Here at Christian Concern, we are heartbroken by the horrific scenes of violence and vandalism that we have seen on our streets over the last several days.
There is never any justification for violent protest or for vandalism. We sincerely hope that all the perpetrators, from whatever creed or colour, are brought to justice and face the full force of the law. We pray for a speedy end to these protests and for peace on our streets again. We cry out for God to heal our land.
The priority of prayer
Indeed, prayer is our primary response to this crisis, and there is so much to pray for. We pray for the police who are struggling to respond to violence in so many places. Being on the front line of violent attacks is stressful and dangerous. Some have been injured, and there are reports that rest days have been cancelled. We pray for police morale as they face criticism from all sides for how they respond. We pray for wisdom in their responses and proportionality in their responses. We pray for them to uphold the law without fear or favour.
We pray also for communities up and down this land where people are fearful and angry. No one should fear for their safety. We pray for God to heal the bitterness and resentment and to bring peace. We pray for changed hearts. We pray for people to quicky realise that violence is not going to help their cause. We pray for community leaders to be a calming influence.
We pray for the government, caught up in a crisis just weeks after coming to power. We pray for wisdom in how they respond. We pray for their words not to stoke up anger and resentment. We pray for them to understand concerns expressed by all sides and not to dismiss legitimate concerns out of hand. We pray for appropriate strategies to stop the violence. We pray also against overreacting and against the pressure to bring in new laws which could restrict free speech or freedom of expression.
We pray for the Church too. There are Bible believing churches in every town where there has been violence. The Church needs to pray and to be a witness to the world at this time. The gospel is the solution. There is forgiveness for everyone. Healing will only come if people are able to repent and forgive. We need fearless proclamation of the gospel, but also compassion and support for those who have been harmed or who are in fear. The Church is the hope of the nation.
We hope that all Christians will join us in prayer for our nation over these things. One practical action you could do is to prayer walk through the streets of your town. You can do this on your own or with a few friends. See how God leads you as you pray over the streets and all the people affected by the tensions in society.
A nation under judgment
The prophet Amos wrote: “When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?” (Amos 3:6). We can be sure that God is working out his purposes through the events we are seeing today. We are a nation that has turned its back on Christianity and Christian morals. God in his great mercy is slow to anger and rich in mercy. Nevertheless, he will use judgement to provoke repentance. We are a nation under judgement. Christians throughout church history would not have shied away from saying this. Just as Spurgeon used the cholera epidemic to call people to repentance in his day, we should be calling people to repent today.
Warnings not heeded
Christian Concern has called for immigration levels to be reduced for at least eight years. Net migration has only increased since then. Today, people on both sides of the political spectrum agree that current levels of immigration are unsustainable. Successive governments have failed to reduce migration levels, however.
We have also warned about the various problems with multiculturalism. One fruit of multiculturalism has been a failure to integrate people into our society. Sadly, division and distrust is the result.
We have also consistently called for policing to: “treat all people equally under the law regardless of their background, culture, religion or ethnicity.” Today, people would summarise that as ‘end two-tier policing.’ Examples of police treating different communities differently breeds resentment and distrust.
For all these failures and more we need repentance and forgiveness. Our nation needs the gospel of forgiveness and to learn the lessons of the parable of the good Samaritan.
Heal our land
The fact is that we now live in a divided society. The police know this. The government knows it. And if there were any members of the general public who didn’t know this before, the awful scenes in the news this week have made it painfully obvious. It will help no-one to deny the problem. We are reaping the bitter fruit of decades of bad policies and attempts to cover up the segregation in our society. This fruit is part of God’s judgement on us for turning away from his good and just laws.
The cry of our hearts is for God to heal our land. There is so much that needs healing. We know that God’s desire in exposing the divisions in our land is to provoke repentance that can lead to healing. It is only when we as a nation turn back to God that the healing can really begin. This is our desperate prayer.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
