Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

In April 2016 Prayer Alert intercessors prayed that a vision to build a wall of one million bricks, each brick representing an answered prayer, would become a reality. The land has now been secured: the wall will be positioned by a busy motorway, with 50,000+ people driving past every day. What a wonderful testimony that Jesus is alive and has answered a million prayers! Hundreds of people are becoming involved each month. God has been providing generously. Please pray that the organisers continue to receive wonderful testimonies that will encourage and remind others of God's goodness and raise the money needed to finalise the planning phase. See also

The hearing by the members of the Supreme Court regarding the Prime Minister’s move to prorogue parliament for five weeks will declare their ruling next week. Let us pray for God’s wisdom and revelation to inspire the decisions of Lady Hale, the president of the Supreme Court; Lord Reed, her deputy; Lord Carnwath, who opposed the Article 50 agreement; Lord Kerr, a former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland and a liberal member of the court; Lord Wilson, who practised in the family courts, Lord Hodge, an expert in property and land law; and a Scottish justice, Lady Black, who has expertise in family law. Lord Lloyd-Jones is a Welsh speaker; Lady Arden judges in the European court of human rights; Lord Kitchin’s expertise is patents, copyright and intellectual property; Lord Sales sat on the high court in the Article 50 case.

Rev Dr Richard Frazer has said, ‘Climate change will change the lives of children growing up today, and they will experience profoundly the impact in decades to come. It now casts a long shadow over their lives, and they have responded to the inspiring example of the Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg and want to be heard. We are mindful of the many arguments for and against schoolchildren “striking”, and appreciate the strong feelings this evokes. Rather than taking a stand for or against climate strikes, we urge churches and congregations to listen to children in their communities. Churches can provide a safe space in which to express their concerns and aspirations. By listening to them we can learn and understand better, and this will in turn help us to respond more effectively to the climate emergency.’ Dr Frazer spoke ahead of a series of school strike events planned in many Scottish cities on Friday 20 September.

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian-British lecturer in Islamic studies at Melbourne University, was arrested last September, tried, and imprisoned for ten years for espionage. She is in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison, with no contact from family or friends. The British and Australian governments have kept the identity of their arrested citizens out of the public domain, believing diplomatic efforts for release would be more effective if conducted behind closed doors. Others argue that publicity will generate international, community and political support, providing impetus for release negotiations. Meanwhile, Jolie King, a British-Australian woman and Cambridge University honours graduate in Middle Eastern studies, and her Australian boyfriend Mark Firkin were arrested ten weeks ago near Tehran for flying a drone near military installations. They were shooting pictures for a travel blog of their overland journey from Perth to London. Also, please continue praying for Nazanin Ratcliffe.

Rehman Chishti MP is to be the new Prime Minister's envoy for freedom of religion and belief. CSW has congratulated him on his appointment, saying, ‘He has always been outspoken on issues relating to freedom of religion or belief, and we look forward to working with him as he takes on this new role.’ Mr Chishti, a Muslim, was previously the vice-chairman of the Conservative party covering faith and communities, and was an outspoken critic of the Government's handling of Aasia Bibi's appeal for asylum. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said, ‘A staggering 83% of the world's population live in nations where religious freedom is threatened or banned. It is an area where the UK can and must make a difference.’

Rehman Chishti MP is to be the new Prime Minister's envoy for freedom of religion and belief. CSW has congratulated him on his appointment, saying, ‘He has always been outspoken on issues relating to freedom of religion or belief, and we look forward to working with him as he takes on this new role.’ Mr Chishti, a Muslim, was previously the vice-chairman of the Conservative party covering faith and communities, and was an outspoken critic of the Government's handling of Aasia Bibi's appeal for asylum. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said, ‘A staggering 83% of the world's population live in nations where religious freedom is threatened or banned. It is an area where the UK can and must make a difference.’

Jean-Claude Juncker has asked Britain to table ‘operable proposals in writing’ to the Irish Backstop. On 19 September the UK gave the EU written suggested solutions ‘reflecting the ideas the UK has put forward’ saying that the UK will table ‘formal written solutions when we are ready and not to an artificial deadline’. The UK will accept an all-Ireland food and agricultural zone to avoid the need for many checks, but Barnier said that the EU must control products arriving to the single market, insisting Brexit must include the backstop or equivalent legally-binding guarantees. The EU parliament will never accept any agreement giving the UK advantages of free trade without aligning with European standards. ‘We are not stupid, we will not kill our own companies.’ Nigel Farage said Barnier’s objective is ‘keeping us trapped inside, fearing - if we break out of the single market - we would become wealthier outside the EU’.

On 30 August at Wembley, we prayed that in these days of national uncertainty, hostility and division, the church would stand in the opposite spirit of unity and humility, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit in word and action, and in answer to our humility and obedience God’s fire would fall on the church and nation. God is calling us to persevere in prayer, standing on His Word and believing that despite what we see and hear, His purposes are being worked out. Whatever happens politically, it is time for the Good News to be preached, the broken-hearted healed, freedom for the captives, and release for those who are bound. A 61-day prayer call went out, focused on Isaiah 61; it is not too late for you to join in. To download its text, click here:

On 11 September Scotland’s highest civil court ruled that the advice given to the Queen by Boris Johnson was misleading and unlawful, believing that the reason for suspending parliament was to prevent or impede Parliament with regard to Brexit and allow the executive to pursue a policy of a no-deal Brexit without further scrutiny. Confusion and disarray is dominating the Brexit debate. Pray for God to turn the current chaos around and bring the politics of the UK back onto the paths of peace and purpose that He has prepared for the nation to move forward on. Pray for alienated politicians to unite, agree and act upon law-abiding truths, and for any flawed beliefs to vanish from agendas. Ask God to heal the painful wounds inflicted when political parties and relationships have been ripped apart, and pray for His wisdom, counsel and direction for everyone concerned.

The Information Commissioner's Office is questioning the Government about whether the collection of personal data on its Gov.uk platform complies with data protection laws. This follows a report that Boris Johnson had ordered the website to be used as a platform for ‘targeted and personalised information’ which would feed into Brexit preparations. The privacy rights campaign group Big Brother Watch claims that the report raises questions about ‘the legitimacy, urgency and purpose of such personal tracking’. The Gov.uk website brings together all the government's services, allowing people (for example) to file tax returns, pay for passports, or book driving tests.This development comes a day after the Advertising Standards Authority said that it was following up complaints about a Brexit-related government advertisement.