Prayers for our parliament
07 Sep 2018
Parliament is sitting again, and the following are some general pointers to guide you in praying for our national life together. Pray for our MPs - their faith, the pressure of being away from home, their workload as they serve their local communities. Thank God for freedom to pray and worship together, and pray that this precious freedom is protected by our politicians. Pray that Christian MPs, peers, policy staff and house staff will grow in numbers and in the depth of their faith, and also that they will be a positive and gracious influence in Parliament. Pray for politics of wisdom, integrity, self-sacrifice and policymaking for the good of all, and for effective and gracious Christian presence and influence in political debate. Pray that the Christian groups in each of the main parties will grow in influence and the positive contribution that they can make.
Justin Welby recently said, ‘We need profound change so that our economy works for everyone. The UK has plenty to be proud about. But work no longer keeps some people from poverty. Young people are struggling. We have deep regional divides. We want everyone to flourish in a cohesive, strong and resilient society. As a Christian, I’m speaking about economic justice today, because Jesus calls us to work for the common good and seek the welfare of everyone in society, especially the most vulnerable.’ On 5 September a report which was co-written by the Archbishop stated that Britain's economy is broken and radical action is needed to reduce 'damaging wealth inequality'. He wants to rake in an extra £9 billion a year by shaking up inheritance tax and making multinationals like Starbucks and Amazon pay more tax on their profits, as well as other innovative proposals to fund a higher minimum wage and pay handouts to help the young buy homes.
Intercessor Focus: reaching people on the edge
07 Sep 2018
There are many vicars reaching ‘the unreached people groups’ in the UK. There is Nigel Rostock, a vicar with a Harley-Davidson who says that being a biker makes it easier to minister to people on the edge of society. He is part of the ‘God's Squad’ motorbikes club - touching the lives of addicts and outsiders who would never step inside a church. Another vicar, Gavin Tyte, is called Snoop Doggy Dog Collar because he is a British beatbox vicar. He was chosen to judge the World Beatboxing Championships in Berlin. Also across the nations café-churches are springing up - churches in the community where all are welcome and coffee and cakes are served along with faith-based ad hoc conversations. There are many outreach activities like Street Angels and Street Pastors who do what they can to help and counsel people on the streets after pubs and clubs turn out, or Causeway Prospects who promote and help churches to reach and teach people with learning disabilities. (Linda Digby – Prayer Alert Team)
Reaching the young
07 Sep 2018
Bursting with energy and faith, Phil Knox, the Evangelical Alliance's first ‘head of mission to young adults’, cannot wait to make more friends and disciples. ‘For the last twelve years I have worked at Youth for Christ, sharing the good news about Jesus with tens of thousands of young people, and in that time, I have personally seen thousands of lives changed before my eyes. It was the best job in the world. It was always going to take a huge wrench to wrestle me from it, but that wrench came: a new day is here, and this week I joined the Evangelical Alliance. I am an evangelical because I am a good news person and loved by the Creator of the universe. 2018 is described by some global sociologists as VUCA: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Most of us will experience a VUCA world as we are confronted by disconcerting news headlines and navigate personal suffering.’
Armed forces abroad
07 Sep 2018
4,000 British personnel from all three services will be training alongside the Omani military in October. Amongst them there will probably be practising Christians. Pray for the chaplains who will be travelling with their unit as they give spiritual support, both publicly and privately, providing pastoral care for those away from home for the first time and offering moral guidance to young men. Oman is characterised by pride, diversity, rapid development and a people clinging to traditional Islamic values and customs. Recently technology has opened avenues into the world. 50% of the population is under 16. Although there is resistance to the Gospel, God’s Spirit is drawing Omanis into a saving relationship with Him. Pray that the Christian military will demonstrate to their Omani colleagues, in actions and conversations, their faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. Pray for the chaplains in the group to have God's wisdom in all their counselling. See also
Prison service - chaos
07 Sep 2018
Chaos in the wings, lack of respect from management, and absence of support are among the reasons for the surge in prison officers resigning. 33% of outgoing officers in the past 12 months had been in the service for less than a year, prompting concerns that the crisis in UK jails is being exacerbated by dwindling retention rates. Critics of the system say that the new officers are not adequately trained and are forced into challenging and sometimes dangerous situations before they are prepared or equipped to do so, leading to them quitting within months. Rory Stewart, the minister of state for justice, said recently that ‘drug-fuelled prison violence is affecting up to 20 jails’: see Also a recent BBC report stated that hundreds of prison staff have been caught smuggling banned items into prisons. The Prison Officers Association said the value of the drug market in jail is around £100m. Low-paid staff are enticed and paid handsomely to smuggle drugs. See
Russia ready to be cut off from internet
07 Sep 2018
If Western sanctions go as far as excluding Russia from the World Wide Web, the country's own internet is ready, according to Russia’s presidential aide on the internet. ‘Technically, we are ready for anything now,’ he said. However, the shutdown will not be painless. Failures always occur when moving from one technology to another, and those keeping data abroad will experience difficulties. Russia has a data privacy law. All companies processing personal data of Russian citizens are obliged to store it on servers within the country’s borders. The professional network website LinkedIn has already been banned in Russia for refusing to comply. Twitter and other social networks have agreed to move data about Russians to the country.
Nominals: Europe’s mission field
07 Sep 2018
How do you persuade someone who already thinks they’re a Christian to become one? The largest mission field in Western Europe is not self-identifying atheists or Muslim immigrants; it is people who call themselves Christians but exhibit few, if any, signs of faith. A Pew Research Centre report stated that people who identify with Christianity, but rarely or never attend church services, make up the biggest segment of the region’s population. 46% of Western Europeans are non-practising Christians, 18% are regular church attendees, 24% are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% follow other faiths.