In many places, police not only fail to protect people in poverty from violence, but they are violent predators themselves. Millions of the most vulnerable people in the world live in fear of police who extort bribes and brutalise innocent citizens. This has increased during coronavirus curfews. In Kenya it is easy for a corrupt or incompetent police officer to falsely accuse and imprison or even kill an innocent person. As measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus, there has been a spike in police abuse while enforcing the night curfew. The government’s independent policing oversight authority has documented at least 35 cases of police brutality in connection to the curfew enforcement, including twelve deaths. Other agencies report at least one death a night in the communities which the justice centres monitor.

Manufacturing clothes was once a pillar of Gaza’s economy, with 900 factories employing 36,000 Palestinians. But the industry collapsed in 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza and Israel banned the export of clothing from Gaza to Israel or the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ziad Qassem’s 25 years as a tailor seemed worthless in the cruel blockade: unemployed, debt piling up, worried how he would provide for his wife and five children. Coronavirus came to the rescue. Demand for masks and protective gear soared worldwide. Gaza garment factories are flooded with new orders from Israel, ordinarily seen by much of Gaza’s Palestinian population as the enemy. Israeli rights groups have called for the permanent easing of restrictions that govern entry in and out of the Gaza enclave, home to some two million people, so that the economy can function more normally even after the pandemic. See

The Kuwaiti government has imposed a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of coronavirus. On 6 May there were 485 new cases of infections, bringing the total to 6,289. Kuwaiti citizens enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world today with little persecution of Christians. There are approximately 200 Kuwaitis from a Christian heritage. Pray that during Ramadan God will give extraordinary opportunities for them to have spiritual conversations with their Muslim neighbours as fear of sickness spreads faster than the actual virus. Pray for spirit-led strategies for Christian service during lockdown and Ramadan, and that the message of Christ will reach many people through social media and other forms of technology.

On 29 April Carrie Symonds, Boris Johnson's partner, gave birth to a baby boy in a London hospital. They have received many congratulations from politicians and are also being prayed for by church leaders, many of whom have written their messages and prayers online. The Archbishop of York wrote, ‘May the angels of God be your shield and defender. A candle is lit for the three of you, and prayers offered.’

Technology is a powerful tool for light and life in this pandemic. A surge in Google searches around the theme of hope and faith plus a phenomenal increase of people searching Christian websites means that more are hearing the Gospel. Global Media Outreach registered a 170% increase in clicks on search engine advertisements about finding hope. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Campus Crusade (Cru) created special internet tools for ministry in the pandemic. Cru’s student page is expected to receive 20 million more visitors than last year, and BGEA’s outreach had 191,000+ online visitors and 11,000 decisions to accept Jesus as Saviour. See also Intercessor Focus: praying for the local church.

During these days of isolation, United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) is now offering an alternative to the negative news bombarding us 24/7 by bringing a new radio programme, ‘Hope For Every Home’. Their vision is to spread God’s Word far and wide with real-life stories of what God is doing in people’s lives. Prayers of thanksgiving for all the good things happening right now, and celebration as they welcome the many new listeners receiving hope directly into their homes by listening to UCB Radio. They hope to reach more people than ever before with an hour of life-changing messages. To listen now, click the ‘More’ button.

Missionary workers are a special kind of people: restless, visionary, with a touch of adventure and a rock-solid belief that the message of the Gospel deserves to be heard by everyone. The impact of the pandemic will be enormous in the predominantly poor areas where missionaries work and where social abstinence is not an option. They are used to badly stocked stores and substandard medical care, and accept situations as they occur. They give us hope and confidence that a transition in challenging times is possible. To read their encouraging stories, click the ‘More’ button.

Boris Johnson has said, ‘The UK is at the moment of maximum risk in the coronavirus outbreak’. Speaking outside No 10 for the first time since recovering from the virus, he said we are now beginning to ‘turn the tide’ on the disease. But he refused to ‘throw away’ the public's ‘effort and sacrifice’ by relaxing the lockdown too soon. We can pray for God to continue to give him strength and stamina as he returns to work. Pray that he paces himself and has the discernment to acknowledge when to allow others to carry burdens for him. May God’s wisdom direct him in every decision and give him heaven’s strategies for the next phase. Pray also for MPs, advisors, civil servants, scientists, and economists to adopt workable policies. Let us also ask our Father in heaven to unite the members of every political party as they work towards unlocking the United Kingdom.

Now that we no longer gather physically, congregations are navigating church, prayer, house groups, worship, etc with technology, and our church leaders are coming to terms with electronic churches to manage the implications of coronavirus on their congregations and communities. Let us pray that innovative ideas will be birthed through high-tech fresh expressions of church. Pray for those ministering to the bereaved, unemployed, depressed, financially challenged, or living with addictions. The burdens of care that our pastors carry are huge and can be exhausting. May God give them strength, protection, wisdom, and discernment as they pour the fragrance of His purposes and support into challenging situations. Pray for church networking amongst those who are without the internet. Pray for foodbanks as more communities struggle financially. May our church teams have heaven's insights when new trials arise. Pray for church leaders without good internet connections or the gift of being technologically astute. God, bring help wherever it is needed.

Two major business groups have written to the governments in Dublin and Belfast to urge coordination in the recovery from coronavirus. The CBI and its Irish equivalent, Ibec, said that an economic reboot will need ‘the highest level of cooperation, coordination and joined-up thinking’. They highlighted the importance of integrated supply chains across the border and Irish Sea, stopping short of requesting a synchronised exit from the lockdown. There have been political differences at Stormont on the level to which an all-island approach should be taken to coronavirus. The two groups say that it is in everyone's interests to have experts on both sides of the border regularly communicating on their respective plans for economic revival and recovery, including all-island business and cross-border employment. They add, ‘It would be helpful and worthwhile for parallel conversations to take place between the two islands, with the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish council providing appropriate formal frameworks for such discussions’.