How to pray in a time of upheaval.

The nations of Europe are still reeling from the results of the EU parliamentary elections. It is not only Britain that has produced surprise results; all over Europe people have expressed their frustration with the establishment and looked for alternatives. The battle for power between Macron and Merkel may now be in full swing, but in both their countries voters have expressed their discontent with their rulers and their desire for change.

In Britain the Brexit battle continues relentlessly with more Conservative hopefuls throwing their hats into the ring to be the next Prime Minister – even though the role is a poisoned chalice. No doubt each of them thinks they could do better than Theresa May, who bravely went to Brussels this week to greet other crestfallen leaders facing uncertain futures.

Tory leadership hopefuls. PA/PA Wire/PA ImagesUndoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations! The prophecy in Haggai 2 includes shaking the physical universe as well as the structures and foundations of the nations. I’ve quoted it many times, but it is so central to contemporary issues that we need to keep it in the forefront of our discussion of what’s happening today:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: in a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. (Hag 2:6-7)

I know that our political masters don’t recognise that God has any place in what is happening among the nations, but God actually laughs at their stupidity and blindness. It would do all our leaders good to read Psalm 2 and meditate on it for a few minutes each day before they open their mouths in public.

The plain fact is that God is not only in charge of the climate upheavals that are causing such anxiety to many people (witness the unprecedented 500 tornadoes that have ripped through the USA just in the past 30 days¹), but he is also allowing the incredible levels of uncertainty and anxiety in the social and political lives of the nations.

Undoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations!

Admitting the Problem

If we share the beliefs of the biblical prophets, who saw the hand of God in everything that happened around them, we have to ask: why is God shaking everything? – from our weather patterns to the major institutions in society: our familiar high street stores, our banks and post offices, our social services and our health services, our political parties and even our churches, where we see ‘For Sale’ notices on great old buildings where our parents were married and their children were blessed.

With all the familiar things in life being shaken, it is small wonder that the levels of mental health problems are overwhelming our health authorities. In Britain we have such a crisis of mental health that even Royalty have joined in to share their stories in an attempt to reassure the public that there is really nothing wrong - that we all have times when our minds are sick, when we are unable to think clearly and give way to our fears and anxieties.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned? We ought to be asking major questions about what is happening in our lifetime. Why is there such dissatisfaction, such anger, such disagreement and such division in society? The dissatisfaction is not just among the deprived who envy the rich and the powerful. It is also among those who have plenty and who have good jobs and homes and cars and multitudes of gadgets, none of which gives them real satisfaction.

The uncomfortable truth is that there is something in our human nature, put there by the God of Creation, that makes us long for a relationship with the Creator. We are lonely in the universe without any connection with its Maker. But, collectively, Europeans have abandoned that connection. They have chosen to discard their spiritual heritage and to go it alone, so they are at the mercy of the spiritual forces of darkness that roam the universe and plague its occupants.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned?

Deserving of Judgment

In Britain the European Parliamentary election (that we did not want!) has dramatically highlighted the division in the nation. We may expect to see an increase in conflict during the next five months as those who are determined to prevent Britain leaving the European Union intensify their activities.

As we get nearer to the deadline of 31 October and the parliamentary battle advances, it will be reflected upon the streets. The worst possible outcome would be the revoking of Article 50 and a second referendum, which would undoubtedly inject further hatred and violence into the public sphere.

Let’s face the facts: we are part of a nation richly deserving judgment. Every working day a black bag full of babies is taken out of the back door of our hospitals and thrown into the incinerator. We are just like the Moabites, who threw their babies into the fire - a heinous sin that God roundly condemned.

The latest sin is the grooming of our children, which is a national act of child abuse! Just last month an Education Bill was nodded through our Parliament, too occupied with Brexit to study it carefully, which brainwashes juniors and presents pornography to senior students; even advocating ‘threesomes’ for getting the most exciting sexual experience – with cartoon illustrations.²

We may be near the final point of depravity described by Paul:

Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity…they invent ways of doing evil… (Rom 1:28-32)

Nevertheless, there is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

There is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

How to Pray

We must not ask God to stop shaking the nations just because we don’t like what’s happening today. We have to recognise why God is shaking the nations.

It surely has to be to warn the nations that we are heading for self-destruction, and that only repentance and turning that can save humanity from unbelievable disaster. Perhaps it was with this in mind that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, saying: “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

All Christians in the Western nations can see (if they open their eyes) that our civilisation is crumbling. But we have yet to realise that there are no political solutions to the problems facing humanity! Only God can heal the nations! But the greatest fault lies in the blindness of the Church, whose silent leaders do not declare the word of the Lord with the first call to Christians to repent. The writing is on the wall and judgment is already starting at the household of God.

As we approach the season of Pentecost, we should all be praying for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God to open eyes that are blind and bring a fresh spiritual awakening – beginning with ourselves.

References

1 Read more at Sky News.

2 This can be seen online, though I will not give the link here.