Churches gather together to pray 'Thy Kingdom Come'

By Philippa Hitchen

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a global prayer movement calling on Christians around the world to pray and to invite others to come to know the power of Christ in their lives. 

The initiative started two years ago as an invitation from the Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York, asking Christians to join in a worldwide period of prayer from the feast of the Ascension to the celebration of Pentecost.

Remembering the way the Holy Spirit came down upon the first disciples, Christians are called to take up that task of sharing their faith with others, in order to transform today’s world.

In a video on the specially dedicated website, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, invites everyone to pray, in the knowledge that God hears all those who turn to him in faith:

"Prayer rests on the conviction that the strongest power in the world is unseen. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is built on this conviction given to us by Jesus. Often when we pray, we don’t see immediate results, but we know we should trust and believe that Jesus hears our prayer."

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ has now grown into an international and ecumenical movement, with many different Christian denominations taking part.

Many Christian Churches taking part

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, head of the Catholic bishops’ conference of England and Wales, says ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a prayer of longing, but also of hope and trust in God’s promise:

"To me it is a very wonderful prayer where the harmony that is written into creation will be achieved and, in the meantime, we live with unease and pain and regret and great fidelity to the promise of what Christ can do and what Christ will do."

The website offers lots of resources for churches and individuals in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Kiswahili and Korean.

Online resources in different languages

It encourages churches to hold dedicated prayer events and to register them online so that others can join in a local initiative, or simply pray in the peace and quiet of their homes or places of work.

The online resources also offer a wealth of video testimonials from people whose lives have been radically transformed by the power of prayer, in surprising and often secret ways.

From Ascension to Pentecost

That’s why communities and churches around the world are coming together, between the Ascension on May 10th and the feast of Pentecost on May 20th, to pray that their friends, families and neighbours may come to know Christ and to witness to that faith in the world

As Archbishop Justin Welby insists: “Never underestimate the power and influence that your prayers have on the world!”