Last Thursday the Conservative Party won the General Election with a majority of eighty seats. Boris Johnson is still the UK prime minister. Whilst some people were delighted with this result, others were disappointed and upset. Whatever our political views the public have spoken.
Many will probably now switch off from politics until the next opportunity to vote comes along. However, what should we do as Christians?
The most obvious answer to that question is to pray. In his first letter to Timothy the apostle Paul wrote:
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – 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” (1 Tim 2:1-3)
It’s very interesting when you consider the context in which Paul wrote the above words. He was not living in a modern 21st century democracy with free and open elections. Instead he was living under Roman rule. However, despite of that he still believed people should pray for those in authority.
It’s very easy to criticise our leaders. The challenge for us Christians though is to be people who pray for those in authority. Therefore I would suggest, regardless of how we may have voted, that we pray for the following:
The Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is the prime minister of the UK and as such needs our prayers. Whatever our personal views of him, we should pray for him. It’s not an easy job being prime minister. The position carries huge responsibility. We can pray that he will lead wisely and make just decisions that will be for the benefit of everyone.
The Government
In addition to praying for the prime minister we also need to pray for the various cabinet members. There are some very challenging issues that the government need to tackle in their various departments, for example: Brexit, NHS, child poverty, homelessness to name but some. These are areas that need a great deal of wisdom in tackling and the various ministers responsible for them require our prayers.
Our local MP
We also need to pray for our local member of parliament. Whether you voted for them or not they are your representative in parliament and need your prayers. Although your MP may be on the back benches, they could be on various committees that look at prospective legislation. They have the potential to influence the direction our nation takes and therefore it’s important to remember them too in prayer.
MP’s who are Christians
One of the interesting things about politics is that Christians have differing view on this subject. Therefore, they do not all belong to the same political party. I think it’s important that we remember to pray for those MP’s who have a Christian faith. It’s not easy being a believer in Westminster. There may be occasions where supporting your parties position on a matter means compromising your faith and we need to pray that they would have the courage to make the right decisions. In this environment we pray they might shine for Christ.
Still Learning 