We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you who engaged in prayer about the Scottish independence referendum, whether through the 40 days of prayer in the referendum prayer guide, by joining us in Edinburgh and Linlithgow or simply by holding the situation before God in your own way and your own home. Your prayers were of profound impact.
Our Community crosses the Yes/No divide so, while many will be relieved at the result, others will be disappointed and hurting. However, those of us on the ground who have been enmeshed prayerfully in the situation over the past number of months can testify to how God has awakened us and others through the process, and for that we give thanks.
Rather than settling issues, the referendum has stirred up many questions for our family of island nations, but we sense that the Lord may be working in and underneath this shaking. As Scotland and the wider United Kingdom attempt to grapple with the political fallout, we are reminded of our call as Northumbria Community to live the questions and, in particular, the question “How do we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
In light of all this, we invite you to continue to pray for Scotland in particular. We have prepared some specific prayer points to guide your intercessions. Please contact the office if you wish to receive the prayer points. In the meantime, two Scriptures that feel particularly relevant are Psalm 24:7 and Ezekiel 36:26-27. As we prayed in Linlithgow, we encountered a remarkable openness among the people to whom we spoke. It felt like a thin time and place, so let us pray, wherever we are, that the gates will remain open and that people will invite the King of Glory to enter in.
Bless you and thank you.
Andrew Philip and Roy Searle