Article by Jos Johnston
Last week I spent a couple of hours under the Houses of Parliament. No, I was not following Guy Fawkes’ example and trying to blow it up with gunpowder, though in some ways what we were doing was similar. We were praying for Parliament and the Government!
We were not actually in the cellars, but in St Mary Undercroft, an extraordinary fan-vaulted chapel built in 1292, but redecorated with gold walls and elaborate Victorian ornamentation after a fire in the nineteenth century. We were there at the invitation of a group called Prayer for Parliament which is led by Christian MPs and meets for prayer in the Palace of Westminster every month. This meeting took place because they were launching a new website and newsletter which they are calling the “Prayer Shield.”
Paul tells us in Romans 13 that “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” If so, they certainly need praying for. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If we want a healed land then the procedure is very clear. So in the chapel under the Houses of Parliament we prayed for our country, for our leaders, and also for the Government that its members would not only enact just laws in keeping with God’s law, but also that they would come to know God personally.
So Prayer for Parliament is starting weekly prayer in London for Parliament and the nation, but is also looking for people to pray wherever they are. They are therefore offering the Prayer Shield newsletter giving information about what is coming up in Parliament and what needs shielding in prayer. You can become a relevant intercessor right where you are. The information would also be useful to those who lead church intercessions on a Sunday. You can get details from the website, http://www.prayerforparliament.com, or from PO Box 15027 London SE5 0YS.
Sitting together in the ancient Palace of Westminster praising God and praying for the government of our land was quite an experience. In fact anyone can go in and pray there. And we have something much more powerful than Guy Fawkes’ barrels of gunpowder for changing our nation. You can set off your own prayer explosions whoever and wherever you are.
So why not put a real bomb under Parliament?!