Thy Kingdom Come
The Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations writes about a new opportunity for prayer
‘In praying Thy Kingdom Come we all commit to playing our part in the renewal of the nations and the transformation of communities.’
Justin Welby
Prayer is for most of us – setting Meeting for Worship aside – quite a private thing. We may think of it as wordless, a turning of the heart towards God, or perhaps we use a personal mantra, as Orthodox Christians use the Jesus prayer, which becomes so familiar that it’s almost as if it prays us, rather than the other way round. Maybe we recall Jesus’ own words of advice: ‘When you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your Father…’ (Matthew 6:6).
So, why then is the Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations (QCCIR) drawing your attention to a new opportunity for public prayer? First, let’s explain the proposition. Churches Together in England (CTE) are inviting all their member churches to join together in what they hope will be a wave of prayer in the ten days between Ascension (25 May) and Pentecost (4 June). This is one of the ‘between’ times in the church’s year, between the loss of the physical presence of Jesus and the first shock of experiencing the presence of the Spirit. We’re told that Jesus’ followers spent much of it in prayer together (Acts 1:14). So, partly the idea is for Christians to recover the idea of praying together, for the same things, all at the same time. The hope is that the wave may become global.
There are, of course, already two global weeks of prayer. One, kept in January, is for Christian Unity; this has been celebrated for over a century, and since the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948 has been kept by churches across the world. And there is the Week of Prayer for World Peace in October, originally a Christian but now an interfaith activity. We know that many Quakers in Britain are particularly active with their local churches and faith communities at these times. So, is there any need for another?
Well, perhaps the clue is in the name. Christian unity, though important – and we probably all have different opinions as to what it means – is an inward-facing idea. A prayer that ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is both inward and outward. Jesus was the first to remind us that God’s reign needs to be happening here and now, in the human heart (Luke 17:20-21). But it incorporates every other aspect of our lives as well. God’s kingdom is about peace and justice, as evoked in the wonderful prayer in the Hebrew Bible: ‘Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream’. It’s about Jesus’ mission of bringing good news to the poor, release for prisoners, freedom for victims. It’s about us trying to live in a way that does something, however modest, to help bring this great vision about.
QCCIR is inviting Friends in Britain, as a member church of CTE, to support the initiative and suggests they join a prayer initiative in their area. Friends might also consider holding a programmed Meeting for Worship. QCCIR welcomes Friends’ reflections on ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and invites those interested to join an e-network.
Further information: www.thykingdomcome.global
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