1 A populous place and few inhabitants are believers. Like our Lord it should move us to think of so many sheep without a shepherd. Most of London is virtually untouched by gospel witness.
2 The national capital. Like it or not, what happens in London affects the whole country sooner or later. If the gospel triumphs here the ripples will extend far and wide.
3 The seat of national government. God commands prayer for all in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Tim 2:2). Pray for the government; pray for London.
4 Where the Queen resides and where state occasions take place. Pray for the Royal Family; for their conversion and good influence.
5 Still a strategic centre for the English speaking world. America is today’s superpower so English is still the lingua franca and despite the Empire’s demise London’s impact is still great. Imagine the influence for good if the gospel again made a real impact here.
6 A place that many visit for business or pleasure. More than half the country must visit or live here at some time. Every year people come to London and are converted. What an impact it would have if more were saved.
7 Very cosmopolitan. Revival here would have an effect worldwide. Congregations regularly see people from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas. Who knows what the result might be if London became a real centre for the gospel.
8 A strategic commercial centre. It is home to major banks and other economic institutions. It was part of Paul’s strategy to plant a church in the commercial centre of Corinth. He recognised the impact it would have. Pray for ‘the city’. Who knows what transforming influence conversions among such people might have.
9 An academic centre. It has influential colleges, medical schools, museums and other institutions. As for Paul in Athens it is not an easy atmosphere in which to evangelise but think of the repercussions when even one sceptic believes.
10 Teeming with students and young people. What opportunities! Yet how few labourers. When academic institutions have come under gospel sway in the past what an impact. Imagine a revival among students in even one of London’s many colleges.
11 Where many involved in the arts and media live. People still come here to ‘be famous’. Those in the media have a big influence on all sorts. Conversions among such could have an impact. We ought to be praying that such people will come under the sound of the gospel.
12 A wicked place. Satan has his throne here. It draws the worst sorts from many places. A centre for prostitution and the sex industry, for militant homosexuality and other perversions, for gambling and greed, for organised and disorganised crime, for licentiousness and violence. All sorts of iniquity lurks in its back streets and alleys. It corrupts vast numbers in many places. Pray for Satan’s downfall.
13 Not easy to be a Christian here Because it is a wicked place being a Christian here is not easy. Pray for believers assailed by many temptations, not least of which is to move to a possibly less demanding situation. Alternatively, dropping out of corporate church life is an easy option in this vast city. Every year professing Christians come to London and fall away never having connected with an evangelical church.
14 Dangerous to live here. Every woman in my congregation has had her bag or purse stolen at least once. I'm not aware of anyone in the congregation who has not suffered some crime or other over the years. Pray for protection from physical harm for believers here.
15 A stressful place to live in other ways. Pray for believers especially that they will be able to stand up under the strains of urban and suburban life.
16 A city full of needy people. Quite apart from the problems of its native born population it continues to act as a sink for all sorts of troubled souls. Poor and needy, physically or sexually abused, drug addicts and alcoholics, refugees and outcasts, destitute or dangerous, many such still find their way to London. The gospel is the answer for such people. Pray many will hear the glorious good news.
17 Potentially very lonely. Because it is so large and busy, so cosmopolitan and anonymous, with great social, cultural and economic variation there's a tendency for Londoners to shut out much of what goes on. It's not that they are unfriendly. In many ways they're more friendly than elsewhere. However, the nature of London life is such that it easy to be forgotten. We don't live in one another’s pockets. The potential for loneliness and depression is great. Ralph McTell’s ‘Streets of London’ is sentimental but makes a fair point. Pray for the lonely people of London’s mansions, bedsits, hostels, shelters and streets. Pray they'll know the Friend who sticks closer than a brother.
18 A real centre for false teaching. Professedly evangelical churches attract large crowds, confusing and misleading the gullible and unwary with a deadly mixture of truth and error. Nominalism and liberalism hang on and even thrive. Large Catholic and Orthodox congregations, synagogues and mosques exist and Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist temples thrive. Here they have propaganda centres too. Here is the national HQ of the Watchtower Society and similar cults. The School of Economic Science has posters on the tube and the hare krishnas on Oxford Street are famous. All sorts of false teachers visit London. Pray for the downfall of cults and false religions; pray for London.
19 Still where several Christian organisations are based or hold important meetings. There are large but faithful churches in the centre and suburbs with much influence. Pray for these.
20 A place where Reformed churches are generally in a weak state Apart from the suburbs most are small; many are struggling; several have no pastor. The city is vast and even were we doing 10 times as much and even if we were making 20 times the impact we would still only be scratching the surface. Brothers, pray for us.
Originally published Grace magazine and later Evangelical Times
