British Christians Urged to Pray for Leaders as Power-Sharing Deal Nears

A British Christian advocacy group urged believers in the nation to pray for its elected officials as a power-sharing deal between party leaders David Cameron and Nick Clegg nears its completion.

"We would encourage Christians everywhere to pray for the party leaders as they enter negotiations to form a Government," The Christian Institute's Humphrey Dobson said in a statement released Friday.

"We would also urge Christians to pray for our Queen as she exercises her constitutional duties at this time," he added.

Last Thursday's elections in Britain resulted in the country's first hung parliament since 1974. The Conservative Party, headed by Cameron, won the most parliamentary seats during the vote, although they fell short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.

Cameron is now working on a power sharing deal with Clegg's Liberal Democrat Party, which came in third in the election, although the two leaders' strong disagreements over public policy have left some doubting whether the deal will go through.

The London-based Evangelical Alliance recently called on Cameron, Clegg, and current Prime Minister Gordon Brown to work together to form a government as soon as possible.

"The last thing this country needs is weeks of internal partisan wrangling," Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said in a statement released on Friday. "Why don't the party leaders show that there is a better way, one that reflects the reason so many came into politics - to go beyond petty rivalries and work together to serve the people they have now been elected to represent."

In recognizing that the priority for the incoming government will be on securing economic recovery, Clifford also pleaded with the politicians to remember the poor in their decision making.

"Our economy is still fragile and our national debt is colossal, and I think that we realize difficult decisions will have to be made and the level of public services we are used to may not be sustainable. But in taking these difficult decisions I ask that whatever form the Government takes they remember what was asked of the apostle Paul, to remember the poor," Clifford said.

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