The past week has seen fear on the streets of cities across the UK as riots and looting broke out in London and further afield.
In Maidstone, the Church worked in partnership with the police in a practical way when, at the request of the police, a team of over 40 people from the church were mobilised to provide a visible presence on the streets on Tuesday night. Equipped with police radios and wearing high-visibility jackets, the team covered the whole town centre area.
This is Church at work, practically and I believe biblically. When Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) I believe this was a call to the kind of peacemaking that requires us to get out of our comfort zone and bring the peace in the way only He can. Jesus’ reference to peacemakers as sons of God is surely also why Paul writes that “creation waits with eager anticipation for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
When the Church plays this kind of role in our towns and cities, we are not using the weapons of this world. We are not ‘vigilantes’ or some kind of counter-mob. Rather we pray and speak peace.
As we paired up and spread out around the town centre on Tuesday night, I did not walk with the physically biggest, toughest of the men out on the street, but with a friend who I trust as an intercessor. If a riot had broken out I’d be pleased I was with somebody who knows how to pray!
UK Prime Minster David Cameron today spoke of the need for a “social fightback” to confront what he called “the slow-motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations”. This is the day for the Church to pray for our nation’s leaders, police forces, cities and towns, and to practically demonstrate the love of Jesus, bringing the kingdom of God in place of fear and chaos.
If you have a day-to-day role in the marketplace, such as through business, employment, education or government, you are in a perfect place to sense first-hand the needs of your city and nation, and to pray with insight and authority in the areas God has called you into.
