Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

In 2016 we prayed that a vision to build a wall of one million bricks, each brick representing an answered prayer, would become a reality, and it did. Now the Wall is seeking 10,000 testimonies during April to share hope with the nation online and sow faith at this challenging time. People have more time on their hands than ever, and as they read stories of answered prayer they will find fresh hope instead of fear, joy instead of anxiety; and encounter the God who answers prayer. They are inviting each intercessor to be a social media warrior and give them 15 minutes a day - or take time to share an answered prayer on their website. To do so, please click the ‘More’ button. It is encouraging to see the answered prayers that are beginning to come out of this crisis. To be involved, contact

On 8 April Rishi Sunak announced that the Government has promised an extra £750 million coronavirus funding for frontline charities across the UK. The support package will ensure that they can continue their vital work during the coronavirus outbreak. The Government will also match funds with whatever the public decides to donate to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal on 23 April, starting with a contribution of at least £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust appeal. Mr Sunak said, ‘Our charities are playing a crucial role in the national fight against coronavirus, supporting those who are most in need. It is right that we do everything we can to help the sector during this difficult time.’ Among the charities that will benefit will be those supporting domestic abuse victims, end of life hospices, foodbanks, those delivering food or essential medicines, and those providing financial advice. Pray for the administration between departments identifying priority recipients to flow smoothly and speedily.

The National Domestic Abuse helpline has seen a 25% increase in calls and online requests for help since the lockdown. The charity warned that the lockdown heightened domestic tensions and cut off escape routes like the school run. It is believed that domestic violence and potential homicides will escalate as social distancing restrictions continue. Many perpetrators already use isolation ‘as a tool of control’. Last year 1.6 million women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse. Pray that the women and children currently spending concentrated time with perpetrators may receive all the support they need from social services, police and charities. Pray that friends, family and neighbours who may have suspected abuse in the past will keep in contact with the vulnerable and report suspicious situations. Recently the UN reported, ‘Over the past weeks, as economic and social pressures and fear have grown, we have seen a horrifying global surge in domestic violence’.

Psalm 127:3 states, ‘Children are a gift from God’. In the Name of Jesus, we pray for children to be safe and secure, loved, enjoyed, and protected, and that everything God has put within them of fun, of laughter, of imagination and gift will be released and encouraged. We pray that this will be a time of unprecedented learning, growth and experience for them at every age. May their education come in multiple ways, with rich life-learning for all ages and stages at this time. We ask God to bless vulnerable children with safety, protection, and provision of shelter, food and love. We pray for children suffering from autism, dyslexia, ADHD and related issues. May they be surrounded at this time by those who love them, and may patience, acceptance, confidence and peace overwhelm every fear and anxiety.

So far this year almost 500 migrants have been intercepted while crossing the Dover Straits, from coronavirus-infected Calais camps. On 8 April four boats carrying 57 migrants (23 of them Iranian) were intercepted by the Border Force in the English Channel. The previous day 63 migrants had tried to cross the Channel, despite lockdown measures remaining in place in the UK. Last week 52 Iranian, Iraqi and Afghan nationals, including five children, came ashore at Dover. All such migrants will be monitored for signs of Covid-19, the Home Office added. They go into isolation, and twenty places are reserved for those with coronavirus symptoms. Up to 3,000 migrants are living in northern France in desperate conditions, at high risk from coronavirus. Pray for the home secretary and her French counterpart as they tackle this situation, complicated by the coronavirus crisis. See

As the impact of coronavirus increases we hear of ‘tsunami waves’ of patients filling hospitals, however there is also a ‘tsunami of prayer’ flooding the nation. Many are saying that we are probably experiencing a level of sustained prayer not seen since WW2. Our homes, home groups, prayer groups, and church congregations are meeting online to pray. There are reports coming from Scotland that home groups who used to meet weekly or fortnightly are now praying together online every evening; churches are holding online morning or evening prayer sessions, with attendance two or three times higher than their usual prayer meetings. Church leaders are experimenting with connecting in new and innovative ways to pray. Globally there is united prayer being generated across every time zone See

Alfie Dean from Babbacombe wanted to do something to help others in his community during lockdown; so the 13-year-old set up a pantry outside his house to help vulnerable people who cannot get to the shops and those struggling to buy essentials. He erected two shelves at the end of his driveway and stocked them with milk, bread, tins, pasta, biscuits, etc. A sign read, ‘Babbacombe Pantry - take what you need, leave what you don’t and donate what you can’. In the first two days fifty people used the pantry. In Buckinghamshire a Network Rail bridge between junctions 16 and 17 on the M25 carries a large graffiti sign, ‘Thank you NHS’ (see). It is not clear who painted the heart-warming message.  In America hundreds of Christians surrounded a hospital and sang and prayed to raise the spirits of staff and coronavirus patients: see

Billionaire Hans Rausing is donating £16.5 million towards supporting NHS staff and volunteers. £5 million will pay for packs of food and necessities to be distributed to the isolated vulnerable and the cost of travel, parking, and accommodation for volunteers. The chief executive of NHS Charities Together, said that the £5 million grant is the single biggest donation from a family or individual in their appeal. The current donation follows a £2.5 million grant by Mr Rausing last week which he pledged for bodies including the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Over the next six months a further £9 million will be donated. Meanwhile we can pray for NHS Charities Together as they provide immediate support to the well-being of the NHS staff, who are at the forefront of this national emergency.

Coronavirus restrictions affected farmers who supply the likes of McDonalds. Half of farmers’ orders came from out-of-home eating and three meals per week per person need to shift from outside to inside the home through retail. On top of this is panic buying. Pray for the National Farmers’ Union as it works with the Government to keep UK food supplies flowing to where they are needed. Farmers also face a huge shortfall of EU seasonal workers. By the end of March 10,000 people had signed up to harvest fruit and vegetables but over 90,000 jobs need filling. Pray for an increase of ‘land army’ recruits in the coming weeks. The first crop, asparagus, needs to be harvested in April, and there will be no seasonal EU workers available. Pray for students and unemployed to make themselves available to be trained and relied on to put food on our tables, now that we are out of the EU. See also the Europe article ‘Shortage of fruit and veg’, and here

The crisis has prompted rural communities to link up as never before via social media and offers of help to those in self-isolation. Christians are reaching out to and praying for their neighbours. Pray that, despite our inability to meet, rural Christians will continue to be able to love their neighbours in practical ways, to shine as lights in the darkness, and share the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray especially for the rural elderly and that these and other developments will inaugurate a new coming together of rural and urban people, a new mutual understanding, and a new recognition of the importance of farming and the land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 sets out how God's ancient people are to respond to adversities, including pestilence (verse 13). Pray that His people today will respond with prayer and humbling ourselves, seeking His face and turning from our wicked ways.