Clifford Hill reflects on the General Election result and the power of the prayers of the elect...

Christians of all traditions united to pray for the nation in the run-up to the General Election. There was great fear that the country was going to be plunged into chaos. The polls all predicted no clear winner; so it looked as though there was going to be some kind of coalition, or government by a minority-administration securing its legislation on a vote by vote basis: doing deals with minority groups in the Commons and living with daily uncertainty.

Chaos Expected

That daily uncertainty would have affected the whole nation, especially in the economy. Foreign investors would have had no confidence in Britain's ability to meet its normal business agreements and no doubt the pound would have suffered on the currency market. There would have been great instability on the Stock Exchange which would have had a strongly negative effect upon the nation's economy. There was additional fear of a Labour/SNP partnership in government with unknown consequences that might have torn the Union apart.

Urgent Prayer

Prayer meetings were held in churches, halls, and home-groups right across the land as Christians responded to the sense of urgency concerning the state of the nation. There was widespread recognition that the nation thoroughly deserved the judgement of God and that the kind of chaos which was envisaged was justified.

Christians around the nation responded with repentance and prayer, knowing that God holds the church responsible for the spiritual state of the nation."

Christians also recognised that the disunity and weak witness of the church was largely responsible for the moral and spiritual state of the nation. So there was a lot of repentance among the prayers. Christians know that God holds the church responsible for the spiritual health of the nation and the lack of unity undermines the presentation of a clear message.

Destroying Foundations

There is a verse in Psalm 11 which says "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" But the Hebrew literally says, "What have the righteous done?" This significantly alters the meaning of the question and it indicates the way God holds those who know his word responsible for the state of the nation. When secular/humanist forces are destroying the foundations of the nation, God says to those who know him and are listening to him, "What have you done whilst all this destruction has been going on?"

Whilst the nation's foundations are being destroyed, God says to those who know him: 'what have you done whilst all this has been going on?'"

We have to ask ourselves what we in the church were doing when our Parliament made major decisions that affected the life of the nation. Was there a strong and powerful voice representing the word of God when the decision was made to invade Iraq, or to bomb Libya, or to 'redefine marriage' which weakened family life, part of the nation's very foundation?

Each of these decisions has had enormous consequences, both for Britain and on the world scene. Our invasion of Iraq has had tragic consequences that have led to the formation of the Islamic State and the slaughter of thousands of Christians, Yehadis and Sunni Muslims. The bombing of Libya has left that nation without a stable government, which has led to thousands of migrants from around Africa and the Middle East dying in attempts to reach Europe from the shores of Libya, where people traffickers operate with unregulated freedom.

Prayers Answered

The foundations of our nation and many others have been shaken by the decisions of politicians throughout the past century of human conflict and bloodshed. But the prayers of a multitude of Christians across the land for a stable Government have certainly been answered. The question now is; what will a Conservative Government do with the five years entrusted to them and will the Scots be content with the strong voice in Westminster they have achieved? These are big questions upon which the future of the nation depends.

What of the Future?

Will the new Government not only care about the economy – steering the nation towards greater prosperity – but also care for the poor and the powerless? Will their tax reforms favour the rich: and will they use their Parliamentary majority to bring in boundary reforms that ensure their own powerbase in future elections, ignoring the gross injustice of a voting system that left nearly four million UKIP voters with only one Member of Parliament?

The prayers of a multitude of Christians across the land for a stable government have been answered. But now more than ever, prayer – and bold declaration of the truth – needs to continue!"

Christians who prayed for God's mercy upon the nation should not only continue praying for the Government but should be making their voice (and the word of God) heard in the places of political power in the land.