In 2023, a Bristol, England woman proved that the cliche about thoughts and prayers could be something to take seriously after all, so much so that the police investigated her “silent prayer” with official investigations on three separate occasions.
Meet Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, 64, a devout Catholic woman from Worcestershire. The Alliance Defending Freedom UK is defending her. Why? Their interest in this woman is not her Church. It’s her protest–a silent protest–that has attracted the ire of the authorities and the support of Christians worldwide. Her crime was an accusation of breaching a “Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO)” issued to her by an abortion clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, UK.
BBC reports Vaughan-Spruce was silently praying outside the clinic, which caused some kerfuffle among staff who could see her directly outside. No wild protest or hollering profanity. She wasn’t shaming women walking inside. No, the lady was outside, standing by herself, not saying a word. Yet, her hands were clasped with a rosary intertwined among her fingers.
George Orwell, please pick up the white courtesy phone. That’ll be the Thought Police on the line.
Yes, her literal thoughts and prayers landed her in jail. She fought the order and later received £13,000 from West Midlands Police (approximately USD 17,500). In her civil claim, which was settled “without any admission of liability,” she added that the two wrongful arrests came with “false imprisonments, assault and battery about an intrusive search, a breach of her human rights and the onerous bail conditions they imposed on her.”
Again, for her thoughts and prayers.
Are Christians that much of a threat to the public? Do we have to change who we are so that others can do what they do? The Isabel Vaughan-Spruce story has its layers. And like many of the onions in this metaphor, parts of the story stink. Yet, the threat to Christianity rages on, and somewhere in the United Kingdom, a woman was arrested (twice) for praying in her head.
How can Christians stand against this kind of offensive provocation? Should we do anything but stand, as the Bible tells us? Let’s set up in our fighting stances. To your corners…
Before we delve into those questions and gain an understanding, stay in touch with faith-based issues that hit “close to home.” Subscribe to our free newsletter and never miss what’s happening in the Church, and what real Christians can do in return to defend the love and work of Christ.
How Thoughts and Prayers Can Get Out of Hand
Although Isabel Vaughan-Spruce had a case for wrongful arrest and “false imprisonment” (let’s tap the brakes on that one, Izzy) settled out of court, she hasn’t given up on God or the local abortion clinic getting out of town. Ergo, the West Midlands Police has confirmed there is another active investigation into her actions of silent prayer on a public street corner in 2023.
The local police and the abortion clinic she troubles by standing in peace know about Vaughan-Spruce. She’s an active volunteer who has supported mothers in crisis pregnancies for two decades. She’s respected in the community, and her faith is well known. But, she was praying within a “buffer zone” created by a Public Spaces Protection Order that prohibited “expressions of approval or disapproval” of abortion.
She was arrested, fought the charge, and was later acquitted. The following year, it happened again. In August 2024, she received the settlement for her ruminations about God’s sovereignty. Like a determined Christian, she set her face like a flint and would not be put to shame (Isaiah 50:7). It’s been her mission for 20 years, according to the Christian Post. Every week, this woman would stand in the same spot near the abortion clinic and pray without a word.
“Yet despite this victory, I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces.” She added: “Our culture is shifting towards a clamp down on viewpoint diversity, with Christian thought and prayer increasingly under threat of censorship.”
Yet, in 2023, folk didn’t take kindly to her brazen standing around, surrounded by polluted air, bad water and her thoughts and prayers. So, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) got involved, on her side, alleging “repeated harassment and interrogation without officers explaining any breach of the law.” Although her actions weren’t considered “overt,” she’s being investigated again.
Reports state that Vaughan-Spruce’s legal team has argued that “silent prayer falls within rights to freedom of thought and belief.” Of course, those are protected actions under the U.S Constitution. The same can be said for UK law and international human rights instruments. Yet, her Christian faith has brought chastisement and ridicule.
You know? Like the rest of us who live out loud for Jesus.
Why is Satan Scared of Our Thoughts, Sometimes?
The question is complex, depending on your interpretation of Scripture and belief in the transcendent Word of God.
Deception stemming from thoughts has been a keen mental trick that Satan has been using, literally, since the dawn of time. He fed them seeds of doubt, disbelief and self-reliance, which ultimately led to their sin and departure from God’s oversight. God went looking for them. They were hiding from God because of shame (Genesis 3:7-13).
He attacked their thoughts, which is essential to note. If Adam and Eve had better control over their thoughts, Satan would have had to find a different foothold.
Abortion clinics have a right to be on high alert concerning the “cereal Christians” out there. You know? The fruits, nuts and flakes. There is a gaggle of people who misrepresent the greater group to which they belong. All stereotypes are created because of them, and Christians are no different. Much of the fertile soil that the enemy has in those saved folk is made of thoughts—misguided, deceived, incongruent to God’s Word thoughts.
Such thoughts led to the persecution of this woman for a harmless and silent protest. “She’s standing there praying, but other Christians have done dangerous things to abortion clinics like ours. I don’t feel safe. Let’s call the police.” And that’s how it starts.
The devil is a “liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And those lies are the bullets in his gun. He is “the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). Those accusations are our weaknesses. If we knew that the Lord is our strength (Psalm 28:7) and that through our weaknesses, our strength is made perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9), we wouldn’t have thoughts to manipulate.
So, next time you stand on a corner and protest a clinic or some other movement, use your words. At least others can tell that’s your faith in action. Besides, people groan when they offer “thoughts and prayers” anyway.
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