prime ministering

This morning, just before church, I chatted to David Cameron in a shop in Notting Hill.

Yes, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister.

I had been greeting people at the door of the church when one of the members said, "Oh, there goes Cameron!"

I thought he meant one of his friends.

A moment later, Christian, my arts team leader, came in and said, "Cameron and his family are just around the corner!"

By then, I realised that he meant the Prime Minister. We popped round the corner and discussed what God would want to say to David Cameron. Then Christian showed me which shop he'd gone into, and I went in to speak to him.

It was a little bit bizarre, strolling into a shop and chatting with David Cameron. To be fair, I did not know what he looked like very well. I also do not know a lot about his politics, other than what I read in the news. My only motive in speaking to him was to invite him to church.

It was just Cameron, his son, the clerk, and me in the shop. He told me that he'd just come from church, and we talked about it for a moment. Then I asked him if there was anything we, at our church, could pray for. His eyes grew tired, and he said, quietly, "Pray for Syria. We need to pray for that situation."

I started back for the church, then thought to ask him what I could pray for, but for him specifically. He said, "Pray for me. Please pray for me."

Then I left. I did not want to ask anything of him. I do not have an opinion on his politics, and I do not need anything from him. It seemed bizarre to me that I, a 23-year-old American, could stroll into a shop and talk to the British Prime Minister. Nobody introduced us, there were no formalities, and I talked to him about what I have talked to people about a hundred times on that very street.

And I saw that he is just a man. He is a man that wakes up in the morning, reads the newspaper, and feels despair about the situation in Syria. But instead of just wishing that things could be done, he is the one who has the responsibility to do something. And on top of that, he has to take into consideration his party and the British people and the leaders of the world and alliances and world politics. He knows what is really going on. And still he goes to church, goes shopping with his family, and lives a normal life.

What a burden.

But I also realised that he is the leader that God appointed. He is the God-ordained authority in this situation. And when he asked me to pray for him, I realised that I have been remiss in praying for him. He has so much responsibility, and I pray for him once a week, during intercession. But it is a responsibility he carries every day.

He needs our prayer. He asked for our prayer.

And I pray that God gives him wisdom. He is the one appointed to lead us in Great Britain, and I am certain that God has a way for all of this to be worked out. I am praying that God will speak clearly to David Cameron about His solution for Syria, and for the other issues at large in the world right now.

Will you join me in praying for Great Britain's Prime Minister?