God Save the Queen!
The flags are out! The bunting is up! Street parties are planned, and the all-new ‘Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle’ ingredients are flying off the shelves! We are about to experience a once in a lifetime moment!
Her Majesty the Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. What an incredible achievement!
There are souvenir magazines, pictures in newspapers, stories on social media and dedicated television programmes that look back over the last 70 years, showcasing what the Queen has done.
Our world is very different to when the Queen first took to the throne in 1952. Everything from politics, education, welfare, the arts, science and technology has changed and developed dramatically!
At 96, our Queen has seen 15 Prime Ministers come and go and, in that time, she has been consistently kind, hardworking and respectful in all she does.
The UK national anthem, played at many events where the Queen attends, contains the lines:
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen!
These words are like a prayer, asking God to bless and sustain Her Majesty. Every time the national anthem is played or sung, it’s like another prayer goes up to God! Alongside that, many churches in the UK, and abroad, pray daily for the Queen, and have done so for these 70 years.
The Bible has something to say about praying for Kings and Queens…
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour…”
I do believe that God has heard and answered these prayers. As I have got older my respect and admiration for the Queen has only increased. She is a Christian and has been open about that for many years. I love listening to what she says each year in her Christmas Day broadcast.
As the nation celebrates this incredible achievement of one remarkable Monarch, I’m making the national anthem my ‘Royal Prayer’: God save the Queen!
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader