Prayer Guide For Parliament And The Nation

In a televised address on Monday evening watched by 27.1 million viewers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced further curbs on people’s freedom of movement, for an initial period of three weeks. He urged them to “stay at home” if at all possible to help prevent the spread of coronavirus and “save the NHS”. He also listed four specific groups of individuals who could still travel freely. However, some commentators have questioned how realistic the proposed restrictions are. They point out that, for example, asking citizens to leave their houses only once a day would be very difficult to police.

Pray that the government will have wisdom at this very difficult time. Ask that citizens will not break these restrictions deliberately but will adhere to them for the public good.

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics that were due to take place this summer have been postponed until “no later than summer 2021”, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. Countries such as Canada and Australia had already announced their athletes would not be taking part.

Pray for all event organisers, whose planning and preparation has been suspended while they decide on next steps. Pray for all the athletes, for whom further practice and preparation has now been put on hold.

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has been acquitted of all 13 charges against him. The jury of eight women and five men found Mr Salmond not guilty on 12 counts of sexual assault and reached a not proven verdict on one count of intent to rape. Mr Salmond’s legal team are now claiming there was a ‘conspiracy’ against him. Speaking outside the High Court in Edinburgh, Mr Salmond said he would now make public “certain evidence.” This is intended to prove the case against him was a political conspiracy. It is also intended to show current first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in a bad light

Pray that both sides will respect the verdict. Ask that a fair decision is reached on whether Mr Salmond is allowed to rejoin the SNP.

On 22nd March, BBC radio 4 broadcast a special edition of Sunday Worship with the Archbishop of Canterbury leading the service. It was also broadcast across all local radio networks and streamed on the Church of England’s Facebook page. The service was recorded in the crypt chapel of Lambeth Palace. It is estimated to have been seen or heard by around five million people. This would equate to the largest single ‘congregation’ in the history of the Church of England. Hymns included Lord of all Hopefulness, which was considered appropriate for the situation we currently are living in. Though Sunday Worship is broadcast every Sunday at 8.10am, this was the first time it appeared on so many different stations at the same time.

Give thanks for the Church of England’s efforts in reaching so many people. Pray that many more will listen in on subsequent Sundays, perhaps for the first time.

Here at the Nationwide Christian Trust, all our upcoming events have been put on hold, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. We will update you with more information as soon as we can.

Please pray that the Lord will guide us in knowing when to restart our programme of events.


	Schools: 22 March-28 March The law requiring a daily assembly of collective worship in schools has been under attack recently by Humanists UK. In Autumn 2019, they successfully campaigned for Burford primary school in Oxfordshire to have a separate, secular assembly for those parents who want it. Many Christians believe this decision to be short-sighted as it deprives children of celebrating a shared heritage and understanding. A school governor is a challenging but hugely rewarding role, which gives individuals the chance to make a real difference to young people. It also enables them to give something back to their local community. Both primary and secondary schools need governing boards that have a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience to enable them to be effective. Pray for all who teach, mentor and facilitate students throughout our education system. Pray that government will provide clear support to school governors and to the practice of collective worship in schools.
News of the week In a televised address on Monday evening watched by 27.1 million viewers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced further curbs on people’s freedom of movement, for an initial period of three weeks. He urged them to “stay at home” if at all possible to help prevent the spread of coronavirus and “save the NHS”. He also listed four specific groups of individuals who could still travel freely. However, some commentators have questioned how realistic the proposed restrictions are. They point out that, for example, asking citizens to leave their houses only once a day would be very difficult to police. Pray that the government will have wisdom at this very difficult time. Ask that citizens will not break these restrictions deliberately but will adhere to them for the public good. The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics that were due to take place this summer have been postponed until “no later than summer 2021”, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. Countries such as Canada and Australia had already announced their athletes would not be taking part. Pray for all event organisers, whose planning and preparation has been suspended while they decide on next steps. Pray for all the athletes, for whom further practice and preparation has now been put on hold. Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has been acquitted of all 13 charges against him. The jury of eight women and five men found Mr Salmond not guilty on 12 counts of sexual assault and reached a not proven verdict on one count of intent to rape. Mr Salmond’s legal team are now claiming there was a ‘conspiracy’ against him. Speaking outside the High Court in Edinburgh, Mr Salmond said he would now make public “certain evidence.” This is intended to prove the case against him was a political conspiracy. It is also intended to show current first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in a bad light Pray that both sides will respect the verdict. Ask that a fair decision is reached on whether Mr Salmond is allowed to rejoin the SNP. On 22nd March, BBC radio 4 broadcast a special edition of Sunday Worship with the Archbishop of Canterbury leading the service. It was also broadcast across all local radio networks and streamed on the Church of England’s Facebook page. The service was recorded in the crypt chapel of Lambeth Palace. It is estimated to have been seen or heard by around five million people. This would equate to the largest single ‘congregation’ in the history of the Church of England. Hymns included Lord of all Hopefulness, which was considered appropriate for the situation we currently are living in. Though Sunday Worship is broadcast every Sunday at 8.10am, this was the first time it appeared on so many different stations at the same time. Give thanks for the Church of England’s efforts in reaching so many people. Pray that many more will listen in on subsequent Sundays, perhaps for the first time. Here at the Nationwide Christian Trust, all our upcoming events have been put on hold, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. We will update you with more information as soon as we can. Please pray that the Lord will guide us in knowing when to restart our programme of events.
Schools: 22 March-28 March *Please use these prayers both in your individual and church prayer times to hold the nation and its leaders before God in prayer and with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 2:1-4).* Our weekly emails are now accessible via the Blog page on our website. Catch up on any news you may have missed or return to emails at a later date. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Please consider making a donation to support our work in providing these emails and other resources.
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Schools: 22 March-28 March

News of the week

Schools: 22 March-28 March