As I write this in early September Parliament is Prorogued, all sorts of legal challenges are afoot, the Prime Minister and Government appear to be in disarray and who knows what will happen in the next half hour let alone the next week or month!? What a total mess.

Morning by morning I read verses from the Old Testament about the situations people faced then and, so often, those ancient words speak right to the very heart of our present dilemma. The prophet Habakkuk got very annoyed with God, asking Him where was He when the world was in a mess and people really needed His guidance and support. Time and again the reply came, reassuring Habakkuk that God was still ultimately in charge and that believers need to wait faithfully for His will to be done.

St Paul urges us in the New Testament to pray for all leaders and rulers. He reminds us that ultimately all real authority comes from God and that his democratically elected representatives here on earth DO need our prayerful support…… even if we disagree strongly with them.

So, it would seem, we are to wait and watch and pray. Which does not mean that we cannot also demonstrate, hold opinions, debate and argue. BUT, as John reminded us in the last magazine, we need to be able to listen to other people, understand that not everyone shares the same opinion, and that peaceful actions and reconciliation are vital for the health of our nation.

Daily I pray for “the state of politics in this land; for Her Majesty the Queen and the Ministers of the Crown; and for the future of this Nation”. I will leave it to God to decide quite what that future is to be.