Chris Cole FRSA

Last month I wrote about church leaders, and the pressures they are often under. The Good Book encourages us to pray for our leaders, and that would certainly be appreciated by those I have interviewed for the 'Art of Living' show on Cross Rhythms 96.3FM.

We should also pray for our political leaders. Just like you and me, they make mistakes, and they are flawed. But they also have to make wise decisions that steer our nation through difficult circumstances, and they need our prayers to help them.

Recent events prompted national Church leaders to speak out on political issues. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, together with the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, issued a joint statement on behalf of the Church of England House of Bishops. They said that it was understandable people were angry and disillusioned with some MPs following recent revelations about their expenses, but urged people not to use the European elections to make a protest vote which would have long-lasting effects.

They challenged the far right BNP's references to Jesus Christ in its election advertising, saying, 'Christians have been deeply disturbed by the conscious adoption by the BNP of the language of our faith when the effect of those policies is not to promote those values but to foster fear and division within communities, especially between people of different faiths or racial background.' Wise words indeed.

The European elections are just one current event that should prompt those with a faith to pray for their political leaders. Global recession, international terrorism, the state of our own nation with all its successes and failures, and local issues in Plymouth, all fall within the responsibility of someone to care about and try to effect positive changes. Usually, that is our political leaders, as well as those who lead in other walks of life.

In our information-overloaded society, we have so many pieces of news through the media, so many sound bites and opinions that are transmitted through the airwaves and in print, that we often fall into the trap of making 'armchair judgements' on matters about which we have very little genuine understanding. Then we announce our opinions, and criticize the people in leadership. It changes very little.

This happens in all walks of life, (just listen to the advice given to referees from the stands at Home Park!), and such a precious freedom of speech is the result of our democratic process whereby everyone can have an opinion and express it. That process, founded on Christian values, is one of the good things about our political system, especially when it is balanced with a healthy respect for the responsibilities of those who have to govern.

Cynicism and ill-informed criticism achieves very little. But the Bible shows us how we can achieve a lot, by another kind of communication - we should pray for our leaders to have the grace, courage and wisdom from God to make righteous decisions for the good of us all. As a Christian, I believe that prayer works, God hears and He answers.

Give it a go - instead of just sounding off about our politicians, pray for them. They have a tough job, they are only human and they need all the help they can get.

This article was originally published in the Plymouth Shopper, a group of 7 localised community newspapers produced by Cornerstone Vision, reaching 62,000 homes every month in Plymouth. Each edition carries positive news stories and features, and provides local businesses, community groups and organisations with a very localised media platform to reach their own area.