We thank God for our annual prayer conference at Swanwick in March and the wonderful people who stood with us waiting on God. It was (yet another!) important historical week for the nation when a substantive vote was held in parliament and the government suffered a second significant defeat on Brexit. We prayed through the debate and decision making. The key scripture was Isaiah 61 – this great announcement of the Kingdom of God and declaration that God does remarkable things through us.

Throughout Swanwick God was aligning us with His prayer agenda and we have captured some key points below.

• Put on the garment of praise – in a time when everything seems confused we believe God’s purpose is clear – He is our good shepherd, His desire is that we turn back to Him. So, we praise and adore Him, we bring our testimonies of God’s goodness.
• Dave Landrum from the Evangelical Alliance shared very serious concerns that secularism – life without God – is shaping more of the national agenda. He tells us we should 1. Fear not; 2. Speak up; and 3. Pray for boldness and authority.
• Dave told us that globally the number of evangelicals has risen from 500 million to 1.2 billion in 17 years – with 10 million new evangelicals in Europe in the last ten years. These are momentous times - Hallelujah!
• There is a danger that we stand as British Christians with our Christianity secondary. We are seeing prophetic words circulating that are actually political words. We need to be Christians who are British with humility, and a desire to be led first by God’s agenda.
• We need to be searching for God’s Word. He is a God of justice who repeatedly tells us to defend the widow, oppressed, the orphaned and the alien. That may sit uncomfortably for some but we need to be hungry to understand God’s perspective.
• Rebuilding is not “going back to the good old days”, it is looking forward to God’s new purposes.
• God looks at us and sees Christ. Sin has been dealt with and we are in a covenant relationship with Him. He takes the broken and gives us a double portion and makes us beautiful like brides and bridegrooms.
• We need peace in our homes, workplaces, communities and the nation. It seems far away. Jesus declares “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God”
• James tells us “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
• Peacemakers walk in humility, they live in God’s shalom, at peace with themselves and prepared to take risks for peace. They diffuse conflict, address broken relationships, listen generously, encourage honesty and truth. They believe they can disagree with respect.
• We live in a time of strident voices, very public criticism and undermining, and significant falling outs. Romans 12: 18 tells us “As far as it is possible live in peace.”

Steve Botham

Director