The two archbishops of Canterbury and York have invited us to join in a week of prayer before Pentecost this year this is my journey towards that week.
At the heart of our prayers will be words that Jesus himself taught us – ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorized by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory.”
Canterbury+ and York + Taken from thy thy kingdom come
Our heavenly Father: We can come in confidence that our Father is good and listens to our prayers, we can come in the knowledge that we have personal relationship, just as Jesus is the beloved son so we are all beloved sons and daughters if we are united in Him he delights to give good gifts to His children.
At the heart of our prayers will be words that Jesus himself taught us – ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorized by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory.”
Canterbury+ and York + Taken from thy thy kingdom come
Our heavenly Father: We can come in confidence that our Father is good and listens to our prayers, we can come in the knowledge that we have personal relationship, just as Jesus is the beloved son so we are all beloved sons and daughters if we are united in Him he delights to give good gifts to His children.
Mat 7:9ff which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who
ask him!
May your name be made
Holy: How do we proclaim a Holy God to a sceptical world? By acting as mirrors
as we live Holy lives we will reflect something of the image of the Father in
our lives:
Mat 5:14ff “You are the light of the world. A city set on a
hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Your Kingdom come: This
is a prayer that should start deep in our own hearts and balloon outwards to
encompass the entire creation. Where does Gods rule need to take hold in
our lives? Are we willing to allow Him in to our innermost being or are there
still fortresses of self fiercely defended from Divine conquest? Do we have
honest eyes that can truly see our spiritual condition?
Mat6:22ff “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye
is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad,
your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness,
how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.
So what is the prime weapon with which we bring the Kingdom
of God into the world; sacrificial love.
Mat 5:43ff “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love
your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father
who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love
you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
Your will be done
on earth as in heaven: we live in a world which has rebelled against God;
our task as children of our heavenly Father is to restore that rule in our
homes in our streets and in the wider world. Just as Jesus won back his kingdom
by being hung on a cross; so his followers take up that cross daily and follow wherever
their master leads
So what are the names of the foot soldiers who invade the
kingdom of darkness establishing his rule and kingdom? They are poor in spirit,
mourner, meek, thirster after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart,
peacemakers, reviled and persecuted. This is an unlikely bunch who love their
enemies into the kingdom. So let us seek the kingdom of God and His
righteousness .
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