An Invitation to Change the World Through Prayer
Sammy Jordan, Director of Hope for Every Home at Hope Together is excited because 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, especially at the moment!
The thing is, we really can change the world! ‘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, 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. Isn’t that an awesome prayer?
 I wonder where you’d like to see Kingdom transformation? The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine perhaps, refugees in small boats and the cost-of-living crisis might be things that immediately spring to mind; but how about more personally? I live on a new estate where I’m a community evangelist as part of a church plant. It means I’m intentional about loving my neighbour, and happen to be their neighbour who loves 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 neighbour who has escaped an abusive relationship, for my neighbour who is struggling to make ends meet, for my neighbour whose new sofa ends up in the bin store every six weeks, annoying my other neighbours who then can’t fit their rubbish in; for the teenagers who drive around on motorbikes and smoke weed at the local play park at night because they have nothing else meaningful to do; and for countless other situations. I often feel stuck, unable to help people and praying ‘Thy Kingdom come’ inviting God into the situation unsticks me!
The thing is, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ isn’t just 11 days in May. ‘Thy Kingdom come’ is an invitation to start and not to stop. For 11 days to become a lifestyle that can impact whole communities for the Kingdom. 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 ‘Thy Kingdom come’ to change the world we all need to join in. That’s why Thy Kingdom Come, Local Houses of Prayer, Hope Together and Hope for Every Home are working together to resource our prayer, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ so that prayer becomes an invitation into action and mission.
 According to the Talking Jesus Research, 53% of non-Christians know a Christian (someone who goes to church at least once a month, prays and reads the Bible)? It might surprise you to know that these 53% are waiting for their Christian friends to share their faith story with them and, when we do, one in 3 want to know more. That’s why Thy Kingdom Come, Local Houses of Prayer and Hope have a legacy of inviting Christians to pray for five friends and neighbours who don’t yet know Jesus; and why we have come together to make this easy, so that 11 days can become a lifestyle. Between us, we offer a WHAT, WHERE and a HOW.
 Thy Kingdom Come mobilises us to the WHAT? To pray for 5 friends to come to know Jesus. To be intentional about sharing faith with them in our everyday, and for prayer to lead to action, ‘here.’ www.thykingdomcome.global
 Hope and Hope For Every Home direct us to the WHERE? Providing resources to help us reach everyone everywhere, in everyday ways, with the good news about Jesus. Every street, every home in the UK starting with our own communities. www.hopeforeveryhome.org
 Local Houses of Prayer show us HOW to do this. Christians mobilised in prayer directed towards communities are invited to be part of or form Local Houses of Prayer. www.localhousesofprayer.org
 All the problems in the world and right on our doorsteps can be overwhelming. It can be hard to know where to start. 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. Begin by choosing five non-Christian neighbours and friends that you want to 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. You can also use the Lord’s Prayer to pray for communities. We’ve designed a free downloadable prompt sheet or a postcard available from our website which shows you how you can use the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, to pray ‘Thy Kingdom come’ for your communities.
Let’s do this. Let’s pray for five friends and neighbours, every street, every home and let’s see God establish for his Kingdom Local Houses of Prayer in every community. Let’s change the world through prayer and see ‘Thy Kingdom come.’ Amen.
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