Thy Kingdom Come Prayer – May 2020
Guest contributor Robert Mountford, Ecumenical Mission Officer for Black Country Churches Engaged, shares the latest news about this year’s Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative.
The sixth ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer season will run from Ascension Day, Thursday 21 May, to Pentecost Sunday, 31 May, inclusive.
The lockdown context in which this year’s prayer novena takes place echoes the ‘upper room’ context in which the group of 120 disciples of Jesus prayed in the pause between his ascension to heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
Now, as then, God’s people are genuinely asking the Lord to reveal his purpose, presence and power in the face of uncertainty, fear and grief. More than ever, Thy Kingdom Come offers the opportunity to engage in concerted prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom, that the church will be equipped to fulfil its mission and that family members, neighbours, friends and work colleagues will come to faith in Christ.
While gathered prayer meetings will not be possible in May 2020, Thy Kingdom Come prayer opportunities include:
- Making use of the Thy Kingdom Come Daily Prayer Journal to guide your private prayers.
- Praying the specially-prepared The Kingdom Come morning, daytime, evening and/or night prayer resources provided by the Church of England (here) and the Roman Catholic Church (here).
- Reaching out to the people for whom you are praying with simple gifts and/or practical support (ideas and resources here).
- Using the Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Adventure Map to engage children in prayer during the novena.
- Praying with a few friends at a regular, set time each day during the novena, connecting via Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, or similar. The joint prayer time can be short and simple, but should focus on praying for people to come to faith in Christ.
- In league with friends from one (or more) local church, organising a day-long, week-long, or novena-long period of continuous prayer. This would require establishing a simple system by which people would commit to pray for specific 30-minute or hour-long sessions during the day/night, leading to a non-stop prayer endeavour during the chosen period.
More ideas, links and resources can be found at the Thy Kingdom Come website.
A video by Revd Canon Chris Russell, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advisor on Evangelism and Witness, can be viewed here.
A Thy Kingdom Come App will become live in May. Those planning to take part in Thy Kingdom Come in any way are asked to sign up here in order to join others in lighting up the world in prayer.
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