It’s the time of year again where churches are invited to join countless Christians around the world in the global prayer movement, Thy Kingdom Come. The need for prayer in our world has never been greater, but it can be daunting to know where to start. Perhaps the best place to start is with those closest to us, friends, neighbours, family – that they may know Jesus’ love in their lives. That sounds like a good prayer to me.
In fact, without this simple prayer I doubt I would be writing to you today as a vicar. I was not brought up in a Christian home. We went to church on Christmas and Easter mainly because that was the cultural thing to do. In 1989 we were invited on a Christian holiday camp by another family, and for some unknown reason, my parents agreed that we should go. My three siblings and I were teenagers at the time, and we thought our parents were joining a cult! It was on that week that we heard the good news of Jesus for the first time, and over that year we all became Christians. Believe it or not, two out of my three siblings are also ordained. The reason for telling you this story is that this all came about through prayer. The family who invited us, we later learnt, had been praying for us every week for 10 years! Can you believe it? I find that so humbling, and inspiring: our prayers, however simple, are powerful and they make a difference, whether we see the impact or not.
I want to invite you to join us as we pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ between Ascension Day and Pentecost once more. Head here to read more, and don’t forget you can pick up a Prayer Journal which has been beautifully produced by the Church of England, providing a guide to how we can pray over the ten days.
