A Service of Prayer for the United Kingdom

I was glad to attend the ‘Service of Prayer for the United Kingdom’ at The Guards Chapel in London yesterday evening, having been invited by the Evangelical Alliance. It was part of the National Week of Prayer. There were about 150 parliamentarians, ambassadors, civil servants and others present, perhaps reduced by the impact of the tube strike. 

It had a good gospel focus and was not at all nationalistic in tone.

Bear Grylls encouraged us about the great openness to the gospel among young people at the moment. Danny Kruger MP spoke of the Christian foundation of England from the time of King Alfred, and ended by emphasising our desire for our enemies to be converted to Christ, and that we do not battle with the weapons of the world. 

Graham Kendrick led in worship with some classic revivalist songs from the 80s and classic hymns of the Welsh revival. A moving highlight was the London Central Garrison Fijian Choir singing ‘I need thee every hour’ acapella in both English and Fijian. It was spine tingling. 

There was a series of times of intercessory prayer for families, the church, government, diplomacy, law and justice, business, media, arts, health and education. They were some of the best intercessions I have heard in church - grounded in passages of scripture that were then applied to the nation.

The overall tone was that we face significant challenges, but there is great hope for God to move in mercy and renewal. There does seem to be a palpable spiritual stirring.

It was sobering to gather in a venue where 121 people were killed in 1944 when the morning service was hit by a V2 rocket. We were sitting beneath the colours of the Household Divison, including flags carried in the Battle of Yorktown (which we lost) and the Battle of Waterloo (which we won). It was a tangible reminder of our history.

As a nation, we, and the church in our land, have often known great providential blessings, done much good, but also some wicked evil. It is impossible not to mourn the current spiritual state of the UK, with less than 3% born-again believers in the Lord Jesus. It is right that we should repent, pray, and long that the Lord might have mercy again.

In the words of Graham Kendrick that we sang:

Have mercy Lord
Forgive us Lord
Restore us Lord, revive your church again
Let justice flow like rivers
And righteousness like a never ending stream

This is what our nation most needs. The triumph of justice and righteousness is ultimately dependent on a revived church that can shine the light of Christ in the darkness and bring increasing Christian influence to bear.

That is what Methodism accomplished in the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning when the nation was at an even lower spiritual ebb and more morally degenerate than it is at today.

In the democratic context of contemporary Britain, it will require a genuinely Christian people because transformation is bottom-up by popular consent rather than top-down by imposition.