Christians across Britain are being invited to join an "election prayer surge" on the eve of the general election in a bid to pray in "God's will" for the nation.

In a pastoral letter today, Dr Jonathan Oloyede, convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship, has issued a prayer summons to evangelical, charismatic and any other committed Christians to gather outside Parliament on the evening of Wednesday 6 May.

"Thursday 7th May 2015 will be a significant day in the life of this nation as we head to the polling stations to vote for the next government, our local councillors and in some places for mayoral candidates," he writes.

He says the outcome will affect the country for decades to come and polls suggest it will be very close to call as daily and hourly polls reflect changes to who is in the lead.

"I am writing to you today as Christians, church leaders and prayer activists in this nation to urge you to renew the call to prayer for the UK and the government. I know many of you are already praying, but I believe we need to raise the bar in praying for God's Kingdom to come and will to be done, over these last 14 days of the campaign."

Quoting Isaiah 60, "Arise, Shine for your Light has Come," he says these words are relevant church and believers everywhere "to stand up, show up and stand out so that the Lord can have His way with this nation."

Faith can no longer be divorced from politics, he continues. Recent initiatives include the Church of England House of Bishops Pastoral letter to all its parishes, the launch of the Black Majority Church manifesto, the Christian People's Alliance activities, the Show Up project and political party leaders appearing on Church platforms in aid of their campaigns.

The prayer surge will begin at 7.14pm on Parliament Square and last at least an hour. Events can also be organised locally, however.