UK General Election 2017
Every election is important and we believe that this next government will be strategic in this season when we are praying and working towards a time of harvest. Across the United Kingdom we are seeing significant numbers of people coming to Christ, a growing unity between churches and organisations and people of other faiths are having visions of Jesus. But we live in nations where there is growing uncertainty, with significant rises in mental health issues, homelessness, addiction, poverty and broken families.
WHY PRAY
Every election is contested spiritually and this is no exception, Satan will be resolute in resisting God’s sovereign purpose. It is time to pray that our extraordinary, merciful Father will touch our nations. Paul reminds us that it is God’s plan to have the right people in authority to enable people to be saved (1Timothy 2:1-4).
• Let’s seek the Lord and His word afresh, asking the Holy Spirit to replace fear with His peace. Let us come and worship, lifting up the name of Jesus and humbly ask for His mercy and blessing on the election debate, coverage and our personal voting decision.
• Let’s ask for His wisdom to engage with the issues He places on our hearts, let’s expect Him to lead and guide us.
PRAYER POINTS
MAY 25: PROTECTION - Over the whole General Election campaign and from terrorist and cyber -attacks; Wisdom for police and security forces.
MAY 26: PRAYER – For many Christians to respond to the invitation to pray during Thy Kingdom to Come.
MAY 27: PURPOSES OF GOD – So that the Government of His choice is elected to allow the Kingdom of God to advance.
MAY 28: MEDIA – Insight for all working in the media to expose false news and manipulation.
MAY 29: CAMPAIGN – For the debate and discussion to give a clear focus on what is on God’s heart locally and nationally.
MAY 30: LEADERS OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES – For discernment in campaigning; for Theresa May in her leadership between parliaments.
MAY 31: UNITY OF PURPOSE – Even when we disagree on policies in families, churches, communities and between the UK nations.
JUNE 1: RELEASE OF YOUNG PEOPLE - To engage in the debate and to realise their vote counts.
JUNE 2: PROTECTION – For all involved in election campaigning, Lord have mercy on our UK nations.
JUNE 3: LOCAL AND NATIONAL ELECTION MEETINGS – For clarity to come out of any confusion and for truth to be heard.
JUNE 4: COME HOLY SPIRIT – Blow through Your church, blow through our nations – may Jesus be revealed.
JUNE 5: GUIDE AND GUARD - the steps to ‘Brexit’; bring healing and reconciliation across our nations and across Europe.
JUNE 6: CANDIDATES – For the MP’s elected whom God has chosen, equipped and anointed.
JUNE 7: DISCERNMENT- In voting for just and righteous parliament in Westminster.
JUNE 8: YOUR KINGDOM COME - In and through this General Election.
JUNE 9: WISDOM - As a new government is put in place.
JUNE 10: PEACE - On our streets, across all UK nations.
JUNE 11: BLESS EVERY CHURCH - May the love of Jesus be seen and heard today.
JUNE 12: HOLY SPIRIT COME - Awaken our land, may we see Your glory flow from here to the nations.
RESOURCES
engaGE17 – CARE website and prayer points - engage17.org.uk
What kind of society? Evangelical Alliance – election.eauk.org
Christians in Politics – christiansinpolitics.org.uk
DECLARATION
We declare in the season ahead a legacy of Godly government will be re- established in our Nation.
According to Your word in Psalm 145:4” One generation shall declare Your works to another”, we decree and declare a fresh awareness to Your young people of the Godly heritage within our political system, of the Biblical foundations under it and of the principles released through it.
We decree and declare young people in our Nation, towns, churches and families will have an understanding of the times and seasons, and of the power of choice. We speak maturity to them in their political awareness, engagement and voting.
In the Name of Jesus, we declare an increased rising up of those who will pioneer and stand for Godly principles and for the good of the people, and we speak favour and divine revelatory wisdom to those already positioned.
N B Find out the candidates for the coming election within your own constituency, pray for a clarity of their values and purpose to emerge, and that the person God has called for this Parliamentary term to become clear..
Source: Passion for the Nation
KNOWING GOD’S HEART
ne of the calls we believe God has given us at World Prayer Centre is to act as Watchmen. We know that watchmen have to make sense of what they can see, but their role is to serve. In this role, we will give you strategic overviews from time to time. We’d love to get your feedback but we hope this will encourage and bless your prayer life and focus.
Malcolm Duncan spoke powerfully at our recent ‘As One’ National Prayer Conference. He made the powerful comment that people of prayer are the lungs in the Body of Christ. The Body needs the lungs to function. Malcolm and others have helped us identify five themes we believe are on God’s heart at this time. Download Malcolm's podcasts.
Be filled
God wants us to ensure our lamps are constantly full of oil. In WPC, we are continuously praying to be filled. “Breathe on us breath of God,” let us be equipped, refreshed, energised and led by Your Spirit. This is a time to pray for those close to us to be filled, and for our churches to be filled with His Spirit, His presence and His love. This is a time to see things changed, and renewed by the breath of God.
God’s extraordinary
Ian Cole, WPC founder, has a vision for God’s extraordinary. We believe God wants to equip us, in these times with extraordinary resilience, extraordinary intimacy with Jesus, extraordinary unity and extraordinary faith. As we pray continuously to be filled, we want to keep praying for God’s extraordinary. He is equipping us for a new extraordinary time. Let us keep praying big prayers, and wait on God for the faith to see significant change. Let our 2017 testimonies be about the extraordinary love, goodness and power of God. Read Ian's article on the extraordinary.
Word and Spirit
The Word and Spirit are God’s great gift to His church and to the world, but they have been neglected. We have now moved into a time when they have been powerfully combined. Our experience in WPC is that the Spirit of God is revealing more and more from the Word. The Word is alive and active. This in turn is triggering powerful, authoritative prayer. So our encouragement to you is – expect more and keep your Bible by your side!
Call the midwives
At our conference in March, Brian Mills brought a simple word “Call the midwives”. We believe God is doing something new and very special in the nation; these will be God’s new babies! For us the “call the midwives” word links to our long wait since 1992 for what we call our Isaac – a World Prayer Centre building which can equip and empower people of prayer. We believe God was promising us that the wait is over and the promise will be fulfilled in the coming years. Many others have long term dreams and visions and it seems God was saying “now is the time” to them as well.
R.T. Kendall also carries an Isaac burden, also dating back to 1992. He believes God is going to release the greatest revival the world has ever seen – and it is God’s Isaac. He describes it in his remarkable book, “Prepare your heart for the Midnight Cry”. He looks at the story of the wise and foolish virgins – both had the Word and Spirit, the lamp and the oil – but only half of them had kept the lamp filled. We have always believed that the WPC building and the great revival would be aligned. 2017 is a highly significant year – heavens strategies are being unveiled.
Be alert
We believe God’s word to people of prayer is - “Be alert”. We are being instructed to be on constant look out and engage in spiritual warfare. We need to know the enemies tactics – sickness, unbelief, tiredness, lost confidence, broken relationships and fear. We stand with faith and perseverance and take ground from the enemy. We believe that our God is able, that Jesus’ commitment to us is total and the cross is the place of victory. As God’s army we stand together on the alert – not alone.
Knowing the Times
Part of our role is to understand these fast changing times. On the one hand we can see chaos, uncertainty, tension, intimidation and fear. On the other hand we see Jesus, the Rock, the Everlasting One, the Redeemer and Restorer whose depth of love can change everything. So our decision in these times is to look to Jesus. We believe it is harvest time. God is mobilising people of prayer first to prepare the ground but He is also declaring “Awake” to His whole church. The bridegroom is coming, let us hold the lamp, the Word of God close and let us ensure it is constantly filled with the oil of God’s Spirit. Here we are Lord, use us.
The election is in that context. God is calling a Parliament that will enable the great revival; He is preparing the nation for change. In His great mercy we have ten days of prayerwith Thy Kingdom Come and the great expectation of Pentecost leading up to the election.
Standing shoulder to shoulder
God is calling an army of ordinary people into His extraordinary. Unity is high on God’s agenda, and we are called to stand shoulder to shoulder, ready for God’s call. 2017 is a year of God’s extraordinary and we want to encourage you to stand with us and
- Be on the alert – so much will be happening in the place where God has put us. We are watchers on our local walls. Alongside that pray for our nation as we approach the election of this important parliament it will be a time of real spiritual contention. We also believe God has made us spiritually interdependent across the United Kingdom. Pray for the flames of God’s Spirit to blow across each of our nations.
- Pray with expectation and authority – we are stepping up!
- Join us to pray – our monthly Saturday Prayershift gatherings are events where we expect to see God move powerfully. Our monthly Monday meetings – WATCH + PRAY are to stand in the gap for our nation and the nations. We believe the most powerful prayer engine can often be a local small group. Use our 3 Things prayer videos, sign up to receive prayer issues identified in the Pulse and Prayer Alert. Make your requests known to the Lord.
- Send us your stories and testimonies – part of our standing together is to bring God glory! Contact us on social media or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Enjoy God’s presence – “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, Oh God, my God.”(Ps: 43.4). Let us ensure we always have oil in our lamps!
Steve Botham, Director of World Prayer Centre
Prepare for the UK General election
It is easy to be a little underwhelmed by this General Election. It is our third big vote and national debate in three years with even more political activity if you live in Northern Ireland or Scotland. We had Brenda from Bristol going nationwide with her complaint - “Oh no not another one." Early days have seen repetitive slogans, and it seems people are finding it hard to engage.
But we believe this is a key step in God’s plans for our nations. We are expecting a great move of God. Therefore, this next government will enable a time of harvest. The election comes four days after Pentecost - that great celebration of God’s spirit breaking out of the upper room and into the streets of Jerusalem. Paul makes the link in those well-known verses from I Timothy 2 - "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” God’s plan is that we have the right people in authority to enable people to be saved.
We need to pray - for God’s sovereign will and purpose. God is placing an opportunity in our hands to bless our nations. Please encourage your friends and your church to pray. Just as the political parties stir up people to canvas and promote their issues we should be stirring people to pray. We include some prayer pointers below and will release more themes and links to resources and key websites in these coming weeks. Every election is contested spiritually and this is no exception, Satan will be resolute in resisting God’s sovereign purpose. God calls us to partner with him to bless where we live locally and bless our nations.
Lord may we have a debate and discussion in our nations and through the media that reflects what is on Your heart.
Pray for:
- All those elected in the local and Mayoral elections today (4th May) that they will be granted wisdom and clear direction for the way ahead.
- Every political party as they select General Election candidates before the deadline of 11 May. Praying for candidates of good character.
- Christians standing for election, to know your peace, and walk close with you in this busy and demanding time.
- God’s mercy and protection on our nations. Keep us safe from terrorist attack and from the fear terrorists bring. Bless our police and intelligence services, give them divine understanding.
- Unity within the Body of Christ. Help us to disagree with respect, Your heart is for unity - let Your church be filled with your grace and compassion.
In His mercy God has called us to pray - “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” in homes, communities, workplaces, churches and cathedrals across our nations before this election. It is God’s heart for our nations - your will be done. Amen
Pray Thy Kingdom Come
It is our joy and privilege as Trustees, team and supporters of World Prayer Centre to be involved in planning and taking part in the Archbishop's call to the Church in the nation and the nations to pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' 10 days prior to Pentecost.
As we have shared, planned and prayed into this call, we increasingly realise the weightiness of praying this prayer and felt it right to share our thoughts with you simply because if we pray for ‘His Kingdom’ to come then other kingdoms have to make way for it. As in the natural a country cannot have two kings, so in the spiritual.
As Christians, through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ Jesus, we have been taken from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, God's Kingdom. As we pray on the 25th May and for the ten days that follow, 'Thy Kingdom Come' then we are inviting the Kingdom of heaven into our lives, our families and friends, our church, the health service, the Government, our education system, our media and arts and the business community.
To pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' is asking God our Father by His Spirit, to come into every area of society so that the light of Christ in us - His body - will dispel the kingdom of darkness and all the evil it represents from every area of our society.
As we pray 'Thy Kingdom come' we are praying for righteousness, truth, love, hope, wisdom, justice and peace to come, all of which the kingdom of darkness despises and hates. At a time when we are constantly bombarded with the evil outworkings of that kingdom, what a privilege to demonstrate through our united praying, our words and actions, that light has overcome the darkness and always will.
We are in a battlefield, we are not fighting people, we are fighting powers and rulers of this kingdom of darkness. Our confidence is that the cross has won the field. We stand in unity with you, praying to see His Kingdom come, His will being done across our nation and the nations.
Ian Cole, Founder of WPC
30 days of Prayer for the Muslim World
Over the past 25 years, millions of Christians have joined together across denominations & cultures to pray in over 23 languages for Muslim people during Ramadan using the 30 Days of Prayer guide.
Would you like to join us?
30 Days of Prayer aims to:
• help Christians gain a better understanding about Muslim people, their faith and their various, diverse cultures;
• see an increase in efforts to respond with love and compassion to the needs of Muslims around the world;
• see a greater interest in Jesus among Muslim peoples.
For more info & to order guides visit http://www.30daysprayer.org.uk
The largest prayer meeting in African history
Saturday, April 22, 2017, saw the biggest prayer gathering in South African history as close to two million people gathered from all parts of South Africa to pray. The event was held on a farm just north of Bloemfontein which is centrally located in South Africa.
Some 1.7 million people registered on-line to attend this historic occasion and thousands more arrived on the day. The multi-racial crowd spread over more than a kilometer relayed onto multiple large screens and many kilometers of cabling for the sound system.
Popular South African farmer/evangelist, and subject of the book and film, “Faith Like Potatoes”, Angus Buchan called for a nation-wide prayer meeting in the light of the current spiritual and socio-political decline evident in the nation. The event was called, “It’s Time”
Buchan said, “We are tired of people taking the law into their own hands. We are going to call upon The Lord to bring justice, peace and hope to our beloved South Africa. He says ‘If my people who are called by My name’ -- that is you and I, so I want to ask you to pray for us.”
As people kept on streaming to Wilde Als farm near Bloemfontein for the It's Time prayer meeting, organizers were forced to delay the start of proceedings by more than an hour due to people still coming to the venue in large numbers.
Prayer Time Replicated Throughout the Nation
The prayer time was duplicated in hundreds of town and suburbs around the nation. Prayer meetings, for those who couldn't get to Bloemfontein were held in churches, rented halls and homes around South Africa. No television broadcasts were allowed, but Christians around the country followed the event from the social media posts of their friends. Busses and airplanes were chartered for the event.
Despite the magnitude of the event there was no television advertising and little news coverage beforehand. Farmers in the area opened their farms to hundreds of thousands of campers at no cost. Gridlock was reported for up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) away and the event was delayed for an hour and a half to allow more to arrive.