Want to Change the World?
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!
The thing is, we really can 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. Just pause there a moment… when we stop and take this in, it really is an awesome prayer, isn’t it?!
I wonder where you’d like to see Kingdom transformation. The conflicts between Russia and Ukraine perhaps? Climate change? Immigration? Many more issues might spring to mind, but how about on a more personal, local level? 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 a neighbour who is jobless. I’m praying for a mother who’s just had a baby and is exhausted. I’m praying for two more mothers expecting babies, and all the joy (and anxiety) that comes along with it! I’m praying for 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. And I’m praying for countless other situations. I often feel stuck, unable to help people, so praying ‘Thy Kingdom come’ and inviting God into the situation unsticks me!
But this is where it gets super exciting… as well as being part of the prayer Jesus taught us, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (TKC) is a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus. And this year, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary!
The thing is, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ isn’t just 11 days in May and June (29th May to 8th June, to be exact). ‘Thy Kingdom come’ is an invitation to start and not to stop. For 11 days to become a lifestyle. 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. But for ‘Thy Kingdom come’ to change the world we all need to join in.
Did you know that 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, 1 in 3 want to know more.
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. We're inviting Christians to pray for five friends and neighbours who don’t yet know Jesus; and we want to make this easy, so that these 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.
Hope Together and here at Hope For Every Home, we aim to direct people 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.
 Local Houses of Prayer show us the HOW? How to actually do all this. Christians united in prayer for their communities are invited to join Local Houses of Prayer or form their own.
All the problems in the world can be overwhelming, not to mention those right on our doorstep. 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 easy as praying the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13:
‘This, then, is how you should pray:
‘“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
Begin by choosing five non-Christian neighbours or friends that you want to pledge to pray for each day. Download the pledge prayer postcards here. On one side there’s space to write the names of your friends and on the other, how to use the Lord’s Prayer each day to pray, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. You can also use the Lord’s Prayer to pray for communities. We’ve designed a free downloadable prompt sheet and postcard which shows you how you can use the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, to pray ‘Thy Kingdom come’ for your communities.
As part of 'Thy Kingdom Come' you might want to share ‘The Father's Love Letter’ with the five people you are praying for, perhaps your street or even your whole community! 'The Father's Love Letter' is a selection of verses from the Bible about God’s love for his creation and his children. It also comes with resources, hints and tips to help you think about how to share 'The Father's Love Letter' with your community. These verses are woven together in the form of a letter written from God to his children. It was originally written as a sermon by Barry Adams, a Canadian church pastor, but Hope Together has been given permission to produce a new version for the UK. We want every home in the UK to know that they are a beloved child of God, so the exciting news is that we are making 'The Father's Love Letter' FREE! You can download and print your own or we will send you as many copies as you need (just pay postage).
So, let’s do this! Let’s change the world through the power of praying 3 words:
Thy
Kingdom
Come
Are you ready to see the Father’s love embraced by our communities, neighbours and friends? Ask the Holy Spirit to equip you to be a change maker, to see God's Kingdom come on every street and home, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen!
|