Part 1: Thy Kingdom Come

Thursday of last week was Ascension Day. This is the day each year in the Church’s calendar, forty days after Easter, when millions of Christians around the world remember and celebrate the event of Jesus ascending into Heaven, as recorded in Acts chapter 1. The Bible tells us that during those forty days between his resurrection and ascension, he spoke to his disciples about the Kingdom of God and told them to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, who would empower them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. We’ll celebrate all that happened then, on the day of Pentecost, this coming Sunday.
 
Many Christians mark the eleven days from Ascension Day to Pentecost as a special time of prayer, just as those first disciples 'all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers' during that time (Acts 1:14). I read on Twitter this morning that all Carmelite nuns in the world traditionally spend the days between Ascension and Pentecost in silent retreat. What an amazing dedication to prayer!
 
Most of us won't be in a position to enter silent retreat over the coming week, but we can all find moments to pray. The Church of England makes resources available every year particularly for this season, called Thy Kingdom Come, which include a prayer journal and video reflections. You can download these here or you can put the Thy Kingdom Come app straight onto your smartphone.
 
One major focus of Thy Kingdom Come is to remind us of the commission Jesus gave his church to be his witnesses, making disciples … and so during this time we are especially encouraged to pray that friends and family, neighbours and colleagues might come to faith in Jesus Christ. And whether or not you are engaging with any of the other resources and materials over these eleven days, can I commend to you the 'Pray for 5' initiative? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, invites each and every Christian across the globe to pray that God’s Spirit might work in the lives of five people who have not yet responded with their ‘Yes’ to God’s call.
 
Who might God be asking you to pray for at this time? Last week, I got a piece of paper and wrote the names of five friends that I am committed to praying for over the next eleven days. Can I encourage you to join me? It's certainly not too late to join in! Stick it on your fridge, or your bathroom mirror, or anywhere where you'll see it every day. Spend thirty seconds (or more if you have time, but better to pray for half a minute than not at all!) each day asking God to bless those friends, to be at work in their lives, revealing his love to them and drawing them close to him. Pray that God might give you the opportunity to share something of your faith in Jesus with them. And then wait and see what God does …