Liberal Democrat Christian Forum - Praying for the Police

Praying for the Police

Written by Don Axcell, Executive Director of the Christian Police Association
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Don Axcell, Executive Director of the Christian Police Association, exhorts us to pray more for the police. There are many reasons why we would encourage prayer for the police. Showing the Police Service that you care enough to pray for them will increase morale. There often seems to be mutual suspicion between the Police and the Christian community but prayer can help to break down the barriers. Praying specifically for your local policing situation will also bring tangible results. There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that prayer can reduce crime and community tension. In some areas where churches have been specific in their prayers, there have been annual crime reductions of 30% - 40%. Romans 13:1-5 identifies the role of the Police Service as coming from God, so we need to pray for them even if they are not aware that they are doing his will. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul urges that we pray for those in authority in order that ‘we may live peaceful and quiet lives’. The Police Service has the task of keeping the peace. We encourage churches to become involved with our ‘Adopt a Cop’ initiative which was started in 1997 for the Brixton area of London. It allows churches to become involved with the wider community by liaising with local police to find out what the current needs and crime trends are. Sometimes a whole church does not want to take this on but individuals still want to pray for the police. In that case, we have produced a guide to getting a prayer focus for the police (Pray4YourPolice) which is downloadable from our website www.CPAuk.net. The information is also available on a small card available from our headquarters office or through local contacts. The Chief Constable of Leicestershire, Matt Baggott, who is now Christian Police Association President has this to say: ‘Over the years I have come to see just how important the relationship between local churches and policing can be in restoring hope and reducing crime in our neighbourhoods. Mutual encouragement, appropriate support and individual friendships are all very powerful ways of transforming lives’. How to get a prayer focus for your local police: Contact your local police station and find out the name of the community police officer or community support officer for your area. Pray for that person by name. Regularly obtain a copy of your local newspaper and look for reports where officers have been injured on duty and pray for them. Using your local newspaper, list reports of local crime and pray that the police will be successful in apprehending the perpetrators. Listen to local radio and television news and take note of any items involving the police that need praying about. Log on to your local police website and navigate to the news/appeals page where you can find local items to fuel your prayers. Pray for God’s protection on your local area that you will have peace and an absence of crime. Find out the name of the senior police officer in charge of your area and pray for him / her and all the staff (both police and support staff) who work under their command. Whenever you see a police vehicle, whether or not they are on an emergency call, pray for the crew. If you hear a police vehicle responding to an emergency call, pray for the safety of the officers and for the situation to which they might be responding. If you know of a Christian police officer in your area, pray that they will have a strong and effective witness amongst their colleagues. Obtain a ‘Prayer Bookmark’ from the Christian Police Association and use it to pray for specific needs of the Police Service.

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