Praying for those in Authority

Joining together in prayer for our nation

Community Watchmen Ministries in Liverpool have recently started a series of monthly prayer meetings calling believers together to pray for the nation and those in authority, and who have responsibility for particular areas of society. The meetings are held over zoom – more details on the CWMPrayer website.

The scripture which underlines the focus of the prayer gathering is 1 Timothy 2 vs 1-4

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

The next dates are: 15th November 2022, 6th December 2022, and 10th January 2023.

The topics being prayed for include:

> Government
> Monarchy
> Church
> Police and upholding the law
> Financial Crisis

Prayer pointers

Government

Every person must submit to and support the authorities over him.  For there can be no authority in the universe except by God’s appointment, which means that every authority that exists has been instituted by God.  Resisting authority is resisting the divine order of God, which results in severe consequences. – Romans 13: 1-2 The Passion Translation.

1. Bless and protect all those who are seated in positions of leadership, Prime Minister, House of Commons, House of Lords, your local MP
2. For wisdom for the King, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
3. For integrity, truth, justice and compassion throughout Government.
4. For the government to stabilise after the effects of recent days and that confidence would be restored within the Conservative Party and the Nation.
5. That the UK Government would be a strong force for good in these days of uncertainty and that they would be surrounded by good counsel.

Monarchy

1. Give thanks for the monarchy and role they play in our nation
2. Bless and prosper them with grace and mercy. Divine Guidance, the wisdom of Solomon, as King Charles leads the nation into a new era.
3. Comfort and peace during their time of grief after losing Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth.
4. Olive branch – reconciliation amongst family, especially Harry and Megan
5. Coronation May 6^th – oath, anointing (Operation Golden Orb)

Church

1. For unity in the Church – Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
2. The Church will become more active in the media to exalt the name of Jesus – 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.  We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
3. For God’s provision and that the church would be faithful to give generously 
   Philippians 4:19 “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Police and upholding the law

1. Thank God for the police and justice system.
2. Protection as they face crime, violence and opposition. – Psalm 121:7-8 The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore. Psalm 5:11 Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them…..that they may rejoice in you.
3. God will give them wisdom, strength and courage. Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
4. God will reveal sources of crime and violence. That God will unveil evil purposes. Isaiah 60:18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your boarders.
5. For communities that have lost respect for the law, will gain respect for those in authority. Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established….

Financial Crisis

An explanation and prayer points from our friend Ray, who works in City of London (banking)  

The recent mini budget sent the financial markets into chaos because their plans were un-costed and unchecked (by either the Treasury or the Office of Budget Responsibility).  Markets feared the government was acting irresponsibly creating a huge funding gap in the budget (about £100billion) that would ultimately be fuelled by additional borrowing and possibly drive inflation higher. 

Not only is inflation already a major problem, but the government borrowing huge sums, that it doesn’t have, will cost more than usual.  This is because the Bank of England has had to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in 27 years to try and dampen down inflation.  The government’s actions made this rate hike seem like it was not enough.  This caused the financial institutions to quickly scramble to get ready for even higher interest rates in the coming months and into next year.   

The Pension funds largely manage their investments in the stock market and government bonds, with a complicated system called LDI. It’s designed to protect the pension funds from interest rate changes, but slow ones. They are given money when interest rates fall (because their investments will perform less well) but money is demanded from them when interest rates rise.  The sudden rise in interest rates, and the expectation that they’ll soon shoot higher (because of the way that Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng released the mini budget), meant Pension Funds using LDI were asked to hand over a lot of cash very quickly.

Most funds don’t keep that kind of cash sitting around, so they had to sell investments quickly, including government bonds. This risked flooding the market with devalued bonds.  The problem with devalued bonds is that is reduces the value of the holdings of Pension Funds, and increases how much cash they have to hand over for LDI – a vicious circle that, we’re told, would have caused some major pension funds to collapse that afternoon had the Band of England not intervened.  The Bank intervened by promising to buy up the government bonds on the market, which stopped the price of them falling and ended the vicious circle.  All of this was ultimately a “cash flow” problem for Pension Funds, in the long run higher interest rates mean their government bond holdings will perform better than expected.

Prayer Points:

1. We have competent leaders in No. 10 and No. 11 – that they involve the OBR (Office Budget Responsibility) in upcoming changes and fully detailed plans from the Treasury (this is what the market needs, clear information and plans, not surprises).

• For those whose finances are already under pressure, will now be further crippled by higher mortgage rates (arising from the higher interest rates caused by the government).

• The Pension Funds are able to accommodate the changes smoothly and in ways that don’t start any other vicious circles of selling to cover costs.

• The nation, politically, gets behind any ideas that would aid economic growth, regardless of their previous stances on Brexit / independence / the principal over the practical.

• Britain’s vulnerability with trade barriers to Europe will hamper growth, the sooner this can be undone the more lives will be saved.

• For the Bank of England Court. This is not a legal court (just to be clear) but the name given to the group of directors / senior leaders that run various aspects of the Bank of England’s decision making (mainly through “Policy Committees”) here’s list of current Court Directors:

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/court-of-directors and here’s a paragraph on what each of the Policy Committees do (responsibilities and powers)

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/court-of-directors/governance-of-the-bank-of-england-including-matters-reserved-to-court

Sue Sinclair

Email: cwmprayer@me.com
Web: www.cwmprayer.com

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