Over 200 churches supported the Central Scotland Celebration of Hope in the Falkirk Stadium in June. Between 15 and 25 churches in each city worked together to take the Gospel onto the streets of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh as The Turning – Scotland was launched in August missions. In both cases God’s favour and blessing was experienced (Ps 133) – and there was a harvest!
The Church is at its most powerful and effective when we unite in common purpose, whether that be through serving our communities through Foodbanks or Street Pastors, or in intercession for the nation. The Church – the family of God in the town, in the city - can bring change. We can’t do this on our own – we need each other!
At Pray for Scotland, our prayer is that God’s people will gather in every community on 30 November, united ‘As One!’ in prayer for every aspect of our nation – but especially for a fresh outpouring of God’s glory and power, pouring His light into the darkness and transforming our communities.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” [2 Chron 7:14]
To build up a picture of what’s happening during the day – please do email us with your church’s plans at admin@prayforscotland or add the details to our Facebook page.
Alistair Barton
Director, Pray for Scotland
World Prayer Centre Annual conference 2019
09 Oct 2018
REBUILD. RESTORE. RENEW.
“They will rebuild the ancient ruins, and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Is.61:4
On March 11-13th 2019, World Prayer Centre will be hosting our National Prayer Conference at The Hayes conference centre, Swanwick.
We are moving to a new chapter in our nation’s history and feel this will not be like other conferences. It will be two weeks before we leave the EU - a time of great uncertainty.
Paul writes “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Col.4:2. Paul’s words sum this conference up well. It is a time to devote ourselves, give our hearts to prayer for the nation and the nations, and it is a time to be watchful and celebrate the promise and purposes of God.
God continues to challenge and encourage us to turn from the things that hold us back and turn to a closer intimacy with Jesus. The Time to Turn theme from our 2018 conference is the cry of the Father to the prodigal son, city, and nation, “Come home, turn from sin and despair, turn from hopelessness, turn from your separation – and return to me.”
We are urging people to come and devote these three days to seeking God’s purpose, focused on the great promises in Isaiah 61. He calls us to proclaim the good news to the poor, and the year of the Lord’s favour, to comfort all who mourn and put on a garment of praise.
We are in times of great change and in the midst of them, there is a biblical cry to Rebuild, Restore and Renew that takes us back to the ancient ways. It turns us fully to Jesus – His way, His purpose, His glory. It is a call to action.
Our starting point is God’s presence, drawing close in worship and love. We will have national and global updates and prayer with the WPC team and input from Dave Landrum the Director of Advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance who leads their work impacting political, cultural and economic life. We will also have Malcolm Duncan, Senior Pastor at Dundonald Elim as our guest speaker.
BOOK NOW TO GET OUR EARLY BIRD OFFER:
You can receive a reduced rate of £160 for standard rooms or £190 for en-suite rooms if you book online before 1st December.
Residential rates for 3 days include accommodation, all meals, and refreshments plus conference brochure and our high-quality speakers.
Rapper: ‘God changed me’
05 Oct 2018
Christian rapper Lecrae visited Yale University recently to talk about mental health and social justice. He had been sexually assaulted when he was seven, a trauma that was never dealt with. His drug addict father disappeared when he was four. He focused so much on trying not to be like him that he didn’t consider who he was supposed to be. ‘To the world, I was this level-headed, God-fearing man; behind the scenes - a ticking time bomb.’ He went on to tell of spiralling down into a world of gun violence, hatred, witnessing murder, experiencing rejection, having PTSD, and losing his faith. His powerful message ended by telling the students how God had healed him and restored his faith.
A tool to help people share Jesus
05 Oct 2018
Whilst we might not be facing the persecution that first-century Christians encountered, faith-sharing is still challenging. Recent research found that 67% of the population know a practising Christian, and conversations with Christians are one of the most important influences in bringing people to faith. Christian Vision's ‘yesHEis’ free smartphone app makes evangelism easier. It is available to download from the Google Play and App Stores, and hosts a variety of videos including short testimonies and inspiring films. The concept is easy: watch some videos, and if there’s one you think friends or family might enjoy, send it to them. Then you can start a conversation about Jesus. The videos, on a wide range of subjects, can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or text message. There are already 300,000+ active users of yesHEis around the world.
Building Canada's prayer ministries
05 Oct 2018
With the second largest land mass in the world and a sparse population, it is easy for a Canadian prayer ministry, house of prayer or city-wide worship ministry to feel isolated. Ears to Hear responded to this need with a prayer network connecting and uniting senior leaders of Christian ministries for mutual encouragement, support, growth, and much more. They have been active and growing for ten years.
Archbishop and Universal Credit
05 Oct 2018
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, wrote in the Yorkshire Post, ‘It is five years since Universal Credit was launched to simplify the UK welfare system. Had everything gone to plan, it would have been up and running across the country by now. Instead, the policy remains a source of ongoing controversy. As a follower of Jesus Christ, my greatest concern is how this policy affects the poorest members of our community. In the Bible, we are called to uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. It is right that we look at the impact which Universal Credit, in its current form, is having on our poorest neighbours. We must listen to them, pay heed to what they are telling us, and add our voices to theirs in pointing out where improvements might be made. For it is the person who wears the shoe who knows where it is pinching.’
Conservative party conference
05 Oct 2018
Government exists to serve the people, but as Conservatives gathered in Birmingham for their last party conference before leaving the EU, relationships between government members were fraught. Many media interviews at the conference were about Brexit rather than about government policy. Divisions over Europe caused MPs to be focused on internal debates; but as they face the Brexit challenge they need to be outward-facing to negotiate in good faith. Dominic Raab summed up the controversies: ‘I’ll tell you what’s not democracy: the efforts of a small, influential group of senior politicians and establishment figures to overturn the result of the referendum. You can just picture them, sitting in an expensive advertising agency, discussing how to claim that black is white. “Our research shows that the public doesn’t like the idea of a second referendum. That’s all right - we’ll rebrand it a people’s vote. They might buy that.”’
Criminalised for being homeless
05 Oct 2018
Liberty, a leading human rights group, is urging Nottingham City Council to scrap ‘cruel’ proposals which could criminalise the area’s most vulnerable people. Liberty said the council’s proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) ‘punishes charitable acts in a bid to airbrush their streets’; the proposals would ‘essentially ban homelessness’, in a move which ignores Home Office guidance. PSPOs are drawn up by local councils to prevent anti-social behaviour, deemed detrimental to the area’s quality of life. Nottingham plans to prohibit members of the public from making ‘unauthorised requests’ for money, personal items, or other donations, and would also ban obstruction of building entrances and exits. It could be a criminal offence to give out free items to someone unknown. Those in breach of the PSPO could be fined up to £100, and offenders could be prosecuted if unable to pay.