“I have been—and remain—very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for His steadfast love,” Queen Elizabeth wrote. “I have indeed seen His faithfulness.”

The Bible Society will publish the book in April marking the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Three Christian charities, HOPE, the Bible Society and LICC teamed up to write the book, which gives readers a glimpse into Her Majesty’s religious beliefs.

The book will not be used for commercial gain, a condition that had to be met in order for the Queen to agree to write the forward.

In the foreword, she also refers to problems in the Middle East, saying the world is seeing suffering on an unprecedented scale.

The queen is supreme governor of the Church of England.

“So to have a monarch who talks openly about Jesus in a very relaxed and natural way, we find that a huge encouragement and hope that Christians across the country will take a leaf out of the Queen’s book and learn to talk about Jesus in a natural way with friends, relatives and colleagues, so people can discover more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus,”  co-author Catherine Butcher, from HOPE, told Premier.org.

The Queen has spoken of her thankfulness to God for his “steadfast love”, in a new book to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Writing in the foreword to ‘The Servant Queen and the King she serves’, Her Majesty also says she has seen God’s faithfulness over the course of her life.

The book has been written to coincide with the Queen’s birthday, which is being marked later this year.

Grateful

She comments: “I have been – and remain – very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love. I have indeed seen his faithfulness.”

The Queen also references her many different experiences over her record-breaking reign, saying: “The extent and pace of change has been truly remarkable” and: “We have witnessed triumphs and tragedies.”

The book has been published by The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, HOPE and the Bible Society.

A twelve-page version for schools is being made available by Scripture Union.

“I have indeed seen his faithfulness” – Her Majesty the Queen

Forgiveness

The Queen has often used her traditional Christmas message to speak of forgiveness, Jesus’ sacrificial life, the fact that no one is beyond God’s love and the example that she herself takes from Jesus Christ.

Last year she noted that the world “has had to confront moments of darkness”, but, “the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope, often read at Christmas carol services: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’”

In 2014 she referred to Jesus as the Prince of Peace, and in 2012 she said that God “sent his only son ‘to serve, not to be served’”.

She has openly demonstrated her faith in public, not least when, after the 9/11 attacks in New York back in 2001 in a message read out by the then British Ambassador to Washington in a church service at St Thomas church she said….

You come together today in St Thomas church in New York united in sorrow by the terrible events of last week. Each and every one of us has been shocked and numbed by what we have witnessed in these recent days.

But none of us should doubt the resilience and determination of this great and much loved city and its people. Men and women from many nations, from many faiths and from many backgrounds were working together in New York City when this unimaginable outrage overtook them all.

At your service today, we think especially of the British victims. For some of them, New York was simply a stopover on some busy travel schedule. For others it was a workplace of excitement and of opportunity. For many it was a familiar second home.

These are dark and harrowing times for families and friends of those who are missing or who suffered in the attack – many of you here today. My thoughts and my prayers are with you all now and in the difficult days ahead.

But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.