National Church Leaders launch Referendum Prayer Call

National Church Leaders launch Referendum Prayer Call

With the Referendum fast approaching, the national leaders of many of the major denominations and church groups in Scotland have joined in a unique ‘call’ to the Church to pray about the vote and the kind of Scotland we wish to see in the future, whatever the result.

Below is the full text of the prayer call letter, which started to be circulated in mid-August.

Will you help to publicise the prayer call? If you are a church leader – will you encourage your congregation to take part in one of the ways the letter suggests on either Sunday 14th or Wednesday 17th – or both?

If you are a church member – will you encourage your leadership to be involved, in whatever way suits your church best, and will you commit to praying on one or both days? Please also circulate the letter to your contacts and tell your friends about it on Facebook and Twitter etc.

If your church will be taking part in some way, please email admin@prayforscotland.org.uk with your church name and town/city, so we can build up a picture of the prayer taking place all over Scotland.

For suggested prayer topics/notes, please email: admin@prayforscotland.org.uk

At this crucial time for our nation, the call to the church is: ‘Rise up and Pray’!

THE REFERENDUM & SCOTLAND’S FUTURE – A CALL TO PRAYER

18th September 2014 is an historic day for Scotland. After a little more than 300 years since the Acts of Union in 1707 we will vote on whether to become an independent nation or remain part of the United Kingdom.
In the year leading up to the Union there was a call to pray and fast for the Queen (Queen Anne) and the two Governments (in Edinburgh and London) as they conducted negotiations on the details, with the following statement in mind, “That all may be done to the glory of God…..”

300 years ago the church gave spiritual leadership, without taking sides. Today, there is the same, if not a greater need for the church in Scotland to give such leadership once again. While the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns focus on the political, economic, social, educational and cultural issues, which are of course essential to the debate, as Christians we also care about Scotland’s moral and spiritual climate. We believe that God is the ultimate authority and we have a biblical responsibility to pray for our nation and its leaders at this crucial time.

Therefore, as Christian leaders we are asking the church in Scotland to join in praying about the Referendum and Scotland’s future. What kind of nation do we wish Scotland to be? History shows us over and over again that prayer changes things and that God responds to the prayers of His people.
Prayer is already taking place. The team who organised The Stand – the St Andrews Day of Prayer – are sending out weekly emails with prayer points on the Referendum and Scotland’s future for use by individuals, home groups and church prayer meetings. If you are not already using them, you can receive them by registering your email address at www.thestand.org.uk/news/

Sunday 14th and Wednesday 17th September are key dates just before the vote.

• On the Sunday we invite you to include prayer about the vote and the nation’s future in your regular service and/or hold a special prayer service in the evening, possibly with others.
• On the Wednesday we invite you to participate in a national day of prayer and fasting. Below are some suggestions that you/your church may find helpful. They are a framework from which you can select what is appropriate, or add to in other ways if you wish.

Notes with suggested prayer points about the Referendum vote and Scotland’s future are being prepared and will be available to all who wish them.
To register to receive them when they are ready, email: admin@prayforscotland.org.uk.

Pray for Scotland are administering the call to prayer on behalf of the church and ministry leaders supporting it.

With such a momentous decision before us it is our belief that prayer (and fasting) will draw us closer to God and His will so that, whatever the outcome is, Scotland will be prayed into the next chapter of its history. We commend this call to prayer to the Church in Scotland, and pray that the Body of Christ will unite in common cause, for the good of the nation.

These are some of the church/ministry leaders supporting the call to prayer.

Suggestions for prayer

Sunday 14th September

• Include prayer about the Referendum vote and for the nation in a Sunday morning and/or evening service.
• On Sunday morning, hold a minute’s silence before God at 11.59am, then at 12 noon pray the Lord’s Prayer (with the option of ringing the church bells for 1 minute after praying – a peal of bells sounding out simultaneously over the nation!).
• Hold a special evening prayer service, possibly jointly with other local churches.

Wednesday 17th September

• Between 7am and 10pm, churches open their doors at times to suit them, for people to come in and pray.
  •  Within these times, have set times for corporate prayer according to each church’s circumstances, e.g. early morning, or for an hour over lunch.
• Arrange a special closing time of prayer and worship in the evening, possibly jointly with other local churches.
• Wherever they are, individuals pray during the day when they can, on their own or in groups, for example in homes etc.
• On each hour we all pray the Lord’s Prayer wherever we are, and for “An outcome that benefits Christ’s Kingdom in Scotland.”
• Those that wish to, fast for some or all of the day as we pray.