Archbishop of Canterbury calls on Christians to join global wave of prayer

9 February 2017 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=3045

The Archbishop of Canterbury is encouraging Christians of all denominations to join in with a ten–day global prayer initiative, “Thy Kingdom Come“, from Ascension Day to Pentecost. What began last year as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer. Last year more than 100,000 people joined in, and in 2017, it‘s expected to be on a bigger scale. Launching the initiative, which runs from 25 May to 4 June, Archbishop Justin said: “When the wind of the spirit is blowing, hoist the sails and go with the wind. It‘s not a Church of England thing, it‘s not an Anglican thing, it‘s a Christian thing.”

In a video to promote the ten days of prayer, Archbishop Justin talks about his faith, why he‘s a Christian and why he is asking Christians around the world to join him in praying for more people to know Jesus Christ. He encourages Christians to #Pledge2Pray, and unite with thousands of others in praying for people to come to faith: “Jesus prayed at the Last Supper that we, those who follow him, might ‘be one that the world might believe‘. We are invited to make a lasting difference in our nations and in our world, by responding to his call to find a deep unity of purpose in prayer.”

He said prayer happens when we have before us a challenge that we can‘t meet by our own resources and he recalled a visit to a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo; he was asked to say something and, amid the appalling conditions, whilst trying to think of some “practical” advice, found himself saying: “Jesus Christ is the same today, tomorrow and yesterday.” He was surprised when the crowd responded by singing: “It was a lesson to me …..the Spirit opens ears and warms hearts, it‘s not us, it‘s about Jesus.”

Emma Buchan, project leader for the Archbishop‘s Evangelism Taskforce, who heads up “Thy Kingdom Come” says: “The global response to the campaign this year has been overwhelming. We‘ve heard from churches across the world, including different denominations and traditions, who are all pledging to get involved from South Africa to Canada and from Brazil to Hong Kong. Each place is organising the time in their own way; for example, in Hong Kong, they are planning big celebrations in the cathedrals and establishing a network of ‘prayer warriors‘. That‘s the beauty of Thy Kingdom Come.”

Emma explained, “We‘re hoping people will be inspired to take part and be catalysts for setting up prayer events in their local area. Last year “Thy Kingdom Come” gave people time and space outside their normal worshipping patterns to come closer to God and we heard many stories of the deep impact it had on people‘s lives. Our new website has a wide range of resources for everyone which includes ideas on prayer stations, prayer walks, finding fun and creative ways of praying together as a family. We also have Novena prayer booklets and liturgy for a range of traditions.”

Archbishop Justin: “Over the years Jesus Christ has been a faithful friend. His love has healed me and following him has been the core point of my life. We have to pray “Come Holy Spirit” because the Spirit inspires every Christian. We are being called to pray for evangelism.”

Here‘s the link to the Thy Kingdom Come website