Change the world through prayer

Sammy Jordan, Director of Hope for Every Home at Hope Together, celebrates how praying ‘Thy Kingdom come’ can change the world, one community at a time!

I don’t know about you, but I hate being asked questions like, ‘If you could have anyone round for dinner, who would you invite?’ Or ‘If you could solve one global problem, which would you choose?’ I really struggle to choose. What if I don’t get it right? Let’s face it, there are so many things to choose from. The thing is, we really can change the world.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray to our Father in heaven, that his name would be revered, his Kingdom come, and his will be done. (Interestingly, the last few words of praise were added later onto the Church of England liturgy, so Roman Catholics, for example, stop before this!) In any case, we are still called to join in that simple but powerful prayer today. And so, 'Thy Kingdom Come' is an invitation to change the world through prayer.


No superpowers, influential role, qualifications, or money needed; because when we pray, we’re inviting the Creator of the whole world, the Almighty One, into a situation. When we pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ we’re asking God to bring heaven to earth, for Kingdom transformation and for earth to be like heaven. What an awesome prayer!

I wonder where you would like to see Kingdom transformation. The conflict in Ukraine, refugees fleeing their homelands in small boats, the cost-of-living crisis and Covid-19 might spring to mind. How about closer to home? Where would you like to see heaven invading earth in everyday life?

I live on a new estate where I’m a community evangelist as part of a church plant. I’m intentional about loving my neighbour and being their neighbour, who just so happens to love Jesus too. When I pray, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ in my community, I’m praying for my alcoholic neighbour whose son is scared when he goes to sleep in the evening. I’m praying for my disabled neighbour, who is cross with the world because of everything they’ve had to go through. I’m praying for my incredibly brave neighbour, who has escaped an abusive relationship. The prayer list goes on… there’s my neighbour who is struggling to make ends meet; another whose new sofa ends up in the bin store every six weeks (annoying those who, as a result, can’t fit their rubbish in!); and then there’s the teenagers who drive around on motorbikes and smoke weed on the local play park at night, because they have nothing else meaningful to do. Amongst countless prayer items on the agenda, I often feel stuck, unable to help people. But when I pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, I am inviting God into the situation and, unsurprisingly, he unsticks me!



In May 2016, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York invited the Church of England to pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. Over the last seven years, this has grown into an ecumenical call to prayer, which unites more than a million Christians, in nearly 90% of countries worldwide, and across 85 different denominations and traditions. All so that friends and family, neighbours and colleagues might come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Every person, household and church are encouraged to pray during the 11 days (18th – 28th May) in whatever way they choose. If we all join together in this prayer, the cascading impact around the world could be mind-blowing. That’s why 'Thy Kingdom Come', Local Houses of Prayer, Hope Together and Hope for Every Home are working together to resource The Church (including you and me!) to pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ in word, action and mission. Why? Because ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ isn’t just 11 days in May, it’s a lifestyle. An everyday way of life that can impact whole communities with the love of God. We have a God who is far bigger than anything we can imagine, so let’s go big or go home. Are you in?!

For those of you who like a stat, here’s an interesting one for you to ponder… according to the Talking Jesus Research, 53% of non-Christians know a Christian (defined as someone who goes to church at least once a month, prays and reads the Bible). It might surprise you to know that these 53% of non-Christians are waiting for Christian friends to share their faith story with them. When this happens, one in three of them want to know more. That’s why ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, Local Houses of Prayer and Hope Together have a legacy of inviting Christians to pray for friends and neighbours who don’t yet know Jesus; and why we have come together to make this easy, so that 11 days can launch a lifestyle. Between us we offer a WHAT, a WHERE and a HOW:



WHAT:
‘Thy Kingdom Come’ mobilises the WHAT. What are we doing? Well, we’re praying for five friends to come to know Jesus. We’re being intentional about sharing faith with them in our everyday. We’re believing our prayers will lead to action, ‘here on earth.’ 


WHERE:
Hope Together and Hope for Every Home direct us to the WHERE. Where are we praying for God’s Kingdom to come? Here at Hope, our aim is to provide resources to help us reach everyone everywhere, in everyday ways, with the good news about Jesus, starting with our own communities. 


HOW:
Local Houses of Prayer show us the HOW. How do we actually do this? Christians who are passionate about praying for their communities are invited to join or form Local Houses of Prayer. 

All the problems in the world, whether they are thousands of miles away or right on our doorstep, can lead us to feel pretty overwhelmed. It can be hard to know where to start with our prayers. So, we want to make it simple. If you’ve never prayed for a non-Christian friend before, don’t worry. If you’ve never prayed for your community before, don’t worry. It’s as simple as praying the Lord’s Prayer, and making this prayer a habit...

Begin by choosing five non-Christian neighbours or friends that you can pledge to pray for each day. Download our simple prompt sheet or order a postcard from our website. On one side there’s space to write your friend’s names and on the other, how to use the Lord’s Prayer each day to pray, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ for your friends. Catherine shares a great way she prays for her five, using her regular cups of tea!

Why not plant seeds to aid your prayers too. We have packs of five sunflower seed sticks available for free from our website. I love sunflowers, and how they turn to face the direction of the sun. Likewise, as you plant and water your seeds, we invite you to pray that your five friends will turn towards The Son.

You can also use the Lord’s Prayer to pray for communities. We’ve designed a free downloadable prompt sheet and postcard, available from our website, which shows how you can use the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, to pray ‘Thy Kingdom come’ for your communities.

So, let’s do this! Let’s join in with ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ this month. Let’s pray individually, with prayer partners, in local houses of prayer and join together with our church community. Let’s pray for five friends or neighbours, for every street and home to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour.  Let’s change the world through prayer and see ‘Thy Kingdom come.’ Amen.