Dear Ms Prime Minister,

May I congratulate you on your historic accession to the highest political office in the land?

However, there is a fact about which (though it may seem unimportant to you) you should be aware.

Christians will be praying for you. Sincerely praying, that is, to the God whose existence you have personally rejected. Thus, you will be receiving spiritual support which you will not, and in all sincerity cannot, request.

We will be praying for you for some very good reasons:

Though we disagree with—no, abhor—a number of your new government’s stated aims and policies, we will pray for you because we are instructed to do so in the Scriptures (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2, if you care to check it yourself). The Apostle Paul gave this instruction when the Emperor Nero was head of the Roman government under which he (Paul) lived, and by which he was ultimately put to death. It was a general instruction to all practicing Christians.  So, you see, we should pray for you too.

Also, we will pray for you because, during the crises governments today face with increasing frequency, you will have no one to turn to for help. Mr. Swan? Bob Brown and the Greens? Your loyal and faithful cabinet? The vacillating Independents? Not likely. Consultation with your associates will not eliminate the need for lonely decisions from you when those hard times arrive. You will need help from a higher Source, though in your prideful self-sufficiency, you do not admit it now. The best, most heroic leaders of governments have always acknowledged their recourse to prayer in times of difficulty.

And, we will pray that this One you reject will not reject you, but will, in His own sovereign and powerful way, bring about an alteration in your thinking concerning those political/moral issues, the present and promised treatment of which is profoundly offensive to God and to anyone who truly worships him.

Sincerely

Leroy Randall, Co-Pastor

Endeavour Christian Gathering

This letter was sent to the editor of the West Australian, who declined to publish it.