Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Jesus has all authority and power to forgive sins through his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection for those who receive Him by faith. However Muslims reject this mercy and look for forgiveness and an allegiance to Allah by doing a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Muhammad said, ‘Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter any obscene speech or do any evil deed will go back (free of sin) as his mother bore him.’ All Muslims must perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are able; it is one of the five pillars of their faith. On 18 August, three million Muslims from all over the world will flock to Mecca to perform sacred acts and follow the steps of Muhammad, for three days. You are invited to join Christians globally to pray for the millions taking this spiritual journey.

Lord, you moved the heart of Cyrus, even though he did not know you, to do your will for the sake of the nation (2 Chron. 36:22). You changed Saul’s heart and used him to fulfil your purposes (Acts 9:4). The UK has a new prime minister. We pray that you will enable Boris Johnson to stride into your Kingdom purposes with every decision he makes. We ask You, Father, to use his strong intellect to take us on the Brexit journey and also to inject your purposes into education, the NHS, social services, police, military, commerce and industry; bringing them back onto the paths of mercy and moral laws. Father please open his mind to Your strategies for the coming months. May he lead this nation into restoration and renewal. Surround him with wise advisers who have Your vision and anointing to meet the needs of society through Brexit transitions to achieve a ‘breakthrough’ in the Irish border blockage.

Boris Johnson is leading a ‘Brexit’ cabinet, so called because key roles were given to leading Brexiteers. Our reputation in the world will change as new faces represent the UK, possibly with new policies. Let us pray into these changes. May God's hand and mercy direct Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary; may he see the work centred on the persecuted church through to completion. May Priti Patel, the home secretary, use her innovativeness to address terrorism, drugs, and knife crime, keeping our streets safe. May Chancellor Sajid Javid keep our economy safe during and after Brexit. Apart from high-profile ministers, Boris will also rely on key advisers behind the scenes, such as his senior adviser Dominic Cummings; may God use his outspokenness to establish reforms aligned to Kingdom purposes. For a ‘who’s who’ of the new cabinet, click the ‘More’ button.

In difficult economic and social times, we need strong and courageous international, national and local media, working to the highest ethical standards. To this end, the vision of Christians in the media is to see the media flourish as they become key influencers. Please pray for more churches to engage positively with the media, and for the life-affirming Gospel message of faith, hope and love to be reflected more and more in the UK’s national newspapers, community radios, websites, TV networks and blogs. Pray for more Christian researchers, writers and editors to step into key roles of international and national networks. May there be thriving media with Kingdom values woven into programming schedules. Ask God to give spiritual and moral strength to those striving for integrity and truth. Pray also for journalists around the world facing death and imprisonment for speaking the truth.

Ten-year-old Kasey, a Pentecostal Christian, is speaking out against the growing LGBT agenda in her classroom. As parents nationally protest against LGBT school lessons, the Christian Legal Centre is supporting courageous Kasey and her mother, who are taking a stand against a school seeking to eradicate any opposition to its LGBT agenda. Kasey and her Catholic friend, Farrell, were explaining in the lesson how gay people would be 'punished' for their sexuality in some countries, but their point was misunderstood and the school suspended them for five days for being homophobic. Kasey said, 'I only learned what homophobic means the other day. I'm not homophobic, I'm just against the school traching LGBT topics to children.' Kasey's mother said, 'The school is failing to recognise our Christian beliefs and is persecuting us for wanting to maintain our Bible principles.' The Christian Legal Centre said the situation reflects the sexual agenda imposed on innocent children.

Currently events in the gulf are operating just below the threshold of all-out war between Iran and the UK/USA over the Straits of Hormuz. On 24 July Al-Jazeera reported that President Rouhani has suggested that, if the United Kingdom releases its tanker seized off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month, his country will return a British-flagged vessel it apprehended last week. Rouhani made the purported offer during a weekly cabinet meeting, assuring an ‘appropriate response from Iran’ if the UK stepped away from the ‘wrong actions in Gibraltar’. Boris Johnson will immediately have to deal with the crisis over Iran and the deployment of a European-led maritime protection mission which the previous Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced on 22 July. Six tankers have been sabotaged in six weeks: see

Since its introduction, Universal Credit (UC) has made things harder for people receiving it. Now, a court ruling has made it possible for 13,000+ disabled people to receive backdated benefit payments. People who moved from the severe disability benefit to UC, which rolls six payments into one, will receive backdated payments of up to £405 per month alongside the UC benefit. The work and pensions secretary said that claimants who had been entitled to the severe disability premium would be given ‘ongoing transitional payments’ as they moved across to UC, and those who had already moved to the new system would be eligible for backdated payments. While we can thank God for this change, we can continue praying for other support packages which need re-assessing and addressing, including dementia care and undiagnosable illnesses that do not fit into any recognised medical category but still need support with training, transport, supervision, and personal care.

On 30 July, thousands will come together to draw attention to the horrific crime of human trafficking. IJM has partnered with singer-songwriter Roo Panes to release a powerful music video to raise awareness of the brutal reality of human trafficking, and to inspire individuals to get involved and take a part in ending it. Awareness is a vital first step in ending trafficking, and it is hoped this video will reach thousands, or even millions, as people share about it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #Warrior and #EndTrafficking and tagging @IJMUK. Everyone who wants to make a stand against trafficking is invited to find the film at: www.ijmuk.org/Warrior or on Roo Panes' YouTube. Nothing happens if people are unaware of the need: when we are aware of modern slavery, still nothing happens, unless we do something.

The holiday season is not a time for God’s people to take time off from watching and praying for Holy Spirit anointing to inspire our next Prime Minister. Now is the time for strong, faith-filled prayers, declaring Kingdom plans and purposes for a United Kingdom led by a united government. Pray for God’s will to be done through the men and women He has equipped to lead in a new political season, free from party-political antagonism. Pray for our leaders to carry God’s wisdom into every corner of the Palace of Westminster. May this nation have the people handpicked and hand-prepared by God to step into the next season of parliament. There will be shifts and changes as our new Prime Minister selects his cabinet, may they have God’s anointing for their new responsibilities, and may they fulfil every God given task for blessings at home and abroad. See also article 1 in World Section.

Over the past three years there has been a 50% increase of pupils aged 11 and under with mental health issues being referred to child health services. Some stay on waiting lists for years before being offered help. Three head teachers told the BBC of the lack of support for disturbed children in their schools where 4 and 5 year-olds self-harm (head-butt, punch walls, pull out chunks of their hair). Nationally, primary school head teachers are reporting a year on year increase of more and more seven and eight-year-old children with a variety of problems and they are finding it harder to manage the acute crisis. Four pupils have attempted to kill themselves on primary school grounds. Please pray for the teachers who are trained to teach, not engage in welfare work or embark on mental health counselling. Pray for the NHS to hear this cry from Educators and act now before the current support system breaks down. See also article in World section – Global Mental Health of the young and BBC report .